Comparison

Note Board vs BoardNotes

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

Head to head
About

Note Board

Capture quick thoughts and reminders by drawing sticky notes on a virtual cork board or by taking instant photos. Customize your notes with various colors and pen styles for a personalized experience.

Highlights
  • Virtual cork board
  • Sticky note creation
  • Instant photo memos
  • Multiple note colors
  • Various pen styles
  • Eraser tool
Features
Read full description

Note Board is a quick and fun way to handle your notes. Draw sticky notes on a virtual cork board or take an instant photo as a memo. There are multiple colors for the notes and different kind of pens and the eraser.

About

BoardNotes

This app combines whiteboard, notebook, PDF management, mind mapping, and flashcard creation into a single, versatile handwriting note-taking tool. It offers a wide array of pen types, organizational features, and study aids to enhance productivity and learning.

Highlights
  • Handwriting note-taking
  • Integrated whiteboard
  • PDF import and editing
  • Mind mapping functionality
  • Spaced repetition flashcards
  • Multiple pen and brush types
  • Layer management
Features
Read full description

Feature Introduction: BoardNotes is a versatile handwriting note-taking app that integrates five major functions—whiteboard, notebook, PDF, mind map, and flashcards—covering most note-taking scenarios. It serves as your All-In-One App. Handwriting Pen: 1. BoardNotes utilizes Apple's native pen technology and has developed additional pens tailored for Chinese writing, including a fountain pen, a laser pointer for presentations, and a tape pen for masking notes. 2. Choose from a variety of brushes (laser pen, tape pen, ballpoint pen, straight-line pen, wavy-line pen, custom fountain pen, quill pen, pencil, marker, watercolor pen, fill pen, single-line pen, crayon, freehand pen) to unleash your creativity. 3. Lasso tool (extremely powerful). 4. Eraser (pixel eraser and object eraser). Whiteboard: 1. The whiteboard is ideal for organizing fragmented knowledge, brainstorming, and boosting creativity. 2. Write and draw freely without worrying about boundaries. 3. Customize background colors and grid templates. 4. Add various card types (text, image, video, audio, webpage, file, handwriting). 5. Multiple auxiliary tools: background board, pins, link navigation (supports bidirectional links), connectors, timer (countdown supported), calculator. 6. Quickly locate notes using the search function. Notebook & PDF: 1. Create notebooks and PDFs with multiple paper templates and cover options. Import images from Photos or PDFs from the Files app as pages or covers. 2. Add text, images, stickers, videos, webpage snapshots, audio recordings, links (bidirectional links supported), timers, calculators, and floating PDF windows. 3. Layer functionality—show or hide layers as needed. 4. Insert new pages via blank sheets, images, scanned documents, or files. 5. Cut, copy, and paste pages into other notebooks or PDFs. 6. Duplicate, rotate, or delete pages. 7. Reorder pages via long-press and drag in thumbnail view. 8. Create outlines and add bookmarks. 9. Search (text, handwritten notes, etc.). 10. Import e-books (epub, mobi, azw, etc.). Mind Map: 1. Mind mapping is a key feature within the whiteboard. 2. Nodes support multiple formats (text, image, handwriting, video, audio, webpage snapshot, file). 3. Offers 3 structures and 18 color schemes. 4. Add summaries (brackets). 5. Handwritten mind maps (using handwritten cards). 6. Long-press and drag selected cards into the mind map. 7. Reorder nodes or adjust hierarchy via long-press and drag. Flashcard: 1. Flashcards use the SuperMemo algorithm to automatically schedule optimal review intervals, reminding you before forgetting to maximize memory efficiency. 2. Flashcards support text, images, and handwriting. 3. Quickly create cards from notes in whiteboards, notebooks, or PDFs using the rectangular lasso tool. Download BoardNotes for free on iPad, iPhone, and Mac. For suggestions, please contact us via the in-app feedback feature.

Screenshots

Note Board4 screens
BoardNotes4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: BoardNotes at 4.7 against Note Board's 4.0. BoardNotes also leads on update cadence (every 10 days vs every 2 months) and ratings volume (111 vs 5). Note Board's advantage is review sentiment (100% vs 81%) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Note Board sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and BoardNotes sells 23 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

BoardNotes holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: BoardNotes has 111 ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 100% of Note Board's written reviews are positive against 81% of BoardNotes's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Note Board ships an update every 2 months, BoardNotes every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on August 17, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Note Board versus BoardNotes: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNote BoardBoardNotes
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (5 ratings)4.7 (111 ratings) — better
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better81.0% of reviews
Number of ratings5111 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 10 days — better
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better
Requires iOS13.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size16 MB356 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDigital Footmark OyChongqing Ouluowa Technology Co., Ltd.

Customer experience

Note Board

All ratings5 ratings
Positive80.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative20.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

BoardNotes

All ratings111 ratings
Positive94.6%
Neutral1.8%
Negative3.6%
Written reviews42 reviews
Positive81.0%
Neutral4.8%
Negative14.3%

Bugs and requests

Note Board

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

BoardNotes

Reported bugs

16 issues
  • Whiteboards erasing automatically
  • No automatic backup leading to data loss
  • Syncing issues between iPad and Mac
  • Pencil tip not appearing on PDF annotations
  • App crashes frequently
Show 11 more
  • Recording data is lost
  • Cannot create new notebooks
  • Gear icon for settings missing in dark mode
  • Issue with eraser and color selection logic
  • Lasso tool missing cut button after cropping
  • PDF embeds appear blurry
  • Handwriting search not implemented
  • Accidental touches/palm rejection issues
  • Chinese font display issues in markdown
  • App freezes when using search function
  • Software flashes back (crashes)

Requested features

24 requests
  • Sync to Google Drive/other cloud services
  • Faster 'add to cards' function
  • View carded items in sidebar
  • Color coding for pins
  • Image opacity adjustment
Show 19 more
  • Faster image copy from whiteboard
  • Android app version
  • WebDAV function
  • Markdown editing/viewing function
  • Handwriting recognition and search
  • Improve palm rejection/anti-touch
  • Add more brush types (with stroke variation)
  • Search for handwritten text
  • Dark Mode UI
  • More calculator functions (square root, trig identities)
  • In-app browser (ChatGPT, YouTube integration)
  • Easier UI navigation of notebook pages
  • Ability to change existing page formats
  • More in-depth pen fine-tuning
  • Optimize UI, move undo/redo to top right
  • Adjust pressure sensitivity
  • Customizable top toolbar icons
  • Add college rule paper
  • Translate function for papers

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Note Board

One-time1
  • Remove ads$1.99
23 purchases

BoardNotes

One-time23
  • 7 days membership$0.99
  • 5 days membership$0.99
  • Math Formula Recognition$1.99
Show 20 more
  • 1 month membership$1.99
  • Annual Membership$3.99
  • Permanent Unlock All$3.99
  • 6 months membership$3.99
  • 6 months membership (discount)$3.99
  • Permanent Unlock All$4.99
  • Annual Membership$4.99
  • 6 months membership2 variants$4.99
  • Full version Unlock$5.99
  • Annual Membership (discount)$5.99
  • 6 months membership$6.99
  • Permanent Unlock All$6.99
  • Annual Membership2 variants$6.99
  • Spring Festival Discount$6.99
  • Annual Membership$7.99
  • Permanent Unlock All$7.99
  • Permanent Unlock All(discount)$7.99
  • Permanent Unlock All$8.99
  • Permanent Unlock All$9.99
  • Permanent Unlock All$19.99

Questions

Is Note Board free?
Note Board is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is BoardNotes free?
BoardNotes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Note Board or BoardNotes?
BoardNotes is rated higher. Note Board averages 4.0 out of 5 from 5 ratings, while BoardNotes averages 4.7 from 111 ratings.
Do Note Board or BoardNotes have ads?
Both Note Board and BoardNotes show ads.
Which is updated more often, Note Board or BoardNotes?
Note Board ships an update every 2 months, and BoardNotes every 10 days. Most recently, Note Board was updated on August 17, 2026 and BoardNotes on September 23, 2026.

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