Comparison

Notes Writer vs Kilonotes

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

Kilonotes

Enhance your learning and productivity with a versatile note-taking and PDF annotation tool. Record lectures, organize study materials, and edit documents with a range of creative and AI-powered features. Break free from paper limitations and streamline your workflow.

Highlights
  • Handwritten note-taking and editing
  • PDF annotation and markup
  • AI-powered note organization and problem-solving
  • Recording lectures while taking notes
  • Customizable notebooks and templates
  • OCR for text extraction
  • Global PDF search
Features
Read full description

We sincerely invite you to join us in exploring more efficient ways of taking notes and jointly reshape the modern learning mode. As a companion exploring new ways of taking notes, Kilonotes can meet your various needs. Whether it is recording class notes, annotating PDFs, doing test exercises, studying online courses, or organizing reading notes, Kilonotes will be your reliable study partner. Let's take good notes together. [Breakthrough the limitations of paper] ·Handwriting can be moved, scaled and rotated freely ·You can undo what you entered ·The size of the eraser can be adjusted to control the erasing range ·Scale paper function to make writing more comfortable You can insert pictures or photos, and combine text and pictures to deepen memory · Quick browsing function to help you quickly find what you need · Unlimited creation of paper, providing endless memory space ·Recording function, allowing you to take notes while listening to lectures ·Card function, create an exclusive knowledge base, you can create your card through pictures, brushes, and typing OCR function, convenient and fast text extraction A variety of fun-but-practical Journaling templates [Optimized reading experience] ·Global PDF search, quickly find what you need in the database · Outline function, convenient and fast positioning Multiple reading modes: eye protection, dark color, vision protection · Quick jump function, enter the page number to quickly navigate ·Translation function to help foreign language literature reading ·Extraction function, easy to collect important information ·PDF extension function, make reading and writing more free [Beyond the limits of the brush] · Change brush color, create custom colors, or pick any color with the eyedropper ·Adjustable brush width to adapt to various scenes ·Graffiti pen function, make notes more colorful [Custom Notebook] ·Provide many unique and beautiful covers for you to choose ·A variety of paper templates are available: blank paper, dot matrix paper, graph paper, to meet your needs ·You can import PDF and record freely in your own notebook [AI Assistant] • Built-in high-efficiency AI assistant helps you organize notes, expand knowledge points, and double your learning and work efficiency. • Exclusive AI problem-solving function supports selecting questions and sending them with one click, helping you easily overcome learning difficulties. [About subscription] Users can subscribe to the monthly subscription service of kilonotes to unlock advanced content, including custom time planning books. The subscription will be automatically renewed. If the user needs to cancel the subscription, the renewal needs to be closed 24 hours before the end of the current cycle. Users can close and cancel subscriptions and trials in their iTunes account. Contact us: feedback@top-stack.com Official website: https://www.kilonotesapp.com Privacy Policy: https://www.top-stack.com/page/ios_en_privacy.html User agreement: https://www.top-stack.com/page/Kilonotes_Terms_of_use_En.html

Screenshots

Notes Writer4 screens
Kilonotes4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Notes Writer at none against Kilonotes's shown. Kilonotes's advantage is review sentiment (71% vs 45%) and iOS requirement (15.6 vs 26.0). On price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence 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 8 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per 7 days and Kilonotes sells 20 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.5 for Notes Writer against 4.6 for Kilonotes. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 7.3K and 5K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 45% of Notes Writer's written reviews are positive against 71% of Kilonotes's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Notes Writer ships an update every 4 days, Kilonotes weekly. Both last shipped on October 30, 2026.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Notes Writer versus Kilonotes: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNotes WriterKilonotes
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (7.3K ratings)4.6 (5K ratings) — better
Positive reviews45.2% of reviews70.9% of reviews — better
Number of ratings7.3K — better5K
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterWeekly
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS26.015.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size660 MB495 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperKairoos Solutions SLHefei T-Stack Information Technology Co., Ltd.

Customer experience

Notes Writer

All ratings7,332 ratings
Positive86.8%
Neutral5.1%
Negative8.1%
Written reviews959 reviews
Positive45.2%
Neutral15.1%
Negative39.7%

Kilonotes

All ratings4,966 ratings
Positive90.7%
Neutral4.0%
Negative5.4%
Written reviews873 reviews
Positive70.9%
Neutral10.9%
Negative18.2%

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

Kilonotes

From 5K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Affordable
  • 🚀 Lots of free features
  • 👍 Easy to use and intuitive
  • 👍 Customizable notebooks and pages
  • 👍 Good alternative to paid apps

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional bugs and glitches
  • 🐛 Syncing and backup issues
  • 🔒 Lack of password protection or privacy features
  • 👎 Limited free notebooks
  • 👎 Some features locked behind paywall

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

Kilonotes

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Notebooks and notes getting deleted or scrambled
  • Lag and performance issues when writing or zooming
  • Inconsistent behavior of the pen and eraser tools

Requested features

6 requests
  • Add more free sticker packs and templates
  • Improve the lasso tool and image editing
  • Implement iCloud or cloud sync
  • Add a dark mode option
  • Improve the audio recording and playback features
Show 1 more
  • Allow more customization of notebooks and pages

In-app purchases

8 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-time5
  • Full Version Unlock Pro$3.99
  • Full Version Unlock Pro$4.99
  • Full Version Unlock Pro2 variants$5.99
Show 2 more
  • Full Version Unlock Pro$6.99
  • Lifetime Pro Full Unlock$14.99
20 purchases

Kilonotes

Subscriptions7
  • Cloud space monthly membership$0.991 Month
  • Monthly Subscription$1.991 Month
  • Quarterly Plan$4.993 Months
Show 4 more
  • AIChat$5.991 Month
  • Year Subscription1 Year trial$8.991 Year
  • Annual Plan$9.991 Year
  • Cloud space annual membership$9.991 Year
One-time13
  • ExamPolitics_2019_2023_testFree
  • Summer Forest 2022 Handbook$0.99
  • Xiaofen Diary 2022 Handbook$0.99
Show 10 more
  • Fresh 2022 Handbook$0.99
  • 康奈尔笔记$0.99
  • Cartoon mistake book$0.99
  • Paid Notebook$0.99
  • Alice$1.99
  • 咸鱼日常$1.99
  • AI Points Products$1.99
  • 月亮兔$1.99
  • Paid Notebook$2.99
  • Lifetime Access$19.99

Questions

Is Notes Writer free?
Notes Writer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Kilonotes free?
Kilonotes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Notes Writer or Kilonotes?
Kilonotes is rated higher. Notes Writer averages 4.5 out of 5 from 7.3K ratings, while Kilonotes averages 4.6 from 5K ratings.
Do Notes Writer or Kilonotes have ads?
Kilonotes shows ads; Notes Writer does not.
Which is updated more often, Notes Writer or Kilonotes?
Notes Writer ships an update every 4 days, and Kilonotes weekly. Most recently, Notes Writer was updated on October 30, 2026 and Kilonotes on October 30, 2026.

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