Comparison

Map Note vs Element Note

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Map Note

Organize your thoughts on an infinitely expanding canvas. This app is designed for non-linear thinking, allowing you to freely expand ideas radially for brainstorming and mind mapping.

Highlights
  • Infinitely expanding canvas
  • Radial idea expansion
  • Mind mapping
  • Brainstorming
  • Idea sketching
  • Non-linear note-taking
Features
Read full description

Using map notes, you can spread your ideas anywhere on an infinitely spread canvas. I think the brain's work when considering ideas is a random and radial working image rather than linear. Traditional notes that need to be written sequentially from left to right are not very suitable for this process. If you use this infinite size notebook application, you can freely expand ideas from the center of the page, so you can make ideas more natural. Ideal for creating rough mind maps, brainstorming and idea sketches. * Please check out MapNote 2 that can add images, add folders, and sync with iCloud.

About

Element Note

This app offers a distraction-free digital notebook experience with advanced handwriting, PDF annotation, and sketching capabilities. It features unique brushes, a powerful rendering engine, and smart organization tools. Sync your notes across devices and collaborate with others seamlessly.

Highlights
  • Unique handwriting brushes
  • Smooth drawing engine
  • PDF annotation
  • Text, shape, and image attachments
  • On-device OCR search
  • Smart dark mode
  • iCloud sync and collaboration
Features
Read full description

Element Note is the next-gen note taking, PDF annotation, and light sketching app. We stripped down the unnecessaries and carefully polished the elemental functions for a digital notebook. With a modern look and powerful features, Element Note strives to provide an elegant writing space free of distractions. Features: Unique brushes - Pencil (HB Pencil, Mechanical Pencil) - Pen (Pen, Line Pen, Fountain Pen) - Brush (Art Brush, Round Brush) - Marker (Marker, Round Marker) Best-in-class note rendering engine - Smooth and fluid drawing powered by Metal technology - Support gradient ink for more expressive notes Powerful attachments - Text - Shape - Sticker - Image Universal Search - Search through your PDF & Handwritting using on device OCR Smart Darkmode - Smartly adapts all of your notes to the system darkmode without changing the paper or stroke colors. iCloud Sync & Collaboration - Sync via your personal iCloud (No data is passed to our server) - Collaborate through iCloud collaboration for up to 100 users. Desktop class organization - Intuitive multi-select drag and drop gesture to organize your notes or pages Element Note is free to try for up to 3 notes. Unlock the full app with an in app purchase to create unlimited notes. Terms and Conditions https://elementnote.app/terms Privacy Policy https://elementnote.app/privacy

Screenshots

Map Note3 screens
Element Note4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Element Note at Free against Map Note's $2.99. Element Note also leads on ratings volume (2.6K vs 69) and review sentiment (69% vs 56%). Map Note's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 5) and iOS requirement (8.0 vs 17.0). On rating, update cadence, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Element Note is free to download; Map Note costs $2.99 up front. Element Note sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $3.49 per year. Map Note asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.5 for Map Note against 4.6 for Element Note. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Element Note has 2.6K ratings behind it against 69, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 56% of Map Note's written reviews are positive against 69% of Element Note's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Map Note ships an update every 4 weeks, Element Note fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Map Note versus Element Note: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMap NoteElement Note
Price$2.99Free — better
Rating4.5 (69 ratings)4.6 (2.6K ratings) — better
Positive reviews56.1% of reviews68.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings692.6K — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 weeksFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS8.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size7 MB129 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNaoya EnokidaSoysauce Lab

Customer experience

Map Note

All ratings69 ratings
Positive84.1%
Neutral7.2%
Negative8.7%
Written reviews82 reviews
Positive56.1%
Neutral15.9%
Negative28.0%

Element Note

All ratings2,591 ratings
Positive90.5%
Neutral4.1%
Negative5.4%
Written reviews340 reviews
Positive68.5%
Neutral11.8%
Negative19.7%

Bugs and requests

Map Note

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Element Note

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Notes and files randomly disappearing
  • Inconsistent behavior when using the floating keyboard
  • Handwriting recognition not working as expected
  • Exported PDFs losing formatting and background colors

Requested features

6 requests
  • Ruler tool
  • Ability to resize/rotate selections
  • Improved text editing and formatting
  • Presentation mode for connecting to displays
  • Ability to import/export multiple files at once
Show 1 more
  • Seasonal or custom sticker packs

In-app purchases

None

Map Note

No in-app purchases

5 purchases

Element Note

Subscriptions2
  • Element Note Yearly$3.491 Year
  • Element Note Yearly$4.991 Year
One-time3
  • Lifetime Launch Special$4.99
  • Lifetime$9.99
  • Lifetime$14.99

Questions

Is Map Note free?
Map Note costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Element Note free?
Element Note is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Map Note or Element Note?
Element Note is rated higher. Map Note averages 4.5 out of 5 from 69 ratings, while Element Note averages 4.6 from 2.6K ratings.
Do Map Note or Element Note have ads?
Neither Map Note nor Element Note shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Map Note or Element Note?
Map Note ships an update every 4 weeks, and Element Note fortnightly. Most recently, Map Note was updated on October 20, 2026 and Element Note on October 21, 2026.

Other comparisons