Paintwork vs OrigNotes
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Paintwork
Create handwritten notes, diaries, and drawings with a vast array of tools. Features include customizable brushes, vector graphics, a rich color palette, and image import. Export your creations as PDFs or images.
- Customizable brushes and erasers
- Extensive vector graphics tools
- Rich color palette
- Image and material import
- Handwriting assistance
- PDF and image export
- Customizable backgrounds and canvas
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Paintwork is a simple and powerful software for handwritten notebooks, diaries, and hand drawn images. It includes functions such as: brush list (hundreds of brush effects, customizable brush thickness, color, transparency, dynamic strength weights, etc.), eraser list (each brush effect can be used as an eraser), Vector graphics tools (including lasso, vector eraser, vector pen, annotation pen, highlighter, wavy pen, double line pen, text box, illustration, dashed line, horizontal and vertical dashed line, curve, closed shape, text pen, rectangle, ellipse, straight line, arrow, triangle, pentagram, polygon, etc.), and also include many related attribute settings, Color list (with a rich color palette and customizable manual configuration of commonly used colors), copy and cut the content of specified areas on the page, import images or materials, as well as a simple calculator, handwriting assistance, and photo scanning of document files. Unlimited writing, ruler, recognition of text, printing of text, filling, and the ability to export PDF files or images. Supports custom background functionality, custom canvas paper, and more. It can be used to write for classroom or book learning notes, handwritten notes for work meetings, hand drawn mind maps, hand drawn account creation, hand made account book making, writing diaries, recording life thoughts, calligraphy practice, handwritten brush and pencil characters, hand drawn artistic characters, and so on. Supports Apple pencil. Can export images or PDFs. If you have any comments or feedback, please feel free to contact us. Contact email: pw_team@163.com If you like our application, please give us a good review. Thank you.
OrigNotes
Create, organize, and manage high-quality handwritten notes with ease. Supports handwriting, drawing, image insertion, and PDF annotation. Stay organized and productive for study, work, or daily ideas.
- Handwritten notes and drawing
- Image insertion and PDF annotation
- Organize and search documents
- Customizable note covers and paper styles
- Palm rejection and writing settings
- Variety of brushes and tools
- Cloud sync support
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OrigNotes is a powerful, free digital note-taking app built for iPad and iPhone. Whether you're taking handwritten notes, annotating PDFs, organizing ideas with mind maps, or capturing inspiration with images, audio, and video, OrigNotes gives you the tools to keep everything in one place. Write naturally with Apple Pencil, convert handwriting into editable text, search through your notes, and customize your workspace to fit the way you think and work. OrigNotes is free to use, and we're committed to keeping it that way. If you're enjoying OrigNotes, we'd greatly appreciate a 5-star review. Your support helps us continue improving the app and building new features for everyone. Have an idea or feature request? Leave us a review or contact us directly through the app. You can also check our Future Plans inside OrigNotes to see what we're working on and follow the progress of upcoming features. KEY FEATURES • Handwriting & Drawing Enjoy a natural writing experience with a variety of pens, brushes, and creative tools designed for Apple Pencil. • PDF Reading & Annotation Import PDFs to read, highlight, annotate, draw, and take notes directly on your documents. • Mind Maps Create mind maps to organize ideas, study topics, and brainstorm visually. Add topics and subtopics, drag and rearrange nodes, and customize your mind map to fit your ideas. • Handwriting to Text Turn handwritten notes into editable text for easier editing, organizing, and reuse. • Powerful Search Find information faster by searching handwritten notes and text inside PDFs. • Images, GIFs, Audio & Video Bring your notes to life with images, animated GIFs, audio, and video—all within your notebook. • Personalized Notebooks Customize covers, paper templates, and themes to create a workspace that feels like your own. • Custom Toolbar & Tool Box Arrange your favorite tools around the way you work and keep the ones you use most within easy reach. • Smooth Writing Experience Optimized handwriting, palm rejection, and Apple Pencil interactions help writing feel smooth, responsive, and natural. • Easy Organization Organize and sort your documents, bookmark important pages, and quickly get back to the content you need. • Data Protection & Backup Multiple backup options and improved data protection help keep your important notes safe. • Cloud Backup Back up your notebooks to cloud storage for easier long-term storage and management. MADE FOR THE WAY YOU TAKE NOTES From class notes and study materials to work documents, PDF annotation, brainstorming, and everyday ideas, OrigNotes gives you a flexible space to capture, organize, and develop your thoughts. Simple when you need it. Powerful when you need more. Write. Think. Create. Organize. All in OrigNotes.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: OrigNotes at none against Paintwork's 3. OrigNotes also leads on review sentiment (84% vs 65%). Paintwork's advantage is ratings volume (17K vs 313). On price, rating, update cadence and ads 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
Both are free to download. Paintwork sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. OrigNotes asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Paintwork against 4.7 for OrigNotes. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Paintwork has 17K ratings behind it against 313, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 65% of Paintwork's written reviews are positive against 84% of OrigNotes's.
Paintwork ships an update weekly, OrigNotes every 11 days. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Paintwork | OrigNotes |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (17K ratings) | 4.7 (313 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 65.4% of reviews | 83.6% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 17K — better | 313 |
| Update frequency | Weekly — better | Every 11 days |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 14.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 200 MB | 96 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | 伟典 苏 | Hangzhou Future Writing Technology Co.,LTD. |
Customer experience
Paintwork
OrigNotes
Bugs and requests
Paintwork
Reported bugs
3 issues- App freezing or crashing when using certain features
- Artwork getting deleted or not saving properly
- Inability to import or work with external images
Requested features
4 requests- Add more color options and blending tools
- Improve stability and reduce crashes
- Provide more tutorials and onboarding for new users
- Allow users to save and access their artwork easily
OrigNotes
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Paintwork
- Monthly subscription premium$0.991 Month
- Annual subscription premium$3.991 Year
- Unlock local version$9.99
OrigNotes
No in-app purchases









