Comparison

CamScanner HD vs Notes Writer

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

Head to head
About

CamScanner HD

Digitize, store, and share documents from your mobile device. Optimize scan quality, extract text with OCR, and collaborate with others. Secure your important files with passwords and sync them across multiple platforms.

Highlights
  • Digitize documents with iPad camera
  • Optimize scan quality with smart cropping
  • Extract text from images using OCR
  • Share documents as PDF/JPEG
  • Print via AirPrint and fax internationally
  • Collaborate on documents with others
  • Secure documents with passcodes
Features
Read full description

The world’s No. 1 mobile document scanning and sharing today! * Installed on over 60 million devices in over 200 countries around the world * Over 50,000 new registrations per day * CamScanner, 50 Best iPhone Apps, 2013 Edition – TIME * App Store 2011/2012 Rewind Top Productivity App * “The application employs its own image cropping and enhancing algorithm that leads to clearer images.” – Makeuseof.com * “CamScanner may just be the best deal for scanning documents on your iPhone.” – CNET.com CamScanner helps you scan, store, sync and collaborate on various contents across smartphones, iPads, tablets and computers. Features: *Quickly Digitize Document Just use your iPad camera to scan and digitize all kinds of paper documents: receipts, notes, invoices, whiteboard discussions, business cards, certificates, etc. *Optimize Scan Quality Smart cropping and auto enhancing ensures the texts and graphics in scanned documents are clear and sharp with premium colors and resolutions. *Extract Texts from Image OCR (optical character recognition) feature recognizes texts in document images and extract them from images for later searching, editing or sharing. (Paid app only) *Share PDF/JPEG Files Easily share documents in PDF or JPEG format with friends via various ways: post on social media, send attachment or document download link through email. *AirPrint & Fax Documents Instantly print out any documents in CamScanner with nearby printer via AirPrint; directly select document and fax to over 30 countries from the app. *Collaborate on Documents Want to get feedback on your documents? Invite friends or colleagues to collaborate on documents. They can view, comment and exchange ideas on documents in groups. (Registrants only) *Advanced Document Editing Make annotations on documents with a full set of editing tools. Also adding customized watermarks are made available to mark your own documents. *Quick Search When you have plenty of documents, you can use Tags to categorize and easily find them. In addition, OCR for Search helps you find texts inside image and notes. Just enter one keyword, you can quickly find the document you want. *Secure Important Documents If you want to protect confidential contents, you can set passcode for viewing important documents; also, while sending document download link, you can set password to protect others from seeing it. *Sync across Platforms Sign up to sync documents on the go. Just sign in to any smartphone, tablet or computer (visit CamScanner website) you own and you can view, edit and share any document. (Registrants only) Premium Subscription Service: 1. Edit OCR results and notes of the entire doc, exporting as .txt file 2. Add 10G cloud space 3. Add 40 extra collaborators 4. Send doc link with password protection and expiration date 5. Batch download PDF files in web app 6. Everything benefit registrants enjoys 7. Everything paid app offers Payment models for Premium subscription: -$ 4.99/month -$49.99/year Please note the subscription is automatically renewed within 24-hours prior to the end of the period unless you choose to cancel the subscription. Subscriptions may be managed by going to your iTunes Account Settings after purchase.  For Privacy Policy, please visit http://s.intsig.net/r/terms/PP_CamScanner_en-us.html CamScanner users scan and manage * Bill, Invoice, Contract, Tax Roll, Business Card… * Whiteboard, Memo, Script, Letter… * Blackboard, Note, PPT, Book, Article… * Credential, Certificate, Identity Documents… 3rd Party Cloud Storage Services Supported: -Box.com, Google Drive, Evernote, Dropbox, Check out other INTSIG’s products: CamCard - Business Card Reader CamDictionary - Snap Translator We’d love to hear your feedback: isupport@intsig.com Follow us on Twitter: @CamScanner Like us on Facebook: CamScanner Follow us on Google+: CamScanner

About

Notes Writer

This app is a comprehensive note-taking and PDF editing solution for mobile devices. It allows users to write, format, and organize notes, annotate PDFs, fill forms, and scan documents. The app offers advanced editing tools, powerful search, and seamless sharing and export options.

Highlights
  • Write and format notes
  • Annotate PDFs and fill forms
  • Organize with unlimited notebooks
  • Powerful full-text search
  • Document scanning
  • Sync with cloud services
  • Export to multiple formats
Features
Read full description

Every note. Every format. Unlimited Digital Notebooks. Like paper, but better. Take lecture notes, prepare for exams and develop your research. Bring the same tools to manuscripts, interviews, lesson plans, meetings and creative projects. Notes Writer keeps your work together on iPad, iPhone and compatible Apple silicon Macs. Designed for students and anyone who wants to learn, create and stay organized—including teachers, writers, journalists, doctors, architects, illustrators, mathematicians, researchers and business professionals. WRITE & CAPTURE • Handwriting, sketching & painting Take handwritten notes with Apple Pencil, type a document or explore a concept through drawing. Use dedicated sketching, watercolor and oil painting tools for illustrations and creative work. • PDF annotation Review lecture slides, medical literature and professional reports. Highlight PDFs, add comments, images and shapes, fill forms and sign documents. Keep your annotations beside the source material. • Recording & transcription Record lectures, business meetings and interviews, transcribe the audio and search the transcript for the detail you need. Add recordings to PDF notes and whiteboards, then listen back at your own pace. STUDY & RESEARCH • Courses, manuscripts & research projects Choose an optional project tree to arrange topics, sources and drafts in a Study Project. Use the Binder for structure, the Corkboard to plan sections and compilation to assemble a document or ebook. • Whiteboards, diagrams & outlines Create whiteboards with notes, images, recordings and tables. Build flowcharts and diagrams to explain a process, compare findings or plan a lesson or project. Use Outline Notes when your ideas need a hierarchy. • Flashcards & review Create flashcards with text, handwriting and images, or generate them from notes and PDFs with optional AI tools. Review with spaced repetition, answer by typing or speaking, and track your progress. MATH & SCIENCE • Calculations, Python & charts Math Notebooks combine written reasoning, symbolic calculations and Python cells. Plot results, explore a model and present your data in editable Chart documents. • LaTeX & technical PDFs Write technical papers in LaTeX and compile them to PDF with a preview of the result. For plans and technical drawings, set a scale and measure distances, perimeters and areas directly on the PDF. ORGANIZE & SHARE • Notebooks, folders & templates Create and customize folders, subfolders and notebooks. Choose names, covers and paper templates that suit each course or project. Scan handouts, search your collection and manage documents with sorting, moving and grouping tools. • Documents side by side Open documents in tabs and work with your reading and draft side by side. Create a study planner, lesson plan, research journal or manuscript within the same library. • Formats for your work Work across PDF, Microsoft Word (DOCX), EPUB, RTF, Markdown, plain text (TXT), HTML, LaTeX and OPML outlines. Edit formatted documents, read ebooks and export supported documents as PDF, DOCX, RTF, HTML or EPUB. Export options vary by document type. • Sync, backup & privacy Sync with iCloud and work with Dropbox and Google Drive files through the Files app, with changes synced by your provider. Set up automatic document backups, use autosave and recovery, and protect the app and folders with a passcode. OPTIONAL AI ASSISTANT Ask questions about your notes and documents, simplify an explanation, summarize a reading or refine your writing. Use translation, grammar and tone tools when they help. Review every suggestion and decide what belongs in your work. Start a notebook. Study, create and work your way. Privacy Policy http://www.noteswriter.com/Kairoos_Privacy_Policy.html Terms of Use https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Notes Writer4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Notes Writer at 4.5 against CamScanner HD's 3.0. Notes Writer also leads on ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (7.3K vs 68). CamScanner HD's advantage is iOS requirement (12.0 vs 26.0). On price, in-app purchases, monetization model 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. CamScanner HD sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Notes Writer sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Notes Writer holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Notes Writer has 7.3K ratings behind it against 68, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 29% of CamScanner HD's written reviews are positive against 45% of Notes Writer's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

CamScanner HD ships an update every 3 weeks, Notes Writer every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
CamScanner HD versus Notes Writer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCamScanner HDNotes Writer
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.0 (68 ratings)4.5 (7.3K ratings) — better
Positive reviews29.2% of reviews45.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings687.3K — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 4 days — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPadiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS12.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size65 MB660 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLinguan DataKairoos Solutions SL

Customer experience

CamScanner HD

All ratings65 ratings
Positive46.2%
Neutral7.7%
Negative46.2%
Written reviews240 reviews
Positive29.2%
Neutral9.2%
Negative61.7%

Notes Writer

All ratings7,332 ratings
Positive86.8%
Neutral5.1%
Negative8.1%
Written reviews963 reviews
Positive45.0%
Neutral15.1%
Negative40.0%

Bugs and requests

CamScanner HD

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Notes Writer

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Notes randomly disappearing or getting corrupted
  • Inability to recover deleted documents
  • Unexpected behavior when adding/deleting pages
  • Syncing issues and broken links between documents

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add more brushes and pen customization options
  • Improve the clipping/selection tool
  • Implement OCR and handwriting search
  • Provide a Mac version

In-app purchases

4 purchases

CamScanner HD

Subscriptions2
  • CamScanner Premium$4.991 Month
  • CamScanner Premium$49.991 Year
One-time2
  • One-page Fax$0.99
  • Ten-page Fax$8.99
8 purchases

Notes Writer

Subscriptions3
  • Weekly$1.997 Days
  • Notes Writer Unlock All and AI3 Days trial$3.991 Month
  • Notes Writer Unlock All and AI3 Days trial$14.991 Year
One-time5
  • Full Version Unlock Pro$3.99
  • Full Version Unlock Pro$4.99
  • Full Version Unlock Pro2 variants$5.99
Show 2 more
  • Full Version Unlock Pro$6.99
  • Lifetime Pro Full Unlock$14.99

Questions

Is CamScanner HD free?
CamScanner HD is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Notes Writer free?
Notes Writer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, CamScanner HD or Notes Writer?
Notes Writer is rated higher. CamScanner HD averages 3.0 out of 5 from 68 ratings, while Notes Writer averages 4.5 from 7.3K ratings.
Do CamScanner HD or Notes Writer have ads?
CamScanner HD shows ads; Notes Writer does not.
Which is updated more often, CamScanner HD or Notes Writer?
CamScanner HD ships an update every 3 weeks, and Notes Writer every 4 days. Most recently, CamScanner HD was updated on October 29, 2026 and Notes Writer on November 3, 2026.

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