UpNote vs Kantan Scan
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
UpNote
This app provides a clean and beautiful interface for writing and organizing notes, journals, and to-do lists. It offers rich formatting options, an intuitive organization system, and instant syncing across devices, with offline capabilities. Premium features include enhanced security and export options.
- Rich text editor with formatting tools
- Intuitive organizing system (notebooks, pins, links)
- Secure note locking with Touch/Face ID
- Instant cross-device syncing and offline access
- Markdown support and export
- Task management and to-do lists
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UpNote is a clean and beautiful app for writing and organizing. It's easy to use with rich features and delightful experience. UpNote is designed to help you take notes easily and stay focused on what matters most. UpNote has beautiful fonts and elegant themes that you can adjust to make your writing experience most comfortable and pleasant. UpNote is an ideal place to keep your diary and journal. It has a powerful lock feature so that you can rest assured that your notes stay private and secure. You can also use Touch ID or Face ID to securely unlock your notes. UpNote’s intuitive organizing system will keep your note space neat and light. There are many ways to organize your notes: putting them into notebooks, pinning your notes to the top of the note list, bookmarking them for quick reference or linking to other notes. You can also close any notebooks to focus on only most important one. UpNote’s rich editor makes it perfect for planning and managing your tasks. Simply write down your to-do list and have them synced to all your devices. UpNote offers highlight, text colors, table, nested list, code and many other important formatting tools so that you could easily format your notes. UpNote syncs notes instantly on all devices. It also works reliably offline, so you could take note anytime, anywhere. If you are a markdown user, UpNote is great for you too. It has intuitive shortcuts based on markdown, which makes it more fun to write notes. You can also export your notes to Markdown or PDF. Try UpNote now and you will fall in love with it! ---- Upgrade to Premium to get full power of UpNote: - Lock your notes and notebooks - Insert table and attachments - Write unlimited number of notes - Elegant themes and notebook covers - Export to text PDF, HTML and Markdown ---- Price may vary by location. Subscriptions will be charged to your credit card through your iTunes account. Your subscription will automatically renew unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You will not be able to cancel the subscription once activated. Manage your subscriptions in Account Settings after purchase. Any unused portion of a free trial period will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription. ---- If you have any question or feedback, we would love to hear it. Send an email to support@getupnote.com, and we would love to get in touch with you! ---- Privacy policy: https://getupnote.com/privacy.html Terms of use: https://getupnote.com/terms.html
Kantan Scan
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Point your camera at paper and it becomes a straight, clean PDF. Edges are found and the page straightened. Add what you need, then send it. No ads, no account. SCAN PAPER INTO PDF - Edges are found as you point the camera - Adjust the four corners with your finger - Documents are named from the biggest text on the page - Capture as many pages as you like, in one PDF - Import from your camera roll, in the order you pick - Open PDFs from Mail, messaging apps or AirDrop PUT SEVERAL PHOTOS ON ONE SHEET - Divide an A4 sheet into 1 to 10 places, either way up - Drag each photo where you want; pinch to resize - Align: back to grid, left, right, centre, top, bottom, evenly - Nothing is cropped, so no edge is lost - Soften a photo's edge to blend it into the page - Tap a photo three times to take it off; undo brings it back - The sheet is an ordinary document: export it as PDF or JPEG - Rearrange it later; your notes stay put MARK IT UP - Place text; change the typeface, colour and size - Over sixty symbols: arrows, shapes, numbers and marks - A draggable arrow links two places on the page - Add stickers made from your own photos - Highlight a line; the text underneath stays readable - Draw over anything you would rather not show - Drag to move, pull a corner to resize, turn to any angle - Put the tools in the order you use them; hide the rows you do not need Nothing is burned in. Move or remove it any time. WRITE ON A BLANK PAGE - Add an empty sheet from Add, then Blank page - Every markup tool works on it, as on a scanned page READ THE TEXT OFF THE PAGE - Tap Read text and the words are lifted off that page - Correct anything that came out wrong, right there SIGN IT - Sign with your finger; the stroke follows your hand - Or type your name and pick a style - One you make once is kept, ready to place again MAKE A QR CODE - Type a URL and you have a QR code SORT INTO FOLDERS - Group documents into folders, kept behind one button - Put folders inside folders, as deep as you like - Press and hold a document, then drop it on a folder - Send a whole folder as one ZIP LOCK WHAT IS PRIVATE - Lock a folder or a single document - Opening it asks for Face ID, Touch ID or a passcode - Leaving the app locks them again It uses the Face ID and passcode already on your iPhone. ORGANIZE PAGES - Reorder, rotate, delete or add pages later - Adjust a page's corners as often as you like - The photo as taken is kept, so you can widen it again - Duplicate a document, or split one into single pages - Search by name or by the words printed on the page, folders included SEND AND KEEP - Preview exactly what goes out, before you send - Export as PDF or JPEG - Put a password on a PDF, asked for when it is opened - Check the size first, so you know it fits in an email - Share by Mail, messaging apps, AirDrop - Print to an AirPrint printer - Save to Files or to Photos EASY TO LIVE WITH - Undo and redo, or shake to step back - Deleted documents wait 30 days in the trash, so a slip is never final - Back everything up to one file; load it on your next phone - Sort the list by newest, oldest or name - Put Scan on your Home Screen and go straight to the camera - Pick the look on the first screen: black and white, colour or sepia - Flip a mirrored photo, page or sticker - Switch between Japanese and English - A built-in manual you can enlarge and print - Quiet music while you read it; mute any time PRIVATE BY DESIGN - Everything you scan stays on your device - No networking code at all, so nothing can leave - Text recognition runs on your device too - No ads, no account, no subscription GOOD FOR - Turning paper you were handed into PDF - Using words off a page without retyping - Signing a document and sending it back - Keeping something private out of sight - Finding a filed document by a word printed on it - Holding a backup before anything happens to the phone - Putting a few receipts on one page
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: UpNote at Free against Kantan Scan's $1.99. UpNote also leads on iOS requirement (15.6 vs 17.0). Kantan Scan's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 8). On update cadence, ads 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
UpNote is free to download; Kantan Scan costs $1.99 up front. UpNote sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Kantan Scan asks for nothing beyond the download.
UpNote ships an update weekly, Kantan Scan every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | UpNote | Kantan Scan |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $1.99 |
| Rating | 4.7 (1.1K ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 85.9% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 1.1K — better | — |
| Update frequency | Weekly | Every 4 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Freemium | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 81 MB | 9 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | UpNote Company Limited | NOBUHIRO MIYARA |
Bugs and requests
UpNote
Reported bugs
4 issues- Black screen issues
- Lost notes and data
- Incompatibility with newer iOS versions
- Google sign-in not working
Requested features
8 requests- Reminders and calendar integration
- More customization options (fonts, colors, etc.)
- Improved drawing/handwriting support
- PDF annotation and embedding
- Optical character recognition (OCR)
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- Ability to reorder bullets and lists
- Improved table editing and formatting
- Apple Watch app
Kantan Scan
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
UpNote
- Premium monthly subscription$1.991 Month
- Life-time Upgrade$19.99
- Life-time Upgrade to Premium$19.99
- Life-time Upgrade$24.99
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- Life-time Upgrade to Premium$24.99
- Life-time Upgrade$29.99
- Life-time upgrade to Premium$34.99
- Life-time upgrade to Premium$39.99
Kantan Scan
No in-app purchases









