Comparison

Brain;Notes vs Noteshelf

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Brain;Notes

Organize your thoughts and information with a scrapbook-style notepad. Freely add text, photos, maps, URLs, and voice memos to multiple workspaces. Notes can be secured with biometric authentication and exported as PDFs.

Highlights
  • Scrapbook-style organization
  • Support for text, photo, location, URL, and voice notes
  • Multiple workspaces with custom wallpapers
  • Biometric note locking
  • Calendar and Reminder integration
  • PDF export and AirDrop support
  • Stable and Shared note modes
Features
Read full description

"Brain;Notes" is a scrapbook-like sticky note that uses sticky notes to efficiently organize your ideas and information. You can freely write down not only text but also maps, photos, URLs, and other notes on your workspace. It can be used in a variety of ways depending on your ideas and thoughts, such as mind mapping. Main Features ・Simple menu-driven user interface. ・Available note types: text, photo, location, URL, and voice. ・Voice notes can be recorded for 60 seconds. ・Multiple workspaces are available for managing notes. ・Each workspace can have its own wallpaper. ・Each note can be locked by biometric authentication. ・Notes can be created as events in Calendar.app. ・Notes can be registered in Reminder.app. ・Workspaces can be exported as PDF files. ・AirDrop is supported. ・App supports for Sharing. (Notes can be created by "Share" from other apps. Notes can be created by dragging from other apps.) Unique Features: ・When a note is set to "Stable" mode, it will appear in all workspaces. If you create a new workspace, the note will still appear automatically. ・When a note is set to "Shared" mode, it will only appear in the workspace you select. Attentions: ・There is no ability to delete a workspace. However, you can delete all notes on a workspace with a three-finger tap gesture. Please be careful not to create too many workspaces. ・If there are less than 10 notes left, the app will automatically refill notes to 10 at midnight. Gesture Operations: Workspace (gray area): ・Single Tap: shows menu. ・Double Tap: creates new note. ・Two Finger Tap: reset wallpaper. ・Three Finger Tap: deletes all notes on the workspace. Sticky notes: ・Single Tap: shows menu. ・Double Tap: transforms appearance. ・Long Press: shows context menu.

About

Noteshelf

This app offers a comprehensive suite for note-taking, planning, and studying. It combines natural handwriting, AI summarization, PDF annotation, and audio recording. Organize your thoughts, annotate documents, and create custom planners with a smooth writing experience.

Highlights
  • Natural handwriting with lifelike pens
  • AI summarization and explanation
  • PDF and document annotation
  • Audio recording alongside notes
  • Extensive digital planner templates
  • Handwriting to text conversion
  • Cross-device iCloud sync
Features
Read full description

Write. Plan. Study. Work. Create. Noteshelf 3 brings natural handwriting, powerful AI, PDF annotation, audio recording and planning together in one beautiful app for iPad, iPhone and Mac. Free to start. FOR STUDENTS • Take lecture and class notes with lifelike pens, pencils and highlighters • Annotate textbooks, worksheets, slides and PDFs • Record audio while you write, so you never miss a word • Use Noteshelf AI to summarize and explain what you've learned FOR PROFESSIONALS • Capture meeting notes and record important discussions • Mark up contracts, reports and presentations • Present your notes on an external display with a laser pointer • Export and share notes as PDFs or images in one tap FOR PLANNERS & JOURNALERS • 200+ templates for digital planners, journals, diaries and trackers • Plan your days, track goals and keep a personal journal • Decorate pages with stickers, photos and custom covers WRITE NATURALLY • A smooth, natural handwriting experience built for Apple Pencil • Write, type, draw and sketch on the same page • Turn handwriting into text and search your notes in 65 languages • Choose lined, dotted or grid paper in any color WORK WITH PDFs & DOCUMENTS • Import and annotate PDFs, Word documents, PowerPoint files and images • Highlight, mark up, write and draw directly on your documents • Scan paper documents with the built-in scanner NOTESHELF AI • Summarize handwritten pages in seconds • Explain difficult terms and concepts • Translate text into other languages • Generate notes on any topic RECORD & REMEMBER • Record lectures, meetings and ideas alongside your handwritten notes STAY ORGANIZED & SECURE • Folders, subfolders, tags, bookmarks and a table of contents • Link notebooks together to connect ideas • Lock notes with a password, Face ID or Touch ID • Sync across iPad, iPhone and Mac with iCloud • Automatic backup to Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox or WebDAV YOUR NOTES, YOUR WAY • Custom notebook covers and a toolbar you can rearrange • Presentation mode, dark mode and flexible page layouts FREE TO START Create up to 3 notebooks with core pens and paper for free. Upgrade to Noteshelf Premium for unlimited notebooks, all templates, handwriting recognition, auto-backup and 100 monthly AI credits. Write beautifully. Work smarter. Stay organized. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula

Screenshots

Noteshelf4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Noteshelf at 58% against Brain;Notes's 0%. Noteshelf also leads on rating (4.5 vs 2.5) and ratings volume (7.2K vs 2). Brain;Notes's advantage is monetization model (free vs freemium). On price, ads, in-app purchases and iOS requirement 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. Brain;Notes sells 4 one-off in-app purchases and Noteshelf sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Noteshelf holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 2.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Noteshelf has 7.2K ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 0% of Brain;Notes's written reviews are positive against 58% of Noteshelf's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Brain;Notes ships an update every 6 days, Noteshelf every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Brain;Notes versus Noteshelf: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBrain;NotesNoteshelf
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.5 (2 ratings)4.5 (7.2K ratings) — better
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews57.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings27.2K — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 daysEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree — betterFreemium
Best chart rank—#190 — better
DevicesiPadiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS17.6 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size9 MB557 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperKouichi AbeFluid Touch Pte. Ltd.

Customer experience

Brain;Notes

All ratings1 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

Noteshelf

All ratings7,201 ratings
Positive88.5%
Neutral3.3%
Negative8.2%
Written reviews1,104 reviews
Positive57.5%
Neutral10.3%
Negative32.2%

Bugs and requests

Brain;Notes

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Noteshelf

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Notebooks failing to open or sync correctly
  • Handwriting recognition not working as expected
  • Imported PDFs losing formatting or functionality
  • Unexpected loss of data or notes
  • Compatibility issues with older devices or operating systems

Requested features

6 requests
  • Add ability to create folders within notebooks
  • Improve page organization and navigation
  • Implement a more intuitive color picker and pen customization
  • Introduce a history/undo feature for linked pages
  • Add support for custom stickers and templates
Show 1 more
  • Optimize performance and reduce loading times

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Brain;Notes

One-time4
  • 20 notes$0.99
  • 50 notes$1.99
  • 80 notes$2.99
Show 1 more
  • 150 notes$4.99
10 purchases

Noteshelf

Subscriptions8
  • Noteshelf 3 Weekly Premium$7.997 Days
  • Noteshelf3 Weekly Premium3 Days trial$7.997 Days
  • Noteshelf3 Monthly Premium$9.991 Month
Show 5 more
  • Noteshelf 3 Yearly Premium3 Days trial$19.991 Year
  • Noteshelf3 Yearly Premium3 Days trial$29.991 Year
  • Noteshelf3 Yearly Premium$39.991 Year
  • Noteshelf 3 Yearly Premium3 Days trial$39.991 Year
  • Noteshelf3 Yearly Premium3 Days trial$49.991 Year
One-time2
  • Premium for Noteshelf 2 users$9.99
  • Noteshelf 3 Premium - Lifetime$14.99

Questions

Is Brain;Notes free?
Brain;Notes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Noteshelf free?
Noteshelf is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Brain;Notes or Noteshelf?
Noteshelf is rated higher. Brain;Notes averages 2.5 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while Noteshelf averages 4.5 from 7.2K ratings.
Do Brain;Notes or Noteshelf have ads?
Neither Brain;Notes nor Noteshelf shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Brain;Notes or Noteshelf?
Brain;Notes ships an update every 6 days, and Noteshelf every 3 days. Most recently, Brain;Notes was updated on November 3, 2026 and Noteshelf on November 5, 2026.

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