Comparison

Notepad vs PaperNotes

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

Head to head
About

Notepad

A user-friendly notepad app for organizing notes with tabs and protecting your privacy with Face ID/Touch ID. It offers iCloud syncing, photo attachments, and easy sharing options.

Highlights
  • Face ID/Touch ID/Passcode app lock
  • iCloud sync across devices
  • Organize notes with customizable tabs
  • Attach photos to notes
  • Share notes to other apps
  • Quick save and reorder functionality
Features
Read full description

Simple yet powerful. A user-friendly notepad app that organizes your notes with tabs. ●Protect Your Privacy ・Lock the app with Face ID / Touch ID / Passcode ・Keep your important notes safe from prying eyes ●Sync Everywhere ・iCloud sync automatically syncs your iPhone & iPad data ・Peace of mind when switching devices ●Organize with Tabs ・Sort notes into tabs like "Work", "Shopping", "Ideas" ・Add and rearrange tabs freely (up to 8 in free version) ●Easy to Use ・Pull down to save - that's it! ・Long press & drag to reorder ・One-tap paste from clipboard ・Long press URLs & phone numbers to open instantly ●Photos Included ・Attach photos to notes for richer memories ●Share Anywhere ・Send to your favorite apps - Messages, Twitter, Email & more ●Perfect for ・Keeping private notes away from others ・Quickly jotting down ideas ・Syncing notes across multiple devices ・Organizing notes by category ・Saving notes with photos

About

PaperNotes

Features
Read full description

A little paper in a digital world. So much happens on a screen. Some thoughts simply need a pen and a blank page. A moment to pause, doodle, and make sense of things. Room for an idea that only takes shape as you write. Paper Notes brings the feeling of handwritten notes together with the possibilities of a digital notebook. Keep writing on paper. Scan your pages and take your thoughts with you on your iPhone or iPad. Your handwriting and drawings stay part of your notes. Your thoughts deserve a home. Your notebook fills up. Ideas spread across pages. Paper Notes gives them a digital home: collected in personal notebooks, searchable, and ready when you need them again. A thought. To be continued. A scanned page is a beginning. Add typed text, keep writing and drawing digitally, or copy recognized words to use elsewhere. Your ideas can keep growing, even when your paper notebook is back at home. Your notebook. Your style. Choose cover colors, paper, and ruling that feel like you. Leaf through your pages and bookmark the ones you want to return to. Make room for thoughts, plans, and memories. With Paper Notes, you can: - Scan paper notes or import them from photos. - Preserve and edit your handwriting and drawings digitally. - Search and copy recognized text. - Add typed text and drawings to your notes. - Customize your notebooks, covers, and paper. - Sync your notebooks across your devices with iCloud. Your next thought begins on paper. With Paper Notes, it stays with you. Terms of Use (EULA) https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Notepad1 screens
PaperNotes4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: PaperNotes at none against Notepad's shown. Notepad's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 26.2). On price, update cadence, in-app purchases 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

Both are free to download. Notepad sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and PaperNotes sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Notepad ships an update every 4 days, PaperNotes every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 11, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Notepad versus PaperNotes: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNotepadPaperNotes
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (3 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews53.6% of reviews—
Number of ratings3 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 4 daysEvery 3 days — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS13.0 — better26.2
Further details — not scored
Size30 MB22 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSeiji HashizumeMark Mueller

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Notepad

One-time1
  • Full Version$2.99
2 purchases

PaperNotes

Subscriptions1
  • PaperNotes Pro Monthly7 Days trial$0.991 Month
One-time1
  • PaperNotes Lifetime$4.99

Questions

Is Notepad free?
Notepad is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is PaperNotes free?
PaperNotes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Notepad or PaperNotes have ads?
Notepad shows ads; PaperNotes does not.
Which is updated more often, Notepad or PaperNotes?
Notepad ships an update every 4 days, and PaperNotes every 3 days. Most recently, Notepad was updated on October 21, 2026 and PaperNotes on October 11, 2026.

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