Comparison

Notes Writer vs Blankbook

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

Head to head
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/

About

Blankbook

Experience a natural handwriting feel on an infinite canvas. Organize notes with a visual bookshelf and access tools quickly. Offers various paper types and intuitive controls for seamless creativity.

Highlights
  • Infinite scrolling canvas
  • 7 static paper types (dark/light variants)
  • Pen, pencil, marker, lasso, ruler, erasers
  • Three quick-access tool slots
  • Intuitive gesture controls
  • Automatic dark mode matching system settings
Read full description

Blankbook reduces the clutter and reproduce the essence of an extraordinary handwriting experience. It features a well-thought design that makes your content speak. The bookshelf offers a see-through preview that allows you to see your content directly. Canvas: Infinite scrolling canvas allows your creativity flow, you’ll never be bothered by manually creating a new page over and over again. Paper: It offers 7 static paper types. All with dark and light variants. Dotted, squared, watercolor papers, etc. We get you covered. Tools: Pen, pencil, marker, lasso for copy and cut, ruler, pixel eraser and vector eraser. All powered by the best Apple Pencil technology. Shortcuts: Want quick access to your favorite tools without adjusting the setting repeatedly? We offer you three quick-access slots per note. Add any tools to it and it saves for you. Intuitiveness: Tap the title name your note, long press to reorder, two-finger tap to undo, two-finger pinch to zoom. It’s that easy! Dark mode: The color scheme will match the system setting automatically. Or you can use iOS dark/light switch to set it to your preferences. Have fun writing! ----------------- “You’ve got the brownie when night is coming, huh~ It's not a dessert". Licensed from artist Yuanyu Zhou(Ins: @frost.tree), Bookbook iMessage app integrates with her "Brownie" series of emoji packs. Term of service: https://www.legolas.me/paperworks/blankbook-terms-of-service Privacy Policy: https://www.legolas.me/paperworks/blankbook-privacy-policy Developer: Yuxiao Wang Special thanks: @Yuanyu Zhou, @Minja. For ideas, testing and feedbacks.

Screenshots

Notes Writer4 screens
Blankbook4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Notes Writer at 4.5 against Blankbook's 3.9. Notes Writer also leads on ratings volume (7.3K vs 135). Blankbook's advantage is review sentiment (55% vs 45%) and device support (4 vs 2). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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. Notes Writer sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per 7 days and Blankbook sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.49 per month. 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 3.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Notes Writer has 7.3K ratings behind it against 135, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 45% of Notes Writer's written reviews are positive against 55% of Blankbook's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Notes Writer versus Blankbook: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNotes WriterBlankbook
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (7.3K ratings) — better3.9 (135 ratings)
Positive reviews44.8% of reviews54.8% of reviews — better
Number of ratings7.3K — better135
Update frequencyEvery 4 daysEvery 4 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better
Requires iOS26.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size660 MB41 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperKairoos Solutions SL璐 徐

Customer experience

Notes Writer

All ratings7,332 ratings
Positive86.8%
Neutral5.1%
Negative8.1%
Written reviews966 reviews
Positive44.8%
Neutral15.1%
Negative40.1%

Blankbook

All ratings129 ratings
Positive72.9%
Neutral7.8%
Negative19.4%
Written reviews93 reviews
Positive54.8%
Neutral11.8%
Negative33.3%

User reviews

Notes Writer

From 7.3K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Smooth writing experience
  • 💡 Versatile note-taking features
  • 🔒 Good privacy
  • 👍 Useful for various purposes (notes, PDF annotations, etc.)

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes and freezes
  • 🔒 Limiting free version with paywalls
  • 🐛 Bugs with erasing, page management, and file corruption
  • 🐛 Laggy performance and slow loading times

Blankbook

From 135 App Store ratings

What we love

  • ✍️ Natural handwriting and pen feel
  • ♾️ Infinite canvas for unlimited space
  • 🎨 Simple and clean interface
  • ⚡ Good performance and responsiveness
  • 💰 One-time purchase option available

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and app failures
  • 💾 Data loss and note disappearance
  • ⏱️ Severe lag with large amounts of data
  • 🔄 Notes not syncing across devices
  • 🗂️ No folder or organizational system

Bugs and 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

Blankbook

Reported bugs

16 issues
  • App crashes when creating new sheets or files
  • Notes permanently disappear without warning
  • Severe lag and slow loading with accumulated data
  • Delete function doesn't permanently remove notes
  • Unresponsive settings and help buttons
Show 11 more
  • App fails to open or closes immediately
  • Palm rejection issues causing accidental zooms
  • Eraser and pencil tool flashing/switching randomly
  • Grid/lines don't move with canvas when scrolling or zooming
  • Random dots appearing while writing
  • Zoom gestures misinterpreted
  • Crashes after leaving app in background
  • Premium purchase not recognized after reinstall
  • Incompatibility with Mac version for editing
  • Settings not persisting across sessions
  • Performance issues on iPad Pro with iOS 14+

Requested features

20 requests
  • Folder organization system for notes
  • Cloud backup and sync across devices
  • Image and PDF insertion capability
  • Snap-to-grid and smart shapes
  • Ability to rotate and scale selected content
Show 15 more
  • Dark mode toggle within app
  • Customizable color swatches
  • Copy and paste image functionality
  • Multi-window support
  • Undo/redo button in addition to gesture
  • Export as vector file option
  • Snap shapes and lines feature
  • Lock/pin canvas to grid lines
  • Duplicate entire notes function
  • Typed text insertion
  • More than three tool shortcuts
  • Default tool customization
  • Larger color palette
  • Device synchronization for iPad and iPhone
  • Backup system for data protection

In-app purchases

4 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-time1
  • Lifetime Pro Full Unlock$14.99
2 purchases

Blankbook

Subscriptions1
  • Monthly7 Days trial$2.491 Month
One-time1
  • Lifetime$6.99

Questions

Is Notes Writer free?
Notes Writer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Blankbook free?
Blankbook is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Notes Writer or Blankbook?
Notes Writer is rated higher. Notes Writer averages 4.5 out of 5 from 7.3K ratings, while Blankbook averages 3.9 from 135 ratings.
Do Notes Writer or Blankbook have ads?
Neither Notes Writer nor Blankbook shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Notes Writer or Blankbook?
Notes Writer ships an update every 4 days, and Blankbook every 4 days. Most recently, Notes Writer was updated on November 6, 2026 and Blankbook on November 3, 2026.

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