Comparison

Notes Writer vs Stylus Labs Write

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

Stylus Labs Write

This app offers advanced tools for managing and editing handwritten notes and documents. It supports cloud integration, vector graphics, and includes features for intelligent selection, reflowing text, and creating links. It's ideal for note-taking, brainstorming, and sketching.

Highlights
  • Intelligent selection, erase, and move tools
  • Reflow handwritten text with insert space
  • Create handwritten links and bookmarks
  • Save and paste clippings
  • Unlimited undo/redo jog dial
  • Split view for dual document editing
  • Standard note-taking and drawing tools
Features
Read full description

Write provides a unique set of tools for editing and navigating handwritten documents, plus all the usual features of a vector drawing application. Write is perfect for note-taking, brainstorming, and sketching. MODERN DOCUMENT HANDLING * uses standard Apple document browser for completely flexible file organization * supports iCloud and all other cloud services that integrate with the Files app * non-proprietary SVG file format can be opened in other vector graphics apps and web browsers UNIQUE TOOLS FOR HANDWRITTEN DOCUMENTS * intelligent tools to select, erase, and move writing * reflow handwritten text with the insert space tool * create bookmarks labeled with handwriting * create handwritten links to bookmarks and websites * save clippings for easy pasting into any document * unlimited undo/redo jog dial * split view: work on two documents or two parts of the same document STANDARD NOTE-TAKING AND DRAWING TOOLS * Apple Pencil support * insert images (and vector content as SVG) * cut, copy, paste, move, scale, and rotate selections * cut, copy, and paste pages within and between documents * customize and save pens * customize page size, color, and ruling * pages can grow automatically when writing nears edge * PDF export The free version shows a watermark on each page, which can be removed with a one-time in-app purchase. Website: http://www.styluslabs.com FAQ: http://www.styluslabs.com/faq Support: support@styluslabs.com

Screenshots

Notes Writer4 screens
Stylus Labs Write4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Stylus Labs Write at 82% against Notes Writer's 45%. Stylus Labs Write also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.5) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 26.0). Notes Writer's advantage is update cadence (every 4 days vs every 7 months) and ratings volume (7.3K vs 304). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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 Stylus Labs Write sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Stylus Labs Write holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Notes Writer has 7.3K ratings behind it against 304, 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 82% of Stylus Labs Write's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Notes Writer ships an update every 4 days, Stylus Labs Write every 7 months. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 27, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Notes Writer versus Stylus Labs Write: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNotes WriterStylus Labs Write
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (7.3K ratings)4.8 (304 ratings) — better
Positive reviews45.0% of reviews82.4% of reviews — better
Number of ratings7.3K — better304
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterEvery 7 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS26.011.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size660 MB8 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperKairoos Solutions SLMatthew White

Customer experience

Notes Writer

All ratings7,332 ratings
Positive86.8%
Neutral5.1%
Negative8.1%
Written reviews963 reviews
Positive45.0%
Neutral15.1%
Negative40.0%

Stylus Labs Write

All ratings295 ratings
Positive95.9%
Neutral2.7%
Negative1.4%
Written reviews17 reviews
Positive82.4%
Neutral5.9%
Negative11.8%

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

Stylus Labs Write

From 304 App Store ratings

What we love

  • ✍️ Freeform note-taking and movement
  • 🎨 Nice color and pen style options
  • 💡 Efficient and uncluttered feature set
  • 💾 Notes as SVG files for long-term access
  • ↔️ Automatic page extension (right/bottom)

Room to improve

  • 🖱️ UI is a bit clunky
  • 💅 Look and feel not as polished as competitors
  • ❌ PDF export is necessary but not possible
  • 🐛 Randomly loses data/writing
  • 🐛 Inconsistent data loss makes app unreliable

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

Stylus Labs Write

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Randomly loses data
  • Data loss is inconsistent
  • Purchase not syncing across devices

Requested features

3 requests
  • PDF export functionality
  • Search functionality
  • More handy pencil changing options

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
1 purchases

Stylus Labs Write

One-time1
  • Full version$8.99

Questions

Is Notes Writer free?
Notes Writer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Stylus Labs Write free?
Stylus Labs Write is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Notes Writer or Stylus Labs Write?
Stylus Labs Write is rated higher. Notes Writer averages 4.5 out of 5 from 7.3K ratings, while Stylus Labs Write averages 4.8 from 304 ratings.
Do Notes Writer or Stylus Labs Write have ads?
Neither Notes Writer nor Stylus Labs Write shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Notes Writer or Stylus Labs Write?
Notes Writer ships an update every 4 days, and Stylus Labs Write every 7 months. Most recently, Notes Writer was updated on October 30, 2026 and Stylus Labs Write on October 27, 2026.

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