Flexcil Note & Good PDF Reader vs HelloNotes
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Flexcil Note & Good PDF Reader
This app is a comprehensive note-taking and PDF reader designed for Apple devices. It allows users to edit PDFs, annotate documents, create bullet journals, and record audio, all while offering intuitive gesture controls and seamless integration with cloud services.
- Edit PDF pages
- Annotate documents with gestures
- Record and playback audio
- Create bullet journals
- Cloud sync across devices
- Masking pen for precise annotations
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Flexcil: The world’s ultimate iOS note-taking app Loved by Apple Editors - Editor's Choice, App of the Day, Note-taking on the next level, College Life, Apple Pencil Enhanced, New Apps We Love, Noteworthy Apps & Game, Productivity Boost for teachers Whether you’re taking notes, bullet journaling, reading documents, or editing pages from textbooks ー use Flexcil! It’s the #1 note-taking tool for any Apple device. Simply highlight by pen gestures and capture images and text on the study-note by pen gestures! Save time transcribing summaries by gestures on study-note with your Apple pencil. ALL IN ONE NOTE TAKING • Edit PDF pages • Annotate almost anything • Endless pen colors, sizes, and fonts • Seamlessly highlight and underline text with GESTURE • Summarize and organize your thoughts, texts and notes • Instantly open any PDF for reading and studying • Zoom to read small text • Organize and manage your books AND notes EASY AND INTUITIVE • Drag and paste text flawlessly • Add text and annotate with ease • Smooth Image selection • Reading and pen gesture mode - FLEXCIL EXCLUSIVE • Search the dictionary for any definitions you need • Improved the tiring, old-fashioned way of writing which results in wrist/palm pain BULLET JOURNAL & TAKE BETTER NOTES • Easily create bullet journal pages • Hundreds of colors and pen stroke sizes • Colorful covers & templates • Endless creativity ー perfect for artists, hobbyists, or anyone that wants to make studying more fun • Proven to boost productivity & happiness RECORD & PLAYBACK AUDIO • Record everything you hear whenever you take class notes or writing meeting notes • Replay audio recording and review what you wrote during the class or in the meeting • Tab on your note and hear what was said at the moment MULTITASK • Use Flexcil while other apps are open - take notes during lectures! • Edit 2 PDFs at once • Advanced viewing: full screen view, vertical scroll, 4-page view, and so much more COMPATIBLE WITH: • Zoom • Google Classroom • Google Drive • Dropbox • Box • iCloud • Notes • Digital textbooks • ebooks • PDFs and more! APPLE PENCIL • Simulate real-life note-taking by using your Apple Pencil - easy to use for all ages • Guaranteed ZERO touch malfunctions • Support Apple pencil 2nd generation & double tap Plus, enjoy these NEW FEATURES! • Cloud sync: Access your notes from anywhere, and seamlessly sync across devices. • Masking pen: Enhance your annotations with precision using the masking pen. Take your note-taking to the next level with Flexcil. Download the most comprehensive, easy to use, and innovative study tool on the App Store today! * Support: https://support.flexcil.com * Website: https://www.flexcil.com * Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/flexcil * Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/flexcil * Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjro4WpiFnxqKxAXQmASNwg [Access Permission Guide] • Storage (Photos and Videos): Used for adding images to documents in Flexcil, accessing PDF files, purchasing and downloading store content. • Music and Audio: Used for voice recording features, purchasing and downloading store content. • Microphone: Used for voice recording. • Camera: Used for taking pictures when adding photos. • Notifications: Used to display important notification content.
HelloNotes
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HelloNotes is a fast, private, local-first Markdown knowledge base for iPhone and iPad. Your notes are plain .md files in a folder you choose — no account, no lock-in, no cloud required. WRITE IN LIVE MARKDOWN • A native editor with live styling — headings, bold, lists, tables and syntax-highlighted code • LaTeX math ($…$ and $$…$$) and Mermaid diagrams rendered inline • Obsidian-style callouts, hidden comments, and a clean editor that tucks YAML front matter into an editable Properties panel CONNECT YOUR IDEAS • [[Wiki-links]] with autocomplete, including links straight to a heading • Backlinks and unlinked mentions, with one-click linking • #tags (nested) with autocomplete, searchable from the inspector • Note transclusion — embed a whole note or a single section • An interactive graph view of your whole vault FIND ANYTHING • Full-text search and "Open Quickly" across notes and headings • Bookmarks, daily notes and templates AI, ON YOUR TERMS • Summarise a note, suggest tags and links — powered by Apple Intelligence, entirely on your device • "Ask your library": answers grounded in your own notes, with citations • An agentic Assistant that can search, read, and (with your approval) edit notes • Bring your own model: fully local (Apple, MLX, Ollama, LM Studio) or your own cloud API key (Anthropic, Mistral, Gemini) On-device models send nothing off your device. Cloud providers are optional, off by default, and use your own key — note content goes only to the provider you configure. VERSION HISTORY WITH GIT • Built-in Git: initialise a repo, browse a note's history and restore earlier versions EXPORT & MORE • Export to HTML or PDF • Full light and dark support Your files stay yours — readable in any editor, syncable with any tool. HelloNotes just makes them a joy to think in. SUPPORTING HELLONOTES (OPTIONAL) HelloNotes is free and every feature is included. Nothing is locked, limited or time-trialled. Two entirely optional purchases live in Settings > Support, and neither unlocks anything: • Champion — a one-off contribution of A$50. You can give more than once; the app remembers how many times. • Commercial — an annual licence for using HelloNotes at work. A$50 per year, an auto-renewable subscription charged to your Apple Account on confirmation and renewing each year unless turned off at least 24 hours before the period ends. Manage or cancel it in Settings > your name > Subscriptions. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://hellotham.com/hellonotes/privacy
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: HelloNotes at none against Flexcil Note & Good PDF Reader's shown. Flexcil Note & Good PDF Reader's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 26.5). On price, in-app purchases 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. Flexcil Note & Good PDF Reader sells 13 one-off in-app purchases and HelloNotes sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $30.00 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
| Parameter | Flexcil Note & Good PDF Reader | HelloNotes |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.4 (408 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 59.2% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 408 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Weekly | — |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Mac |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 26.5 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 228 MB | 55 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Flexcil Inc. | Hello Tham Pty Ltd |
Bugs and requests
Flexcil Note & Good PDF Reader
Reported bugs
5 issues- Sudden data loss and file deletion
- Inability to restore purchases
- Frequent app crashes and freezes
- Inconsistent behavior of undo/redo functions
- Annotations not exporting correctly
Requested features
6 requests- Add iCloud sync and backup
- Improve handwriting search and recognition
- Bring back reading mode and one-page scrolling
- Add more pen and brush options
- Allow customizing notebook paper styles
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- Implement auto-save and version control
HelloNotes
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Flexcil Note & Good PDF Reader
- Upgrade product for old usersFree
- Premium$8.99
- Flexcil Standard$9.99
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- 2021-2022 Color Planner$11.99
- Flexcil NEW Design Planner 22$11.99
- Premium & Toolbar Skin Pack$12.99
- Hello Kitty Planner 2022$13.99
- My Melody & Kuromi Planner 22$13.99
- Standard & 21-22 Planner Pack$14.99
- Standard & Design Planner Pack$14.99
- Standard & 2023 Planner Pack$14.99
- 2026 Ultimate Planner(Dated) : Pro$15.49
- Nelna 6-in-1 Planner Bundle$19.99
HelloNotes
- Commercial$30.001 Year
- Champion$30.00
Questions
Is Flexcil Note & Good PDF Reader free?
Is HelloNotes free?
Do Flexcil Note & Good PDF Reader or HelloNotes have ads?
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