Comparison

Notes Writer vs Digital Notebook

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 combines handwriting, PDFs, voice recordings, and AI for note-taking, document annotation, and idea organization. It offers a paper-like writing experience with various tools and supports students, professionals, and writers with specialized features.

Highlights
  • Handwriting with Apple Pencil
  • PDF annotation and form filling
  • Voice recording and transcription
  • AI-powered writing assistance
  • Flashcard creation and spaced repetition
  • Quiz generation from notes
  • Document import and export
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

Digital Notebook

This app offers a versatile platform for handwriting notes, journaling, and creative planning. It includes tools for students, daily organization, and digital bullet journaling, enhanced by an AI assistant for brainstorming and inspiration.

Highlights
  • Handwriting notes with pen, pencil, ruler, eraser
  • Bullet journaling and daily planning templates
  • Personal AI assistant for brainstorming
  • Drawing board and sketch tools
  • Import and annotate PDF documents
  • Organize notes and files
Features
Read full description

Master your productivity with Digital Notebook, the ultimate tool for handwriting notes, journaling, and creative planning. Whether you need to manage school notes, organize your daily life, or start a digital bullet journal, our app provides everything you need in one seamless experience. HANDWRITING NOTES & SCHOOL NOTES Experience the freedom of handwriting notes directly on your device. Perfect for students creating class notes and abstracts, Digital Notebook includes essential tools like a pen, pencil, ruler, and eraser to make your study sessions efficient and intuitive. BULLET JOURNAL & DAILY NOTES Organize your schedule with ease. Use our versatile templates for journaling, daily notes, and life planning. From a structured bullet journal to a creative diary, customize your workflow to match your personal style. PERSONAL AI CHATBOT Supercharge your note making with our personal AI assistant. Use it for brainstorming ideas, completing school assignments, or finding quick inspiration. Your AI companion is ready to help you plan events or answer any question instantly. DRAWING BOARD & SKETCHES Express yourself with our integrated drawing board. Use various drawing tools and stickers to create sketches, decorate your digital notebook, and add a creative touch to your everyday routine. IMPORT & ORGANIZE Keep your files secure and accessible. Import, annotate, and organize your documents on the go. It is the most efficient way to manage your daily notes and essential files in one pocket-sized workspace. Download Digital Notebook today and redefine your note-taking experience! Please note: some features require a subscription. Privacy Policy: https://appsprings.pro/privacy Terms of Use: https://appsprings.pro/tos

Screenshots

Notes Writer4 screens
Digital Notebook4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Notes Writer at none against Digital Notebook's shown. Notes Writer also leads on review sentiment (45% vs 10%) and update cadence (every 4 days vs every 5 weeks). Digital Notebook's advantage is iOS requirement (16.0 vs 26.0). On price, rating, 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 4 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per 7 days and Digital Notebook sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per 7 days. 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 4.5 for Digital Notebook. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Notes Writer has 7.3K ratings behind it against 249, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 45% of Notes Writer's written reviews are positive against 10% of Digital Notebook's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Notes Writer ships an update every 4 days, Digital Notebook every 5 weeks. Both last shipped on November 11, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Notes Writer versus Digital Notebook: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNotes WriterDigital Notebook
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (7.3K ratings)4.5 (249 ratings) — better
Positive reviews44.8% of reviews — better10.0% of reviews
Number of ratings7.3K — better249
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterEvery 5 weeks
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS26.016.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size688 MB133 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperKairoos Solutions SLAppsprings, TOO

Customer experience

Notes Writer

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

Digital Notebook

All ratings249 ratings
Positive87.1%
Neutral6.0%
Negative6.8%
Written reviews10 reviews
Positive10.0%
Neutral20.0%
Negative70.0%

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

Digital Notebook

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

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
10 purchases

Digital Notebook

Subscriptions10
  • 1 week subscription$1.997 Days
  • Note taking & PDF markup tools3 Days trial$2.991 Month
  • Note taking & PDF markup tools$4.991 Month
Show 7 more
  • 1 Week Subscription$6.997 Days
  • 3 months subscription7 Days trial$7.993 Months
  • 1 Year Subscription3 Days trial$14.991 Year
  • 1 Month Subscription$19.991 Month
  • 12 Months Premium$19.991 Year
  • 3 Months3 Months trial$41.493 Months
  • 12 Months Subscription$66.991 Year

Questions

Is Notes Writer free?
Notes Writer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Digital Notebook free?
Digital Notebook is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Notes Writer or Digital Notebook?
Digital Notebook is rated higher. Notes Writer averages 4.5 out of 5 from 7.3K ratings, while Digital Notebook averages 4.5 from 249 ratings.
Do Notes Writer or Digital Notebook have ads?
Digital Notebook shows ads; Notes Writer does not.
Which is updated more often, Notes Writer or Digital Notebook?
Notes Writer ships an update every 4 days, and Digital Notebook every 5 weeks. Most recently, Notes Writer was updated on November 11, 2026 and Digital Notebook on November 11, 2026.

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