Comparison

AxNote vs Saber

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

Head to head
About

AxNote

This app offers an intelligent canvas for note-taking, allowing users to generate summaries from text, handwriting, and audio recordings. It supports image annotation, data visualization with tables and charts, and handwriting conversion to typed text. Designed for Apple Pencil, it provides flexible layouts and on-device AI features.

Highlights
  • AI-powered summaries from text, handwriting, and audio
  • Audio transcription and topic exploration
  • Image and PDF annotation
  • Data visualization with tables and charts
  • Handwriting to typed text conversion
  • Apple Pencil integration
  • Customizable layouts
Features
Read full description

AxNote is an intelligent canvas that thinks with you. Generate summaries from your notes and audio recordings with Apple Intelligence. Explore topics in recordings and jump to where they're discussed. Create flashcards from your notes with a single tap. Handwrite your notes and convert it to typed text. Drag and drop images, and instantly annotate on a blank canvas, lined, or grid paper. Snap perfect shapes. Create beautiful tables and charts to visualize your data. AxNote is a next-level digital note-taking experience. FEATURES Magic Summary: Generate summaries of your text, handwriting, or audio recordings using a device that supports Apple Intelligence. Summaries are perfect for catching up with meetings, revision, and for creating flashcards. Magic Summary cards can also be converted to a PDF or plain text for use in your favorite flashcard platform. Ask About Topics: Magic Summary automatically finds key topics discussed in your audio recordings and gives you summaries of those topics. You can also ask specific questions about the contents of your recording and Magic Summary will give you an answer using your recording as the source of truth. Jump To Topic: Instantly skip to the part of a recording where a specific topic is discussed with Magic Summary. No more manually scrubbing through hours of lectures or meetings. Audio Transcription: AxNote features fast, accurate audio transcription that runs directly on your device and supports languages other than English. Audio transcriptions can be added to your note or shared with others. Images, PDFs, Tables, and Charts: Drag and drop images and PDFs anywhere in a note. Images can be annotated directly over using a markup tool. Create simple tables with CSV support and link them with charts to create beautiful data visualizations. Images, tables, and charts live right alongside your handwriting and typed text. AxNote also supports Image Playground, so you can turn a prompt into an image and add it to your note (requires a device with Apple Intelligence enabled). Made for Pencil: AxNote is the perfect companion for Apple Pencil. With support for tilt and pressure sensitivity, shape snapping, Apple Pencil Hover, and handwriting-to-text, it's the only app you need to turn your ideas into beautiful ink. Layouts: Transform your iPad or iPhone into a real notebook with a selection of preset Layouts, including lined, grid, dot grid paper, and a freeform canvas. Customize your layouts with specific measurements for line and grid spacing and colors. Bookmarks: Pin what matters most in your notes. You can access your bookmarks from anywhere in a note, allowing you to jump within (and between) pages for quick access to important content. Privacy and Flexibility: With AxNote, you're in control of your data and where it's stored. Save your documents in your preferred cloud storage provider with the Files app or keep them on your device. AxNote's AI features also run directly on your Apple Intelligence-supported device, so your notes are never sent to an online service for processing or AI model training. Offline Support: AxNote's AI features (including Magic Summary and Audio Transcription) don't need an internet connection after initial setup, so you can work even when you're off the grid. --- AxNote+ - Unlimited pages - Unlimited Magic Summary usage - Customize Layouts These features are available with a one-time in-app purchase to AxNote+. Please read the Terms of Service at animantlabs.com/axnote/terms --- Need help? Please visit support.animantlabs.com/axnote Terms of Service: animantlabs.com/axnote/terms

About

Saber

Capture and organize your thoughts with a digital handwriting app designed for intuitive use. Features include dark mode inversion for eye comfort, advanced highlighter capabilities, and robust folder organization. Secure your notes with a dual-password system and enjoy seamless syncing across all your devices.

Highlights
  • Intuitive handwriting interface
  • Dark mode inversion for eye comfort
  • Advanced multi-line equation highlighting
  • Unlimited nested folders for organization
  • Dual-password note protection
  • Seamless cross-device syncing
  • Open-source code for transparency
Features
Read full description

Saber is the notes app built for handwriting. It's designed to be as simple and intuitive as possible, while still delivering unique features that you'll actually use. Additionally, Saber is available across all your devices, large and small, and syncs between them seamlessly. Notably, it can invert your notes when you're in dark mode. This allows you to write with white ink on a black background, which is much easier on the eyes in low-light environments like when the teacher turns off the lights in class. Images and PDFs are also inverted, so you can still use a digital printout or a textbook without the fuss. Saber uses a dual-password system to protect your notes from anyone but you, even if they have complete control over the server. You can safely store your notes on the official Saber server, another server, or even host your own! The app is completely open-source so that anyone can view the source code and see exactly what it's doing and how it handles your data. Many other note-taking apps are closed-source and proprietary, meaning that their inner workings are a mystery to the public. As someone who studies maths, highlighting multi-line equations was always a hassle with other apps, where the highlighter would change color when it overlapped with itself. Another problem I had was that in some apps, the highlighter would render on top of the text, fading it out and making it hard to read. Saber's highlighter has no such issues. It utilizes canvas compositing to render the highlighter in a way that is consistent with/better than traditional paper, where it handles overlaps and maintains color consistency. Saber has everything you need to keep your notes organized. Create folders inside folders inside folders to your heart's content with no limit on the number of nested folders. And even though a note may be buried deep within a nested folder, you can still access it easily with your most recent notes always available on the home screen. Discover a whole new way to capture and organize your thoughts with Saber. Whether you're a student, professional, or creative mind, Saber is your trusted companion for digital handwriting. Download now and let your ideas flow freely!

Screenshots

AxNote4 screens
Saber4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Saber at none against AxNote's 1. Saber also leads on review sentiment (76% vs 50%) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 2 months). AxNote's advantage is rating (4.3 vs 4.0). On price, ads, monetization model 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. AxNote sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Saber asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

AxNote holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 7 and 21 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 50% of AxNote's written reviews are positive against 76% of Saber's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

AxNote ships an update every 2 months, Saber fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 19, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
AxNote versus Saber: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAxNoteSaber
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (7 ratings) — better4.0 (21 ratings)
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews76.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings721 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac, Vision ProiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac
Requires iOS26.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size9 MB49 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJonathan BenjaminAdil Hanney

Customer experience

AxNote

All ratings7 ratings
Positive71.4%
Neutral14.3%
Negative14.3%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral25.0%
Negative25.0%

Saber

All ratings21 ratings
Positive76.2%
Neutral9.5%
Negative14.3%
Written reviews17 reviews
Positive76.5%
Neutral17.6%
Negative5.9%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

AxNote

One-time1
  • AxNote+$24.99
None

Saber

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is AxNote free?
AxNote is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Saber free?
Saber is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, AxNote or Saber?
AxNote is rated higher. AxNote averages 4.3 out of 5 from 7 ratings, while Saber averages 4.0 from 21 ratings.
Do AxNote or Saber have ads?
Neither AxNote nor Saber shows ads.
Which is updated more often, AxNote or Saber?
AxNote ships an update every 2 months, and Saber fortnightly. Most recently, AxNote was updated on September 19, 2026 and Saber on September 22, 2026.

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