Comparison

Kilonotes vs Noteshelf

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

Head to head
About

Kilonotes

This app offers a digital notebook experience for handwritten notes, PDF annotation, and study organization. It features freehand drawing, text extraction, AI assistance for learning, and customizable templates to enhance productivity and learning.

Highlights
  • Handwritten note-taking
  • PDF annotation and markup
  • AI assistant for learning
  • OCR text extraction
  • Customizable notebooks and templates
  • Recording function
  • Global PDF search
Features
Read full description

We sincerely invite you to join us in exploring more efficient ways of taking notes and jointly reshape the modern learning mode. As a companion exploring new ways of taking notes, Kilonotes can meet your various needs. Whether it is recording class notes, annotating PDFs, doing test exercises, studying online courses, or organizing reading notes, Kilonotes will be your reliable study partner. Let's take good notes together. [Breakthrough the limitations of paper] ·Handwriting can be moved, scaled and rotated freely ·You can undo what you entered ·The size of the eraser can be adjusted to control the erasing range ·Scale paper function to make writing more comfortable You can insert pictures or photos, and combine text and pictures to deepen memory · Quick browsing function to help you quickly find what you need · Unlimited creation of paper, providing endless memory space ·Recording function, allowing you to take notes while listening to lectures ·Card function, create an exclusive knowledge base, you can create your card through pictures, brushes, and typing OCR function, convenient and fast text extraction A variety of fun-but-practical Journaling templates [Optimized reading experience] ·Global PDF search, quickly find what you need in the database · Outline function, convenient and fast positioning Multiple reading modes: eye protection, dark color, vision protection · Quick jump function, enter the page number to quickly navigate ·Translation function to help foreign language literature reading ·Extraction function, easy to collect important information ·PDF extension function, make reading and writing more free [Beyond the limits of the brush] · Change brush color, create custom colors, or pick any color with the eyedropper ·Adjustable brush width to adapt to various scenes ·Graffiti pen function, make notes more colorful [Custom Notebook] ·Provide many unique and beautiful covers for you to choose ·A variety of paper templates are available: blank paper, dot matrix paper, graph paper, to meet your needs ·You can import PDF and record freely in your own notebook [AI Assistant] • Built-in high-efficiency AI assistant helps you organize notes, expand knowledge points, and double your learning and work efficiency. • Exclusive AI problem-solving function supports selecting questions and sending them with one click, helping you easily overcome learning difficulties. [About subscription] Users can subscribe to the monthly subscription service of kilonotes to unlock advanced content, including custom time planning books. The subscription will be automatically renewed. If the user needs to cancel the subscription, the renewal needs to be closed 24 hours before the end of the current cycle. Users can close and cancel subscriptions and trials in their iTunes account. Contact us: feedback@top-stack.com Official website: https://www.kilonotesapp.com Privacy Policy: https://www.top-stack.com/page/ios_en_privacy.html User agreement: https://www.top-stack.com/page/Kilonotes_Terms_of_use_En.html

About

Noteshelf

Create handwritten notes, annotate PDFs, and record audio with this app. It offers extensive customization for notebooks, a variety of writing tools, and AI-powered features for summarization and translation. Organize your thoughts and documents seamlessly.

Highlights
  • Handwritten note creation
  • PDF annotation and markup
  • Audio recording with notes
  • AI-powered summarization and translation
  • Customizable notebooks and templates
  • Handwriting to text conversion
  • Document scanning and import
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

Kilonotes4 screens
Noteshelf4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Noteshelf at none against Kilonotes's shown. Kilonotes's advantage is review sentiment (71% vs 57%) and iOS requirement (15.6 vs 18.0). On price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence 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. Kilonotes sells 20 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month and Noteshelf sells 17 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 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 — 4.6 for Kilonotes against 4.6 for Noteshelf. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 5K and 7K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 71% of Kilonotes's written reviews are positive against 57% of Noteshelf's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly weekly. Both last shipped on October 17, 2026.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Kilonotes versus Noteshelf: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterKilonotesNoteshelf
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (5K ratings)4.6 (7K ratings)
Positive reviews70.9% of reviews — better57.1% of reviews
Number of ratings5K7K — better
Update frequencyWeeklyWeekly
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS15.6 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size482 MB464 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperHefei T-Stack Information Technology Co., Ltd.Fluid Touch Pte. Ltd.

Customer experience

Kilonotes

All ratings4,961 ratings
Positive90.7%
Neutral4.0%
Negative5.3%
Written reviews873 reviews
Positive70.9%
Neutral10.9%
Negative18.2%

Noteshelf

All ratings6,951 ratings
Positive88.9%
Neutral3.2%
Negative7.9%
Written reviews1,030 reviews
Positive57.1%
Neutral10.6%
Negative32.3%

User reviews

Kilonotes

From 5K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Affordable
  • 🚀 Lots of free features
  • 👍 Easy to use and intuitive
  • 👍 Customizable notebooks and pages
  • 👍 Good alternative to paid apps

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional bugs and glitches
  • 🐛 Syncing and backup issues
  • 🔒 Lack of password protection or privacy features
  • 👎 Limited free notebooks
  • 👎 Some features locked behind paywall

Noteshelf

From 7K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Smooth handwriting experience
  • 📚 Versatile note-taking features
  • 🎨 Customizable templates and covers
  • 🔍 Accurate handwriting recognition
  • 💻 Seamless integration across devices

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and freezes
  • 🔄 Sync issues between devices
  • 🔒 Concerns about privacy and data security
  • 🔍 Unreliable search functionality
  • 🔧 Buggy or missing features from previous versions

Bugs and requests

Kilonotes

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Notebooks and notes getting deleted or scrambled
  • Lag and performance issues when writing or zooming
  • Inconsistent behavior of the pen and eraser tools

Requested features

6 requests
  • Add more free sticker packs and templates
  • Improve the lasso tool and image editing
  • Implement iCloud or cloud sync
  • Add a dark mode option
  • Improve the audio recording and playback features
Show 1 more
  • Allow more customization of notebooks and pages

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

20 purchases

Kilonotes

Subscriptions7
  • Cloud space monthly membership$0.991 Month
  • Monthly Subscription$1.991 Month
  • Quarterly Plan$4.993 Months
Show 4 more
  • AIChat$5.991 Month
  • Year Subscription1 Year trial$8.991 Year
  • Annual Plan$9.991 Year
  • Cloud space annual membership$9.991 Year
One-time13
  • ExamPolitics_2019_2023_testFree
  • Summer Forest 2022 Handbook$0.99
  • Xiaofen Diary 2022 Handbook$0.99
Show 10 more
  • Fresh 2022 Handbook$0.99
  • 康奈尔笔记$0.99
  • Cartoon mistake book$0.99
  • Paid Notebook$0.99
  • Alice$1.99
  • 咸鱼日常$1.99
  • AI Points Products$1.99
  • 月亮兔$1.99
  • Paid Notebook$2.99
  • Lifetime Access$19.99
17 purchases

Noteshelf

Subscriptions15
  • Noteshelf 3 Weekly Premium$4.997 Days
  • Noteshelf 3 Weekly Premium3 Days trial$4.997 Days
  • Noteshelf 3 Weekly Premium$7.997 Days
Show 12 more
  • Noteshelf3 Weekly Premium3 Days trial$7.997 Days
  • Noteshelf3 Monthly Premium$9.991 Month
  • Noteshelf3 Monthly Premium$19.991 Month
  • 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
  • Noteshelf Premium Yearly$49.991 Year
  • Noteshelf3 Yearly Premium3 Days trial$49.991 Year
  • Noteshelf 3 Yearly Premium1 Month trial$69.991 Year
  • Noteshelf3 Yearly Premium$79.991 Year
  • Premium3 Days trial$99.991 Year
One-time2
  • Premium for Noteshelf 2 users$9.99
  • Noteshelf 3 Premium - Lifetime$14.99

Questions

Is Kilonotes free?
Kilonotes 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, Kilonotes or Noteshelf?
Kilonotes and Noteshelf are both rated 4.6 out of 5 on the App Store, from 5K and 7K ratings respectively.
Do Kilonotes or Noteshelf have ads?
Kilonotes shows ads; Noteshelf does not.
Which is updated more often, Kilonotes or Noteshelf?
Kilonotes ships an update weekly, and Noteshelf weekly. Most recently, Kilonotes was updated on October 17, 2026 and Noteshelf on October 17, 2026.

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