Comparison

Note Always vs MapNote2

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

Head to head
About

Note Always

A dedicated notebook app optimized for Apple Pencil, offering a smooth writing experience and intuitive editing tools. Effortlessly organize thoughts, draft ideas, and modify content without switching tools.

Highlights
  • Outstanding writing feel
  • Circle, grab, and move content
  • Intuitive modification (erase, undo)
  • Diagram creation
  • Photo editing
  • Drag and drop to other apps
Read full description

“Write smoothly. Correct intuitively.” Note Always is a dedicated notebook app for Apple Pencil. - Outstanding feel The fastest response. Realistic, smooth renderings of blurring and blotching. Because this app is just for the Apple Pencil, we were able to achieve this outstanding feel. - Circle, grab and move All it takes is enclosing the part you wish to move in a circle and move the hand icon. Color, width, and the size are also adjustable. - Smooth modification Erase with your finger, undo by tapping with two fingers, and “circle and move”. Without switching tools, perform “erase, undo, and modify” intuitively. Draft your thoughts. Sort out and elaborate drafts. In order to support the repeated process of think, write, and re-write, the product is made to pursue the pleasant ease of write and stress-free modification. Perfect for sorting ideas, drafting presentation or manuscript, self-brainstorming. For research, travel journaling, and schedule management. Main Features Stickies Intuitive stickies “writing with a pen and move with your finger” Free sorting is the most suitable for sorting out ideas and thoughts. Diagrammatization Straight line, square and circle can be modified beautifully without losing the handwritten style. Tip of the pen can be pushed in strongly, too. Edit photos Clipping and applying a retrospective filter, Shading gridlines. Casually making it look slightly stylish. Drag & drop Enclose and push with your finger to drop into another app as is! Easy linkage even with a part of a page in a notebook. Other features include zooming, Split View, rearranging pages, exporting to PDF, and saving on the iCloud. Note Always was created specifically for the Apple Pencil. You can use the app without one, but your writing will be much less smooth and responsive. We ask for your understanding.

About

MapNote2

This app offers an infinitely expanding canvas for capturing and organizing thoughts. It's designed to mimic the natural, radial way the brain generates ideas, moving beyond linear note-taking. Ideal for brainstorming, mind mapping, and sketching out concepts.

Highlights
  • Infinite canvas for idea spreading
  • Radial thinking support
  • Mind mapping
  • Brainstorming tool
  • Idea sketching
Features
Read full description

Using MapNote, you can spread your ideas anywhere on an infinitely spread canvas. I think the way the brain works when thinking about ideas is random and radial 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 spread your ideas from the center of the page, so you can come up with ideas more naturally. Ideal for creating rough mind maps, brainstorming and idea sketches.

Screenshots

MapNote24 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: MapNote2 at $5.99 against Note Always's $14.99. MapNote2 also leads on rating (4.1 vs 3.9) and device support (3 vs 1). Note Always's advantage is update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 6 months) and review sentiment (68% vs 45%). On ratings volume, ads, in-app purchases and iOS requirement 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

Note Always costs $14.99 and MapNote2 $5.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

MapNote2 holds the better App Store score, 4.1 against 3.9. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 27 and 36 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 68% of Note Always's written reviews are positive against 45% of MapNote2's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Note Always ships an update every 2 weeks, MapNote2 every 6 months. The most recent releases landed on June 10, 2026 and September 16, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Note Always versus MapNote2: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNote AlwaysMapNote2
Price$14.99$5.99 — better
Rating3.9 (27 ratings)4.1 (36 ratings) — better
Positive reviews68.4% of reviews — better45.2% of reviews
Number of ratings2736 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterEvery 6 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterPaid
DevicesiPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS11.011.0
Further details — not scored
Size36 MB153 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAlways Sunny Ltd.Naoya Enokida

Customer experience

Note Always

All ratings26 ratings
Positive73.1%
Neutral3.8%
Negative23.1%
Written reviews38 reviews
Positive68.4%
Neutral10.5%
Negative21.1%

MapNote2

All ratings36 ratings
Positive75.0%
Neutral8.3%
Negative16.7%
Written reviews104 reviews
Positive45.2%
Neutral18.3%
Negative36.5%

In-app purchases

None

Note Always

No in-app purchases

None

MapNote2

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Note Always free?
Note Always costs $14.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is MapNote2 free?
MapNote2 costs $5.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Note Always or MapNote2?
MapNote2 is rated higher. Note Always averages 3.9 out of 5 from 27 ratings, while MapNote2 averages 4.1 from 36 ratings.
Do Note Always or MapNote2 have ads?
Neither Note Always nor MapNote2 shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Note Always or MapNote2?
Note Always ships an update every 2 weeks, and MapNote2 every 6 months. Most recently, Note Always was updated on June 10, 2026 and MapNote2 on September 16, 2026.

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