# Card Buddy - Index Cards — user reviews > 53 indexed App Store user reviews of Card Buddy by Allen Ussher, rated 4.37/5 from 38 ratings. - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/card-buddy-index-cards/id6447646532/reviews - App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/card-buddy-index-cards/id6447646532.md - Rating breakdown: 5★ 23 · 4★ 6 · 3★ 4 · 2★ 2 · 1★ 1 ## What do users think of Card Buddy? Overall sentiment: positive **Pros** - 👍 Simple and intuitive interface - 💡 Perfect for writing and plotting - ✨ Localized files, not cloud-based - 🖼️ Ability to add images to cards - 🚀 Efficient and well-thought-out design - 🎨 Flexible layout and adjustments - ✅ Great for screenwriting structure - 🔒 Privacy-focused, no EULA issues - 💰 Fair pricing, worth the cost - 🔄 Works across Apple platforms - 💡 Exporting to Markdown or printing is simple - 🎯 Exactly what users were looking for - 🌟 Innovative and unique app - ✅ No complicated bells and whistles - 🎯 Perfect for fantasy football draft boards - 📄 Exports easily to attractive PDFs - 💯 Most useful and user-friendly - 💡 Simple approach clarifies thought processes - 🖼️ Visually works well - ✨ Clean and intuitive - 💡 Replicates sticking cards on the wall - 👍 Well worth the one-time payment - 📝 Great for organizing ideas - 💡 Good for character sheets, plotting, mood boards - 🔗 Inserting links and images is easy - ✅ Responsive developer - 💡 Great keyboard shortcut support - 🚀 Fresh and sleek design - 💡 Useful for managing storyboards - ✨ Easy UI, intuitive, quick to learn - 💡 Great organization, streamlined look - 💡 Good for academic papers and fiction - 🚀 Well-thought-out workflow - 💡 No subscriptions - 🚀 Fast and easy to use - 💡 Great for quick notes/ideas - 👍 Simple and elegant - 💡 No silly gimmicks - 👍 Developer stays on task - 💡 Good for outlining screenplays - 🎨 Color coding for turning points - 💡 Responsive to ideas and suggestions **Cons** - 🐛 Needs Apple Pencil support - 🐛 Trial mode doesn't allow saving - 🐛 Limited text formatting options - 🐛 Images don't display adequately - 🐛 Cards are too small - 🐛 Mood board doesn't allow free placement - 🐛 Fixed layouts, not free form placement - 🐛 Primitive text editing - 🐛 Box to edit cards isn't resizable - 🐛 Double-tap zoom out feature interrupts workflow - 🐛 Cannot duplicate boards or cards **Commonly reported bugs** - Trial mode does not allow saving - Images not displaying adequately - Double-tap zoom out feature interrupts text selection **Most requested features** - Tagging individual cards - Apple Pencil support - More keyboard shortcuts - Support for multiple canvases within a single document - More customized options for text formatting, fonts, and colors - Auto update to cloud option - Form of auto version number on save - Dropping small video clips - Templates - Fit to window view - Grab function for moving the board - Linking notes - Basic formatting (Bold, Italics, underline, highlight, color) - Share outline with others for editing - iPhone version - Duplicating boards - Duplicating cards - Disabling double-tap zoom out feature or making it customizable - Adding back previous document type options (Storyboard, Kanban, etc.) ## Newest reviews (13 of 53) ### 5/5 — Immediately Super Useful *2024-11-04, version 1.4.7* Within minutes of first use it was helping me conceptualize more clearly. I didn't hesitate to purchase. One feature I would love that it doesn't have yet would be support for multiple canvases within a single document. ### 5/5 — Perfect in it's simplicity *2024-09-16, version 1.4.7* I really love this app. The simplicity is what drew me to it. A lot of other apps have way too many features and they end up making me feel overwhelmed. I also found the pricing fair at $20. That’s about what a cork board and a couple packs of post it notes would have cost. And the app has the added benifit of taking up no real space. ### 5/5 — import export thanks! *2024-08-05, version 1.4.7* Ive been wishing for this feature and its here. Absolutely loved this app but that was a big flaw for me. But its here, very very cool. ### 5/5 — Exactly what I was looking for for plotting and brainstorming *2024-06-23, version 1.4.3* I have been looking for a nice index card app that lets me move them around on a grid pattern and enter new cards quickly. This is EXACTLY what I needed. A bargain at its price. Thank you so much for this app. ### 5/5 — Suuuuper *2024-05-30, version 1.4.3* This is one of those apps that like, you've kind of hoping someone would make for years and no-one has. Simple, dynamic, clever, works really well and is intuitive to use. Well done :0 ### 5/5 — Fun, Innovative, Cool, Colorful and Creative! *2024-05-19, version 1.4.3* Card Buddy is an addictively easy card oriented writing tool that's a ton of fun to use - and actually inpsires creativity for authors, organizers and entrepreneurs. If you're looking for a great, unique app that's a steal of deal - is innovative and yet easy to use - highly recommended - and glad I stumbled across it! ### 4/5 — Pretty Close to Perfect *2024-05-18, version 1.4.3* I've been looking for an app that would allow to me to lay out index cards in a snap-to grid that would rearrange itself when I moved the cards. This is the only app I could find for Mac! The interface is not quite as streamlined as it could be, but the app works very well and does exactly what I need it to do. Two suggestions: One would be a "fit to window" view, which would keep all my cards stationary on the screen so that I don't have to scroll around to see them all. Another suggestion would be a "grab" function, so that when using a mouse I could grab the board and move it around, without having to use the scroll bars at the side and bottom. Overall, though, this app is worth the very reasonable price! ### 5/5 — Simple and effective *2024-05-13, version 1.4.2* No complicated bells and whistles, very intuitive interface. This does exactly what I want and I didn't have to spend time learning how to use it. five stars ### 5/5 — Perfect Solution! *2024-05-10, version 1.4.2* Card Buddy is the best app I've ever seen for creating fantasy football draft boards. I create cards for each player, color code by position, use Side 2 for details and place them on the grid. When I move one around, the others slide right into position. As an aspiring writer, Card Buddy is great for keeping track of characters and plotlines. It's simple, but that simplicity is what makes it so perfect. Highly recommend for anyone who needs to move their thoughts around. ### 5/5 — Simple, intuitive, user friendly *2024-05-03, version 1.4.2* This is a *great* little app! Very easy to pick up and work with. No feature bloat. Exports easily to attractive PDFs so you can share your plans. ### 5/5 — Very Helpful *2024-04-21, version 1.4.2* I have used several others similar to this and it is overall the most useful and user friendly. I wish I found it earlier. ### 5/5 — Works and simple *2024-04-05, version 1.4.2* I recently came across this and thought I would try to use it for a small book project I am working on in conjunction with a graphic artist. My initial thoughts were ‘hmm not quite what I’m looking for’ BUT as I persevered I realised it’s simple approach really helped clarify my thought processes and highlighted omissions I had made and suddenly I was hooked. It’s quite flexible and easy to use due to its simplicity and great for quick notes/ideas and works well visually. Some thoughts for the future.. It would be convenient to have an ‘auto update to cloud’ option when saving on the iPad to keep the versions in sync. I currently do this manually by copying or moving, but if someone knows a better way I’m all ears. Alternatively some form of auto version number on save would be very useful. Dropping small video clips would be nice if possible too. ### 5/5 — Best carding app! *2024-03-14, version 1.4.1* I use this for screenwriting and it's perfect!! I've not found any other apps that are as clean and intuitive as this. Every other one I tried had annoying features or was cumbersombe and overcomplicated. This closet I've seen an app come to replicating the simple feeling of sticking cards on the wall. Love it. ## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated) ### 1/5 — Trial mode — just, you can’t save *2024-12-18, version 1.4.8* So this is a program to allow you to capture an organize ideas, plans, projects. Stuff you want to capture and not lose. Trial mode could reasonably two weeks so you get to see it works for you and if not, lets you export to text file and turns off. ### 1/5 — Does not work for me *2024-05-06, version 1.4.2* I liked the concept well enough to buy the app, but in actual use, it does not work for me. Windows are not expandable (which I might learn to live with) but within the format of the fixed frame windows, images just don't display adequately at all. Alas a few dollars down the drain to search for a useful card app. ### 1/5 — Do not buy this app. Waste of time & money. *2024-03-18, version 1.4.1* If you are one of those people who likes things to work exactly like you NEED them to work….this isn’t your app. The cards are too small. The mood board doesn’t let you put the cards where YOU want them. I’ve been fighting this app all weekend. Waste of money. This is an expensive app ~ that is basically a dumpster for info. Just drop it in. It’ll get all mushed up together ~ which is NOT the point of buying this app in the first place…..the OLD index card app was much better ~ I was able to write entire books using it. The background color options are blah too. I won’t be using. ### 1/5 — VERY basic *2023-06-18, version 1.1.0* Very primitive text editing. It supports markdown so if you like your text looking like garbage while you're editing it then you may be okay the text formating. Box to edit cards isn't resizable while editing so your stuck with a tiny little area to fill in the card. Limited to fixed layouts. That's not a big deal for me, but if you're expecting to be able to place cards free form, this won't do that. The trial won't let you save and it was clear early on that this app wasn't mature enough to suit my needs to I uninstalled it before even finishing adding one card. ### 2/5 — Great idea, ridiculous cost *2024-06-26, version 1.4.3* Right off the bat I can’t save one? Have to pay $20? Looked promising but I’m good. I don’t see the cross platform functionality that would justify the price. ### 3/5 — Needs Apple Pencil support. *2026-02-19, version 1.4.11* It’s not as useful to me for storyboarding without it. I don’t understand why this is so difficult to add. Going back to Cardflow+ for now until Apple Pencil is supported. ### 3/5 — Any way to share your outline? *2024-01-07, version 1.3.1* App looks very cool. Love what you’ve done. One thing would be great/essential—can I share the outline with other so they can edit? Thanks! ### 3/5 — Unfortunately not really usable without paying $20 *2024-01-01, version 1.3.1* This looks really good - I was excited… But then I discovered that you can’t save what you’re working on—you can’t USE it….until you pay $20. $20 seems too much for an index card app - and one in early development with clearly more functionality needed. (For example, you cannot even format text— fonts or colors or styles! No Apple Pencil support to write or sketch… ) I am sure it is challenging to launch a new app and I wish you the best but I wonder about the decision to not offer a USABLE free version – – even if for a limited time – limiting your audience. I appreciate your not going the abominable subscription route but for comparison Goodnotes - a much richer, deeper app in it’s V6 - is $30 lifetime…. ### 4/5 — Nice *2025-07-06, version 1.4.8* Very nice, very simple. But there is still room for further development without losing it’s valued simplicity! ### 4/5 — so much potential *2024-10-18, version 1.4.7* I have been going crazy looking for a way to organize ideas in a grid for a looooong time. I would like to see more customized options for text formatting, fonts, and colors! ## Most praised reviews (10 highest-rated) ### 5/5 — Exactly What I Needed for a Digital Holiday Index Card Writing Reference System! *2026-05-28, version 1.4.12* I have been trying to create a digital reference system based on the Holiday index card system and there really are not a lot of apps out there designed for that purpose. This works perfectly and the files are localized on my own workstation instead of a cloud based web app I would love to be able to tag individual cards but other than that this is exactly what I needed. ### 5/5 — For Writing - My Go-to *2026-03-16, version 1.4.10* For fiction writing, this has become my go-to, and I’ve tried a bunch of others (Scapple, Scrivener, Final Draft 12, etc). ### 5/5 — Kudos to the creators of this fantastic App! *2026-02-13, version 1.4.10* I've been looking for a simple card app like this for a long time. It's great for plotting a novel and way easier to use then Plottr. Exporting the cards to Mardown or printing them is simple. I highly recommend it to writers. ### 5/5 — Great App! *2026-02-04, version 1.4.10* Card Buddy holds all of the stories that I am currently writing for later publication. I have come to heavily rely on Card Buddy for this purpose and honestly, I can’t see myself using any other MacBook app for this particular purpose. Needless to say, it’s a rather simple app. However, it’s also completely perfect for my specific needs. ### 5/5 — Good buddy *2026-01-13, version 1.4.10* I especially like that I can add images to the cards. It’s simple and easy to use - exactly what I need. Perfect for plot and structure. ### 5/5 — Simple & Robust *2026-01-09, version 1.4.10* A unique and well-thought-out app. The beauty in its design leads you to create without any added friction - there is enough control as well as flexibility, so that you are not spending your time with administrative busy-work. You can simply layout your storylines or information as you see fit, and efficiently adjust those items as required. As soon as I discovered how well this app was put together, I searched Allen's other apps in hopes of finding something that I could use. Brilliant software Allen! Thanks ### 5/5 — Love it! *2025-08-11, version 1.4.8* This is exactly what I have been looking for. So simple to use for structuring my screenwriting. I have also started using it for mood boards and social content releases and such. Highly recommend for the price! ### 5/5 — Simplicity RULES! *2025-04-17, version 1.4.8* I am writing a story and have looked at numerous apps that claim to help with the organization of character development, story outline, plot development, notes, etc. As a privacy advocate I am appalled at how many apps require you to provide the developer with royalty-free rights to not only YOUR content within their app but beyond it so they can sell it and repurpose it as you wish. (I am one of “those” people who read EULAs.). Doesn’t take a genius to figure out that they’re feeding YOUR ideas into AI to generate stories that somehow are remarkably similar to your own. No thanks. Card Buddy is a breath of fresh air, for many reasons. 1. It is not the privacy nightmare that others are. 2. Its simplicity is phenomenal. While it has a few bells and whistles, the simplicity keeps me on track. In very little time I was able to create and organize cards for all my story elements, bringing my project to life. 3. Card Buddy can be used for SO MANY different tasks/projects!! I’m a retired IT business analyst, and I can see this working very eloquently as a fantastic way to keep track of epics, features, and user stories. In the non-work realm Card Buddy could be used to manage so many personal projects - building a family photo archive, renovating a room in the house, keeping track of contractor quotes, house maintenance, financial planning, managing a home business, etc. It took me only 30 minutes of use after I downloaded the free version to upgrade to the paid version. SO worth it! ### 5/5 — Good for screenwriting *2025-01-29, version 1.4.8* Very good simple app for screenwriting structure. Could do with a few more keyboard shortcuts, but just what I needed and no unnecessary stuff. ### 5/5 — Really good and committed to getting better *2024-11-23, version 1.4.8* This is a really solid app, that works across Apple platforms, follows Apple conventions, does most things really well. Do I want more? Yes. But the developer wisely focused on the fundamentals first and has a roadmap of features to add. For $20, well worth it. Support this developer. He knows what he's doing. --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-31.*