Comparison

Cards vs Element Note

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

Head to head
About

Cards

Create digital flashcards to memorize information, organize notes, and store images. Arrange your cards on a virtual desktop for a clear overview. Ideal for studying, planning, or keeping track of important details.

Highlights
  • Create digital flashcards
  • Memorize information
  • Organize notes and photos
  • Virtual desktop view
  • Handwriting and text input
Features
Read full description

This information card app is perfect for memorizing and organizing information. For example, write the foreign word on the front and the translation on the back. You can also use Desktop to get a bird's-eye view of the cards by arranging them on your desk as if you were spreading them out.

About

Element Note

This app offers a distraction-free digital notebook experience with advanced handwriting, PDF annotation, and sketching capabilities. It features unique brushes, a powerful rendering engine, and smart organization tools. Sync your notes across devices and collaborate with others seamlessly.

Highlights
  • Unique handwriting brushes
  • Smooth drawing engine
  • PDF annotation
  • Text, shape, and image attachments
  • On-device OCR search
  • Smart dark mode
  • iCloud sync and collaboration
Features
Read full description

Element Note is the next-gen note taking, PDF annotation, and light sketching app. We stripped down the unnecessaries and carefully polished the elemental functions for a digital notebook. With a modern look and powerful features, Element Note strives to provide an elegant writing space free of distractions. Features: Unique brushes - Pencil (HB Pencil, Mechanical Pencil) - Pen (Pen, Line Pen, Fountain Pen) - Brush (Art Brush, Round Brush) - Marker (Marker, Round Marker) Best-in-class note rendering engine - Smooth and fluid drawing powered by Metal technology - Support gradient ink for more expressive notes Powerful attachments - Text - Shape - Sticker - Image Universal Search - Search through your PDF & Handwritting using on device OCR Smart Darkmode - Smartly adapts all of your notes to the system darkmode without changing the paper or stroke colors. iCloud Sync & Collaboration - Sync via your personal iCloud (No data is passed to our server) - Collaborate through iCloud collaboration for up to 100 users. Desktop class organization - Intuitive multi-select drag and drop gesture to organize your notes or pages Element Note is free to try for up to 3 notes. Unlock the full app with an in app purchase to create unlimited notes. Terms and Conditions https://elementnote.app/terms Privacy Policy https://elementnote.app/privacy

Screenshots

Cards4 screens
Element Note4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Cards at none against Element Note's 5. Element Note's advantage is ads (none vs shown). On price, review sentiment, update cadence 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. Element Note sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $3.49 per year. Cards asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Cards ships an update every 3 weeks, Element Note fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 8, 2026 and October 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Cards versus Element Note: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCardsElement Note
PriceFreeFree
Rating—4.6 (2.6K ratings) — better
Positive reviews75.0% of reviews — better68.5% of reviews
Number of ratings—2.6K — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksFortnightly — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationAd-supported — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, MaciPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS16.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size44 MB129 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperCatalystwo LimitedSoysauce Lab

Customer experience

Cards

Written reviews12 reviews
Positive75.0%
Neutral16.7%
Negative8.3%

Element Note

All ratings2,591 ratings
Positive90.5%
Neutral4.1%
Negative5.4%
Written reviews340 reviews
Positive68.5%
Neutral11.8%
Negative19.7%

Bugs and requests

Cards

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Element Note

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Notes and files randomly disappearing
  • Inconsistent behavior when using the floating keyboard
  • Handwriting recognition not working as expected
  • Exported PDFs losing formatting and background colors

Requested features

6 requests
  • Ruler tool
  • Ability to resize/rotate selections
  • Improved text editing and formatting
  • Presentation mode for connecting to displays
  • Ability to import/export multiple files at once
Show 1 more
  • Seasonal or custom sticker packs

In-app purchases

None

Cards

No in-app purchases

5 purchases

Element Note

Subscriptions2
  • Element Note Yearly$3.491 Year
  • Element Note Yearly$4.991 Year
One-time3
  • Lifetime Launch Special$4.99
  • Lifetime$9.99
  • Lifetime$14.99

Questions

Is Cards free?
Cards is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Element Note free?
Element Note is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Cards or Element Note have ads?
Cards shows ads; Element Note does not.
Which is updated more often, Cards or Element Note?
Cards ships an update every 3 weeks, and Element Note fortnightly. Most recently, Cards was updated on October 8, 2026 and Element Note on October 21, 2026.

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