Notes Writer vs Digital Notebook
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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
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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/
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.
- 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
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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
Verdict
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
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.
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.
Notes Writer ships an update every 4 days, Digital Notebook every 5 weeks. Both last shipped on November 11, 2026.
| Parameter | Notes Writer | Digital Notebook |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (7.3K ratings) | 4.5 (249 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 44.8% of reviews — better | 10.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 7.3K — better | 249 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 days — better | Every 5 weeks |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | 16.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 688 MB | 133 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Kairoos Solutions SL | Appsprings, TOO |
Customer experience
Notes Writer
Digital Notebook
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
Notes Writer
- 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
- Lifetime Pro Full Unlock$14.99
Digital Notebook
- 1 week subscription$1.997 Days
- Note taking & PDF markup tools3 Days trial$2.991 Month
- Note taking & PDF markup tools$4.991 Month
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- 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?
Is Digital Notebook free?
Which has better reviews, Notes Writer or Digital Notebook?
Do Notes Writer or Digital Notebook have ads?
Which is updated more often, Notes Writer or Digital Notebook?
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