# UpNote vs Kantan Scan

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.

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.

## The numbers

| Metric | UpNote | Kantan Scan |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | **Free** | $1.99 |
| Rating | **[4.7 (1.1K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/upnote-notes-diary-journal/id1389634515/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **1.1K** | — |
| Positive reviews | 85.9% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Weekly | **Every 4 days** |
| Monetization | Freemium | — |
| Size | 81 MB | 9 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.6** | 17.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [UpNote Company Limited](https://appshunter.io/developer/1347759263) | [NOBUHIRO MIYARA](https://appshunter.io/developer/6789900018) |

## What reviewers say

### UpNote

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/upnote-notes-diary-journal/id1389634515)

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.

**Highlights:** 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

**Features:** Family Sharing, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (8)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Premium monthly subscription | $1.99 | per month |
| Life-time Upgrade | $19.99 | one-time |
| Life-time Upgrade to Premium | $19.99 | one-time |
| Life-time Upgrade | $24.99 | one-time |
| Life-time Upgrade to Premium | $24.99 | one-time |
| Life-time Upgrade | $29.99 | one-time |
| Life-time upgrade to Premium | $34.99 | one-time |
| Life-time upgrade to Premium | $39.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Seamless syncing across devices
- 🚀 Fast and responsive
- 💡 Nested notebooks and tags for organization
- 👍 Clean and intuitive interface
- 💡 Lifetime premium option

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Occasional bugs and crashes
- 🐛 Issues with image/attachment handling
- 🐛 Formatting problems with pasted content
- 🐛 Syncing problems between devices
- 🔒 Lack of end-to-end encryption

**Reported bugs**

- Black screen issues
- Lost notes and data
- Incompatibility with newer iOS versions
- Google sign-in not working

**Requested features**

- Reminders and calendar integration
- More customization options (fonts, colors, etc.)
- Improved drawing/handwriting support
- PDF annotation and embedding
- Optical character recognition (OCR)


### Kantan Scan

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/kantan-scan-docs-to-pdf/id6799627825)

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is UpNote free?

UpNote is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Kantan Scan free?

Kantan Scan costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Do UpNote or Kantan Scan have ads?

Neither UpNote nor Kantan Scan shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, UpNote or Kantan Scan?

UpNote ships an update weekly, and Kantan Scan every 4 days. Most recently, UpNote was updated on November 2, 2026 and Kantan Scan on October 29, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*