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

This app offers a flexible digital notebook experience for iPhone users. Easily add images, photos, and text to your notes, and customize layouts with a lasso tool. Choose from various notebook covers and paper templates to personalize your digital workspace.

Highlights
  • Customizable notebook covers and templates
  • Insert images and photos
  • Lasso tool for layout design
  • Resizable and rotatable handwriting
  • Unlimited sheets of paper
  • Undo and eraser tools
Features
Read full description

Kilonotes Pocket is a convenient and flexible note taking tool for iPhone . You could insert images or photos to enrich the content and use the lasso tool to design the layout as you like. [Customized notebooks] A wide range of covers with beautiful colors for you to choose from A rich selection of paper templates: blank, dotted, square, English, etc. Able to choose multiple paper background colors [Escape the limits of analog paper] Move, resize and rotate your handwriting Undo the typed content Adjust the eraser size and control the eraser radius Zoom in and out to write more freely Insert pictures or photos, combine text and images to help your memory recall Insert text information to collect text quickly Create unlimited sheets of paper to free up space for your memory [Contact us] We look forward to receiving your feedback. You can contact us via email :business@top-stack.com [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. Privacy Policy: https://www.top-stack.com/page/Kilonotes_Privacy_Policy_En.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 review sentiment: Kilonotes at 88% against Notes Writer's 45%. Kilonotes also leads on rating (4.7 vs 4.5) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 26.0). Notes Writer's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 4 days vs every 2 weeks). On price, in-app purchases, monetization model 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. Notes Writer sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per 7 days and Kilonotes sells 5 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

Kilonotes holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Notes Writer has 7.3K ratings behind it against 865, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 45% of Notes Writer's written reviews are positive against 88% of Kilonotes's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Notes Writer ships an update every 4 days, Kilonotes every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Notes Writer versus Kilonotes: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNotes WriterKilonotes
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (7.3K ratings)4.7 (865 ratings) — better
Positive reviews44.8% of reviews87.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings7.3K — better865
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterEvery 2 weeks
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS26.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size660 MB230 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 reviews966 reviews
Positive44.8%
Neutral15.1%
Negative40.1%

Kilonotes

All ratings857 ratings
Positive94.0%
Neutral2.9%
Negative3.0%
Written reviews881 reviews
Positive87.7%
Neutral6.0%
Negative6.2%

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 865 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 🎨 Highly customizable
  • 🆓 Lots of free features
  • 📚 Great for note-taking and journaling
  • 🧠 Helps with organization and productivity

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes or freezes
  • 🔒 Limited functionality without premium subscription
  • 🖍️ Difficulty resizing text and images
  • 🔍 Lack of search or navigation features
  • 🌙 No dark mode option

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
  • App crashes when trying to insert images
  • Text formatting issues when switching between devices
  • Inconsistent performance on older devices

Requested features

5 requests
  • Sync across devices
  • More free templates and stickers
  • Improved text editing tools
  • Ability to export notes as PDF
  • Customizable backgrounds and layouts

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
5 purchases

Kilonotes

Subscriptions3
  • Monthly Subscription$0.991 Month
  • Quarterly subscription$2.493 Months
  • Annual Subscription$3.991 Year
One-time2
  • BerryBaby 2022 Handbook$1.99
  • Salted fish daily$1.99

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 4.7 from 865 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 every 2 weeks. Most recently, Notes Writer was updated on November 10, 2026 and Kilonotes on November 7, 2026.

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