# Notepad vs Goodnotes

The clearest difference is ads: Goodnotes at none against Notepad's shown. Goodnotes also leads on update cadence (weekly vs every 3 months) and rating (4.7 vs 4.3). Notepad's advantage is iOS requirement (16.6 vs 18.6). On price, review sentiment, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Notepad sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $1.49 per month and Goodnotes sells 16 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Goodnotes holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Goodnotes has 455K ratings behind it against 64, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 33% and 34% positive.

Notepad ships an update every 3 months, Goodnotes weekly. The most recent releases landed on September 17, 2026 and September 25, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Notepad | Goodnotes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.3 (64 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/notepad-an-organised-notes/id1099400916/reviews) | **[4.7 (455K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/goodnotes-ai-notes-docs-pdf/id1444383602/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 64 | **455K** |
| Positive reviews | 33.3% of reviews | **33.6% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | **Weekly** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | — | **#90** |
| Size | 64 MB | 794 MB |
| Requires iOS | **16.6** | 18.6 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, Mac** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Parth Pandya](https://appshunter.io/developer/1063945331) | [Goodnotes Limited](https://appshunter.io/developer/1708570616) |

## What reviewers say

### Notepad

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/notepad-an-organised-notes/id1099400916)

Securely store and organize your thoughts with advanced features like PIN/biometric locking and an anti-theft system. Convert images to text, sync across devices, and customize your notes with rich formatting and tags. Share, backup, and easily retrieve your important information.

**Highlights:** PIN/Biometric note locking, Anti-theft system with photo capture, OCR for image to text conversion, Cloud sync across devices, Rich text formatting and styling, Tagging and color-coding for organization, Text, photo, and drawing note types

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (5)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1 Month License For Notes App | $1.49 | per month |
| 1 Year License For Notes App | $11.99 | per year |
| Ad Free Notes | $1.99 | one-time |
| 1 Month License | $1.99 | one-time |
| 1 Year License | $9.99 | one-time |


### Goodnotes

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/goodnotes-ai-notes-docs-pdf/id1444383602)

**Currently charting:** #90 Top Grossing · Productivity, #113 Top Free · Productivity (US App Store)

Capture ideas, enhance productivity, and unlock insights with advanced AI features. This app offers tools for professionals, students, and creatives, including infinite whiteboards, AI-powered transcription and summarization, and customizable digital notebooks.

**Highlights:** AI-powered transcription and summarization, Infinite whiteboard canvas, Digital notebooks with customizable templates, Study Sets for flashcards, Presentation mode with laser pointer, Real-time collaboration

**Features:** Family Sharing, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (16)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| AI Pass (Monthly) | $9.99 | per month |
| Goodnotes 6 (1 Year) | $9.99 | per year |
| Essential (Yearly) | $11.99 | per year |
| Essential (Yearly) | $11.99 | per year |
| Goodnotes Pro (Yearly) | $35.99 | per year |
| Bunny Oasis Stickers | Free | one-time |
| Medicine-Academia Sticker Shee | Free | one-time |
| Goodnotes 6 Free Trial | Free | one-time |
| Marketplace Content | $1.99 | one-time |
| Marketplace Content | $6.99 | one-time |
| Marketplace Content | $8.99 | one-time |
| GoodNotes 5 Unlock | $9.99 | one-time |
| Marketplace Content | $9.99 | one-time |
| Marketplace Content | $10.99 | one-time |
| Goodnotes 6 One-Time Payment | $28.99 | one-time |
| Special Edition | $35.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Excellent note-taking experience
- 👍 Intuitive and user-friendly interface
- 🚀 Smooth writing with Apple Pencil
- 📁 Powerful organization with folders and notebooks
- 🖼️ Ability to annotate PDFs and documents

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Glitches and crashes
- 🔍 Syncing and iCloud issues
- 🔍 Lack of flexibility with text input
- 🔍 Limited eraser and highlighting options
- 🔍 Subpar performance on Mac app

**Reported bugs**

- Text box issues - unable to edit, resize, or move properly
- Handwriting recognition problems, especially with cursive
- Unreliable scrolling and page navigation
- Inconsistent behavior when using the zoom feature

**Requested features**

- Add bullet point and formatting options for typed text
- Implement a full-screen writing mode
- Improve the straight line and shape tools
- Integrate audio recording and synchronization
- Allow more customization of the toolbar and interface


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Notepad free?

Notepad is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Goodnotes free?

Goodnotes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Notepad or Goodnotes?

Goodnotes is rated higher. Notepad averages 4.3 out of 5 from 64 ratings, while Goodnotes averages 4.7 from 455K ratings.

### Do Notepad or Goodnotes have ads?

Notepad shows ads; Goodnotes does not.

### Which is updated more often, Notepad or Goodnotes?

Notepad ships an update every 3 months, and Goodnotes weekly. Most recently, Notepad was updated on September 17, 2026 and Goodnotes on September 25, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*