Notes Writer Pro vs Element Note
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Notes Writer Pro
This app is a versatile writing and note-taking tool that supports rich text and Markdown. It allows users to annotate PDFs, fill out forms, and organize their work into unlimited notebooks. The app also includes scanning capabilities and various export options for seamless sharing and backup.
- Rich text and Markdown writing
- PDF annotation and form filling
- Unlimited notebook organization
- Document scanning
- Cloud sync and multiple export formats
- Distraction-free writing mode
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You have lecture notes to take, a story to tell, article to publish, whether it’s today’s journal entry, tomorrow’s thesis, highlight important things in ebooks and PDFs, fill out a PDF form or get the most from your business meetings. Notes Writer is an excellent assistant in study and business, also being effective for writing down your ideas and thoughts and sharing them! Students, teachers, writers, doctors, journalists, scholars and business professionals use Notes Writer daily to store notes, annotations, memos, signed PDFs, papers, highlighted PDF text-books, lectures and more. With Notes Writer Pro you can: + WRITE. EDIT. FORMAT · Write Everywhere: Use Notes Writer as an stand-alone writing app even if you don’t have a computer or you are offline in the wilds · Create rich text format (RTF) and advanced Markdown (MD) documents · Define margins, headers/footers, paper sizes, MLA and APA style format · Live counters: characters, words, sentences, lines, Avg. Word length, Words per sentence & reading time · Text to Speech for proofreading · Dictation lets you speak text instead of typing · Typewriter: Distraction-Free mode, letting you focus on what you’re writing · Over 30 languages typing support including Japanese, Chinese, Arabic & Hebrew · Extra keys: tab, forward delete, cursor up/down/left/right, etc. + ANNOTATE PDFs. FILL FORMS. SIGN DOCUMENTS. · PDF Annotations: highlight, strikeout, underline, notes, voice notes, pencil, stamp, sign... · Fill out forms. Supports PDF AcroForms standard · Sign with your own signature documents, contracts, forms · Digital Signature Validation + ORGANIZE. STRUCTURE. FIND. · Organize your work in unlimited notebooks, folders and subfolders · Create notebooks and projects in your own tree-like structure: Sections, Classes, Lectures, Grades, Drafts, Folders, Chapters, Research, etc. · Design the cover of your notebooks · Full-text search your library of documents and projects + SCAN NOTES. RESEARCH. PDF LIBRARY · Split view: Open two PDFs or handwritten notes simultaneously on screen. Compare or use them as book and paper · Full PDF reader and manager included for reference files, text books, ebooks, articles, resources, papers, etc. · Use the camera of your iPad/iPhone to scan documents, notes, recipes, tickets, etc. as PDF · Open PowerPoint, Word and Excel files + SHARE NOTES. EXPORT PDF, HTML… · Open attachments directly from the Mail app · Sync via iCloud, Dropbox, Box, WebDAV and Google Drive · Convert to multiple formats RTF, Markdown, PDF, ePub, HTML, RTFD, TXT, etc. · Zip folders/notebooks and email them + AUTOMATIC BACKUPS. BE SAFE. PROTECT YOUR WORK · Protect your work with an app security passcode · Protect any folder or project with a passcode · Automatic Backups of your notes and notebooks Notes Writer is more than an innovative, fast and reliable note-taking, PDF annotator and writing app designed for anyone who take notes or writes. This is a smart notepad and writing workspace for your iPad and iPhone. Privacy Policy http://www.noteswriter.com/Kairoos_Privacy_Policy.html EULA https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
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.
- Unique handwriting brushes
- Smooth drawing engine
- PDF annotation
- Text, shape, and image attachments
- On-device OCR search
- Smart dark mode
- iCloud sync and collaboration
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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
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Element Note at Free against Notes Writer Pro's $9.99. Element Note also leads on review sentiment (68% vs 48%). On rating, ratings volume, update cadence and ads 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
Element Note is free to download; Notes Writer Pro costs $9.99 up front. Notes Writer Pro sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $2.99 per month and Element Note sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $3.49 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Notes Writer Pro against 4.6 for Element Note. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3.2K and 2.6K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 48% of Notes Writer Pro's written reviews are positive against 68% of Element Note's.
Notes Writer Pro ships an update every 2 weeks, Element Note fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Notes Writer Pro | Element Note |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $9.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.6 (3.2K ratings) | 4.6 (2.6K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 48.3% of reviews | 68.1% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 3.2K — better | 2.6K |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks — better | Fortnightly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.4 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 375 MB | 129 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Kairoos Solutions SL | Soysauce Lab |
Customer experience
Notes Writer Pro
Element Note
User reviews
Notes Writer Pro
From 3.2K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Excellent note-taking app
- 📁 Great folder organization
- 🎨 Customizable notebook covers
- 🔍 Useful PDF annotation tools
- 🤖 Impressive AI capabilities
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
- 🔄 Sync and file transfer issues
- 🕰️ Slow performance and lag
- 🔒 Poor customer support
- 💰 Misleading upgrade pricing
Element Note
From 2.6K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Smooth handwriting experience
- 💡 Customizable pens and colors
- 👍 Clean and intuitive interface
- 🎨 Gradient and gradient brush tools
- 📚 Great for journaling and note-taking
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent crashes and freezes
- 🔍 Search function not working
- 🖼️ Issues with image handling and export
- 🔀 Difficulty switching between pen and eraser
- 🔑 Lack of password/locking feature for notes
Bugs and requests
Notes Writer Pro
Reported bugs
5 issues- Notes randomly disappearing
- Formatting issues with text and images
- Unreliable audio recording and playback
- Compatibility problems with newer iOS versions
- Inability to transfer files between free and pro versions
Requested features
5 requests- Handwriting recognition
- Improved eraser and shape tools
- Customizable keyboard and toolbar
- Better integration with cloud storage
- Ability to rotate and resize images
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
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- Seasonal or custom sticker packs
In-app purchases
Notes Writer Pro
- Notes Writer Pro AI Assistant3 Days trial$2.991 Month
Element Note
- Element Note Yearly$3.491 Year
- Element Note Yearly$4.991 Year
- Lifetime Launch Special$4.99
- Lifetime$9.99
- Lifetime$14.99






