Calligraphy Tracing vs Simple Handwritten Note
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Calligraphy Tracing
Learn cursive handwriting and lettering art with this app. Practice tracing letters, add decorative flourishes, and experiment with different pen styles. Save and export your creations as high-resolution images.
- Alphabet tracing letters
- Calligram practice
- Add flourishing loops
- Choose background textures
- Traditional ink pens
- Flat head marker pens
- Save designs to gallery
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Practice the art of cursive handwriting and letter tracing with Flourish - a unique calligraphy app for writing flourishing letters on your iPhone and iPad. Get started with our 34 free alphabet tracing letters, plus a sample of our original hand drawn 'Calligrams' and practice your lettering style. Become a calligrapher in no time! Add flourishing cursive loops at the start and end of your words to give your letters an artful appearance. Then hide your tracing lines, choose a background paper texture and download your design! Use the traditional ink pens to experience the soothing activity of writing curly, swirly letter flourishes. Or if you prefer italic style letters, our flat head marker pens are great for drawing graffiti tag style art. Save your letterforms and calligraphy masterpieces to the gallery and return to them again. Buy the full app upgrade to write with a full set of coloured inks, unlock all the backgrounds, ornament borders, all tracing words and save unlimited designs! THE LETTERING DESIGN PROCESS - Tap the grid button and choose a grid size - Tap the letters button and choose a tracing letter or calligram - Move and scale your letter over the grid - Choose a pen and color (Pro users) - When you're happy, tap the shortcut buttons to hide the grid and tracing letter - Save your work! PRO UPGRADE APP FEATURES - 16 ink colors - 20 paper textures - 11 ornamental border frames - 52 alphabet tracing letters (lower and upper case) - 36 special tracing calligrams - Save unlimited designs to your gallery - Removes Watermark EXPORT YOUR ART Download an HD JPG image to upload to your Social Media, Photoshop or send to a friend. iPad Jpg size - 2048x1536 iPhone Jpg size - 3280x1536 (super wide image) OUR OTHER APPS Prefer Asian style calligraphy? Try our popular app Calligraphy Calm and get into the Zen vibe. Featuring different ornament borders and Chinese style stamps. Need to design a great logo? Get our apps Logo 7 and Logo King for iPhone and iPad.
Simple Handwritten Note
This app allows users to jot down notes and sketches using a black pen. It functions as a simple memo pad or notebook for quickly capturing ideas or communicating through writing. The core features include writing, erasing, and saving.
- Handwritten note-taking
- Drawing and sketching
- Memo pad functionality
- Quick idea capture
- Writing, erasing, and saving
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A handwritten note app that lets you write with a black pen Can be used as a memo pad, notebook, quickly write down ideas, draw, sketch, written communicate, etc. It is a simple function of writing, erasing, and saving, please try it.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Simple Handwritten Note at 5.0 against Calligraphy Tracing's 4.2. Simple Handwritten Note also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 1). Calligraphy Tracing's advantage is ratings volume (741 vs 1) and update cadence (monthly vs every 3 months). On price, ads 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
Both are free to download. Calligraphy Tracing sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Simple Handwritten Note asks for nothing beyond the download.
Simple Handwritten Note holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Calligraphy Tracing has 741 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 58% of Calligraphy Tracing's written reviews are positive against 50% of Simple Handwritten Note's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Calligraphy Tracing ships an update monthly, Simple Handwritten Note every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 9, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Calligraphy Tracing | Simple Handwritten Note |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.2 (741 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 58.3% of reviews — better | 50.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 741 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Monthly — better | Every 3 months |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Ad-supported — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 15.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 36 MB | 13 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Frosby Designs Ltd. | Ryouhei Azuma |
Customer experience
Calligraphy Tracing
Simple Handwritten Note
Bugs and requests
Calligraphy Tracing
Reported bugs
3 issues- Typing issues with capitalization
- Locking up and freezing
- Inability to go back to home screen
Requested features
5 requests- More font/brush options
- Ability to type own words
- Layers and canvas controls
- Pressure sensitivity support
- More calligraphy styles
Simple Handwritten Note
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Calligraphy Tracing
- Flourish PRO$3.99
Simple Handwritten Note
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Calligraphy Tracing free?
Is Simple Handwritten Note free?
Which has better reviews, Calligraphy Tracing or Simple Handwritten Note?
Do Calligraphy Tracing or Simple Handwritten Note have ads?
Which is updated more often, Calligraphy Tracing or Simple Handwritten Note?
Other comparisons
