# Goodnotes vs Handwriting Book

The clearest difference is rating: Goodnotes at 4.7 against Handwriting Book's 3.6. Goodnotes also leads on review sentiment (34% vs 0%) and ratings volume (455K vs 7). Handwriting Book's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.6). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Goodnotes sells 16 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month and Handwriting Book sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $4.49 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Goodnotes holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Goodnotes has 455K ratings behind it against 7, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 34% of Goodnotes's written reviews are positive against 0% of Handwriting Book's.

## The numbers

| Metric | Goodnotes | Handwriting Book |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.7 (455K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/goodnotes-ai-notes-docs-pdf/id1444383602/reviews)** | [3.6 (7 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/handwriting-book-note-taking/id1645807794/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **455K** | 7 |
| Positive reviews | **33.6% of reviews** | 0.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Weekly | — |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Best chart rank | **#85** | — |
| Size | 794 MB | 9 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.6 | **15.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Goodnotes Limited](https://appshunter.io/developer/1708570616) | [婧 李](https://appshunter.io/developer/797015558) |

## What reviewers say

### Goodnotes

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/goodnotes-ai-notes-docs-pdf/id1444383602)

**Currently charting:** #85 Top Grossing · Productivity, #114 Top Free · Productivity (US App Store)

Capture ideas, enhance productivity, and unlock insights with advanced AI features. This app offers tools for professionals, students, and creatives, including infinite whiteboards, AI-powered transcription and summarization, and customizable digital notebooks.

**Highlights:** AI-powered transcription and summarization, Infinite whiteboard canvas, Digital notebooks with customizable templates, Study Sets for flashcards, Presentation mode with laser pointer, Real-time collaboration

**Features:** Family Sharing, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (16)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| AI Pass (Monthly) | $9.99 | per month |
| Goodnotes 6 (1 Year) | $9.99 | per year |
| Essential (Yearly) | $11.99 | per year |
| Essential (Yearly) | $11.99 | per year |
| Goodnotes Pro (Yearly) | $35.99 | per year |
| Bunny Oasis Stickers | Free | one-time |
| Medicine-Academia Sticker Shee | Free | one-time |
| Goodnotes 6 Free Trial | Free | one-time |
| Marketplace Content | $1.99 | one-time |
| Marketplace Content | $6.99 | one-time |
| Marketplace Content | $8.99 | one-time |
| GoodNotes 5 Unlock | $9.99 | one-time |
| Marketplace Content | $9.99 | one-time |
| Marketplace Content | $10.99 | one-time |
| Goodnotes 6 One-Time Payment | $28.99 | one-time |
| Special Edition | $35.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Excellent note-taking experience
- 👍 Intuitive and user-friendly interface
- 🚀 Smooth writing with Apple Pencil
- 📁 Powerful organization with folders and notebooks
- 🖼️ Ability to annotate PDFs and documents

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Glitches and crashes
- 🔍 Syncing and iCloud issues
- 🔍 Lack of flexibility with text input
- 🔍 Limited eraser and highlighting options
- 🔍 Subpar performance on Mac app

**Reported bugs**

- Text box issues - unable to edit, resize, or move properly
- Handwriting recognition problems, especially with cursive
- Unreliable scrolling and page navigation
- Inconsistent behavior when using the zoom feature

**Requested features**

- Add bullet point and formatting options for typed text
- Implement a full-screen writing mode
- Improve the straight line and shape tools
- Integrate audio recording and synchronization
- Allow more customization of the toolbar and interface


### Handwriting Book

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/handwriting-book-note-taking/id1645807794)

This app offers an infinite canvas for note-taking and creative work. It features natural writing, shape and text insertion, document scanning, and easy sharing options. Organize your notes with folders and tags, and sync across devices.

**Highlights:** Infinite canvas, Natural writing experience, Insert text, shapes, and images, Built-in document scanner, Folder and tag organization, Multi-device synchronization, Export to PDF and image

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Annual subscription | $4.49 | per year |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Goodnotes free?

Goodnotes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Handwriting Book free?

Handwriting Book is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Goodnotes or Handwriting Book?

Goodnotes is rated higher. Goodnotes averages 4.7 out of 5 from 455K ratings, while Handwriting Book averages 3.6 from 7 ratings.

### Do Goodnotes or Handwriting Book have ads?

Neither Goodnotes nor Handwriting Book shows ads.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*