Comparison

Notes Writer vs CollaNote

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

Notes Writer brings handwriting, PDFs, voice, documents and AI together on iPad and iPhone. Take notes in class, mark up a contract, record a meeting or plan a thesis, and keep it all in one place that is easy to search and share. HANDWRITING THAT FEELS LIKE PAPER • Write with Apple Pencil using pens, pencils, markers, fountain pens and watercolor brushes, and refine with the lasso, ruler and shapes. • Mix handwriting, typed text, images, stickers and audio on one page. • Choose blank, ruled, Cornell, planner, music or graph paper. • Search your handwriting, check its spelling, or convert it to text, math or LaTeX. • Tap your ink to hear what was said as you wrote it. FOR STUDENTS • Record lectures while you write, then search the transcript. • Hide key facts under Tape, reveal them one by one and turn them into flashcards. • Study flashcards with spaced repetition, reminders and a Home Screen widget. • Make a quiz from your notes, a topic or pasted text, and score yourself. • Circle a problem with Magic Lasso and ask AI to explain, solve or check it. • Find free open textbooks and keep each subject together in a Study Project. FOR PROFESSIONALS • Meeting Notes records and transcribes the meeting, enhances your notes and writes a summary with action items. • Mark up PDFs, fill forms, sign, measure plans and redact text. • Scan paper documents and recognize their text. • Present on an external display or with AirPlay, using a laser pointer. • Brainstorm on whiteboards with sticky notes, images and recordings. • Open Word, RTF, Markdown and plain text, and export to PDF, DOCX, RTF, HTML or EPUB. FOR WRITERS AND RESEARCHERS • Draft in rich text and keep your sources open in tabs. • Organize long projects in the Binder, plan on the Corkboard, save snapshots and compile a manuscript or ebook. • Write LaTeX papers with a live PDF preview. • Combine explanations, graphs, charts and Python cells in Math Notebooks. • Structure ideas as outlines and exchange them in OPML. AI THAT WORKS WITH YOUR NOTES • Rewrite, simplify, translate, or fix spelling and grammar. • Ask questions and get answers from your own notes, PDFs and transcripts. • Summarize a reading, a recording or a meeting. You decide what goes into your notes. YOUR NOTES, YOUR WAY • Import notes from other note-taking apps. • Sketch with graphite and charcoal, or paint with watercolor, oils and acrylics. • Share an iPad with separate profiles, each with its own notes and an optional passcode. • Keep folders with covers, and work with files in iCloud Drive, Dropbox, Google Drive and the Files app. • Autosave, recovery, backups and passcodes protect your work. Privacy Policy http://www.noteswriter.com/Kairoos_Privacy_Policy.html Terms of Use https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

CollaNote

This powerful note-taking app offers a rich set of tools for writing, PDF markup, and digital planning. Enhance your notes with over 25 pens, handwriting stabilization, and AI assistance. Collaborate in real-time and organize your work with unlimited papers and notebooks.

Highlights
  • 25+ pens and brushes
  • Handwriting stabilizer
  • PDF import and markup
  • Flashcard creation
  • Real-time collaboration
  • AI-powered tools
  • Unlimited papers and notebooks
Features
Read full description

CollaNote: Powerful note-taking app packed with a wide range of tools. Note-taking, PDF markup, digital planning, and flashcards - all in one place! BUILT FOR APPLE PENCIL WITH AN ENHANCED WRITING EXPERIENCE: - 25+ different pens and brushes to transform your notes into artwork. - Handwriting stabilizer for beautiful, smooth writing. - Enjoy a calming ASMR note-taking experience. - Infinite Arc Menu available for both Apple Pencil Pro and Apple Pencil Gen 2. IMPORT, MARK-UP, AND EXPORT PDF: - Import and mark up PDFs, PPTs, DOCs, and Images effortlessly. - In-built scanner to digitize your physical documents. - Export notes to PDF and share with ease. POWERFUL TOOLS: - Translation tool to learn new languages, supporting over 90 languages. - Create flashcards with audio and images, or use our extensive library. - Beautiful Planners for tracking tasks, deadlines, and schedules. - Record and sync audio directly within your notes. UNLIMITED PAPERS AND NOTEBOOKS: - Unlimited paper with versatile grids/lines and 150+ colorful templates. - Keep all your notes organized and easily accessible from anywhere. - Automatically back up to iCloud and sync across iOS devices. - Smart Dark Mode for optimal visibility in any lighting. - Password protection for ultimate note security. AI POWERED: - Built-in AI Calculator for complex calculations. - AI drawing tools for perfect shapes. - Get intelligent writing and note-taking assistance. - Generate unique stickers with AI. ENGAGING CREATIVE COMMUNITY: - Join the Public Room to connect with creators worldwide. - Real-time collaboration function (unlimited participants). CollaNote's journey began with a student at Hamburg University, who now leads a dedicated team of individuals devoted to delivering the finest digital paper experience. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to our users for their unwavering support since the early days of CollaNote. Download CollaNote now to discover even more surprises!

Screenshots

Notes Writer4 screens
CollaNote4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: CollaNote at 74% against Notes Writer's 45%. CollaNote also leads on monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases) and rating (4.7 vs 4.5). On price, 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

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 CollaNote sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

CollaNote holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 7.3K and 15K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 45% of Notes Writer's written reviews are positive against 74% of CollaNote's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Notes Writer ships an update every 4 days, CollaNote every 6 days. Both last shipped on November 11, 2026.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Notes Writer versus CollaNote: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNotes WriterCollaNote
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (7.3K ratings)4.7 (15K ratings) — better
Positive reviews44.8% of reviews73.6% of reviews — better
Number of ratings7.3K15K — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterEvery 6 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS26.018.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size688 MB229 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperKairoos Solutions SLZauberberg Lab Company Limited

Customer experience

Notes Writer

All ratings7,339 ratings
Positive86.7%
Neutral5.1%
Negative8.2%
Written reviews966 reviews
Positive44.8%
Neutral15.1%
Negative40.1%

CollaNote

All ratings15,105 ratings
Positive92.4%
Neutral2.0%
Negative5.6%
Written reviews3,370 reviews
Positive73.6%
Neutral7.3%
Negative19.1%

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

CollaNote

From 15K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Very good writing app
  • 🚀 Great app and easy to navigate
  • 🚀 Excellent note taking app
  • 👍 Amazing free note taking app
  • 👍 Fantastic for teaching

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Glitching, crashing, and issues with writing tools
  • 🐛 Inconsistent performance and bugs
  • 🐛 Issues with PDF annotations and exports
  • 🐛 Problems with organization and navigation
  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and data loss

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

CollaNote

Reported bugs

6 issues
  • Pen and eraser issues after updates
  • Freezing and crashing when deleting or moving notes
  • Inconsistent behavior of favorite pen settings
  • Incompatibility with older devices
  • Login screen freezes
Show 1 more
  • Random deletion of notes and files

Requested features

12 requests
  • Add landscape mode support
  • Improve text editing and formatting
  • Enhance organization with nested folders
  • Implement better backup and sync options
  • Add more pen/pencil customization
Show 7 more
  • Improve collaboration and sharing features
  • Introduce a zoom window and auto-advance function
  • Add more paper style options
  • Implement undo/redo functionality
  • Allow resizing and manipulating of selected content
  • Provide a dark mode option
  • Add advanced analytics and dashboard

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
4 purchases

CollaNote

One-time4
  • Lifetime Premium Loyal Users$6.95
  • Premium: Time Limited Sale$6.95
  • Lifetime Premium Welcome Offer$9.69
Show 1 more
  • Lifetime Premium$13.90

Questions

Is Notes Writer free?
Notes Writer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is CollaNote free?
CollaNote is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Notes Writer or CollaNote?
CollaNote is rated higher. Notes Writer averages 4.5 out of 5 from 7.3K ratings, while CollaNote averages 4.7 from 15K ratings.
Do Notes Writer or CollaNote have ads?
Neither Notes Writer nor CollaNote shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Notes Writer or CollaNote?
Notes Writer ships an update every 4 days, and CollaNote every 6 days. Most recently, Notes Writer was updated on November 11, 2026 and CollaNote on November 11, 2026.

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