Comparison

CollaNote vs Noteful

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

Head to head
About

CollaNote

This powerful note-taking app offers a rich set of tools for writing, PDF markup, and digital planning. Enhance your notes with over 25 pens, handwriting stabilization, and AI assistance. Collaborate in real-time and organize your work with unlimited papers and notebooks.

Highlights
  • 25+ pens and brushes
  • Handwriting stabilizer
  • PDF import and markup
  • Flashcard creation
  • Real-time collaboration
  • AI-powered tools
  • Unlimited papers and notebooks
Features
Read full description

CollaNote: Powerful note-taking app packed with a wide range of tools. Note-taking, PDF markup, digital planning, and flashcards - all in one place! BUILT FOR APPLE PENCIL WITH AN ENHANCED WRITING EXPERIENCE: - 25+ different pens and brushes to transform your notes into artwork. - Handwriting stabilizer for beautiful, smooth writing. - Enjoy a calming ASMR note-taking experience. - Infinite Arc Menu available for both Apple Pencil Pro and Apple Pencil Gen 2. IMPORT, MARK-UP, AND EXPORT PDF: - Import and mark up PDFs, PPTs, DOCs, and Images effortlessly. - In-built scanner to digitize your physical documents. - Export notes to PDF and share with ease. POWERFUL TOOLS: - Translation tool to learn new languages, supporting over 90 languages. - Create flashcards with audio and images, or use our extensive library. - Beautiful Planners for tracking tasks, deadlines, and schedules. - Record and sync audio directly within your notes. UNLIMITED PAPERS AND NOTEBOOKS: - Unlimited paper with versatile grids/lines and 150+ colorful templates. - Keep all your notes organized and easily accessible from anywhere. - Automatically back up to iCloud and sync across iOS devices. - Smart Dark Mode for optimal visibility in any lighting. - Password protection for ultimate note security. AI POWERED: - Built-in AI Calculator for complex calculations. - AI drawing tools for perfect shapes. - Get intelligent writing and note-taking assistance. - Generate unique stickers with AI. ENGAGING CREATIVE COMMUNITY: - Join the Public Room to connect with creators worldwide. - Real-time collaboration function (unlimited participants). CollaNote's journey began with a student at Hamburg University, who now leads a dedicated team of individuals devoted to delivering the finest digital paper experience. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to our users for their unwavering support since the early days of CollaNote. Download CollaNote now to discover even more surprises!

About

Noteful

This app revolutionizes paperless note-taking on iPad, allowing for handwritten notes, document annotation, and knowledge organization. It offers a fluid writing experience, PDF markup, powerful tagging, and audio recording synced with notes.

Highlights
  • Handwritten notes with Apple Pencil
  • PDF and document annotation
  • Organize notes with tags
  • Layers for annotations
  • Audio recording synced with notes
  • Import PDFs and MS Office documents
Features
Read full description

Noteful is your one-stop note-taking app to experience the new paperless revolution on iPad. Perfect for annotating documents, taking class notes or even building your personal knowledge system. It is time to put aside the paper clutter, as Noteful is a versatile tool that helps you to accelerate your learning and knowledge work. Take Beautiful Handwritten Notes • Natural, fluid and precise handwriting experience • Precise handwriting on iPad with Apple Pencil native support • Custom-built ink engine InfiniteStroke that captures and converts your strokes into high-resolution vector ink • 3 brushes available: ballpoint pen, fountain pen and highlighter • Switch between pen sizes and colours • Recognise geometrical shapes Markup, Highlight, Annotate • Import PDFs, MS Office documents to a notebook • Add images, shapes and typed text to notes • Use multiple paper templates in a single notebook • Export and share handwritten annotations as PDF • Use Quick Create to create a new notebook for quick sketching Powerful Tagging • Organise quickly by tagging with #tag or even #nested/tag anywhere in notebooks • More flexible than folders; Notes can be organised by subjects, by topics or by priorities • Browse notebooks or pages by tags • Rename, delete or re-assign tags to easily re-organise your library Layers in Notebook • Add annotation on separate layers without changing original content* • Hide or show layers independently • Rearrange layers • Make it possible to composite complex layout* All Your Notes, All the Time • Sync to all your iPhone and iPad devices* • Take textbooks, slides, handwritten notes and PDF documents with you wherever you go • Notebooks synced with iCloud are encrypted via account-based keys Powerful Editing • Erase strokes with eraser • Double tap on Apple Pencil to switch to eraser tool • Move and resize annotations with lasso tool • Unlimited undo, redo • Support Split View for multitasking Audio Record Notes • Record audio while you take notes • Audio playback position synced with the notes Modern App Design • A minimalist UI that maximizes content space • Streamlined design that requires fewer taps for common functions • Different orientations are available for the main toolbar • A clean UI that lets you focus on note-taking and the content We will be adding new features so please stay tuned for future updates. — Noteful is free to use without time limit but with certain features (marked with*) only available to users who upgrade to Noteful Pro via In-app purchase. Noteful Pro is available for one-time purchase and the features will be unlocked forever. — If you have support questions or product suggestions, please contact us by support. Wishing you happy note-taking! Customer Support: support@getnoteful.com Privacy Policy: https://www.getnoteful.com/privacy

Screenshots

CollaNote4 screens
Noteful4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: CollaNote at free against Noteful's freemium. CollaNote also leads on update cadence (every 6 days vs fortnightly). Noteful's advantage is review sentiment (87% vs 74%) and iOS requirement (16.4 vs 18.6). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads 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. CollaNote sells 4 one-off in-app purchases and Noteful sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. 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 — 4.7 for CollaNote against 4.8 for Noteful. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 15K and 24K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 74% of CollaNote's written reviews are positive against 87% of Noteful's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

CollaNote ships an update every 6 days, Noteful fortnightly. Both last shipped on November 7, 2026.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
CollaNote versus Noteful: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCollaNoteNoteful
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (15K ratings)4.8 (24K ratings) — better
Positive reviews73.6% of reviews87.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings15K24K — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 days — betterFortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree — betterFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.616.4 — better
Further details — not scored
Size229 MB157 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperZauberberg Lab Company LimitedNoteful Technologies Ltd

Customer experience

CollaNote

All ratings15,105 ratings
Positive92.4%
Neutral2.0%
Negative5.6%
Written reviews3,370 reviews
Positive73.6%
Neutral7.3%
Negative19.1%

Noteful

All ratings23,951 ratings
Positive94.4%
Neutral2.5%
Negative3.1%
Written reviews1,259 reviews
Positive87.0%
Neutral6.4%
Negative6.6%

User reviews

CollaNote

From 15K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Very good writing app
  • 🚀 Great app and easy to navigate
  • 🚀 Excellent note taking app
  • 👍 Amazing free note taking app
  • 👍 Fantastic for teaching

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Glitching, crashing, and issues with writing tools
  • 🐛 Inconsistent performance and bugs
  • 🐛 Issues with PDF annotations and exports
  • 🐛 Problems with organization and navigation
  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and data loss

Noteful

From 24K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Smooth writing experience
  • 👍 Intuitive and easy to use
  • 💡 Layers feature
  • 👍 Affordable one-time purchase
  • 🚀 Efficient and lightweight

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes or freezes
  • 🔍 No handwriting recognition or search
  • 🔍 Limited text editing options
  • 🔍 Lack of advanced features like math conversion
  • 🔍 Exporting PDFs loses some formatting

Bugs and requests

CollaNote

Reported bugs

6 issues
  • Pen and eraser issues after updates
  • Freezing and crashing when deleting or moving notes
  • Inconsistent behavior of favorite pen settings
  • Incompatibility with older devices
  • Login screen freezes
Show 1 more
  • Random deletion of notes and files

Requested features

12 requests
  • Add landscape mode support
  • Improve text editing and formatting
  • Enhance organization with nested folders
  • Implement better backup and sync options
  • Add more pen/pencil customization
Show 7 more
  • Improve collaboration and sharing features
  • Introduce a zoom window and auto-advance function
  • Add more paper style options
  • Implement undo/redo functionality
  • Allow resizing and manipulating of selected content
  • Provide a dark mode option
  • Add advanced analytics and dashboard

Noteful

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Syncing issues across devices
  • Lasso tool not working properly with PDFs
  • Eraser tool not functioning as expected

Requested features

6 requests
  • Handwriting recognition and search
  • More text editing options (bullet lists, etc.)
  • Improved PDF handling and annotations
  • Custom templates and sticker support
  • Expanded cloud storage options (Dropbox, OneDrive, etc.)
Show 1 more
  • Customizable pen pressure and smoothing

In-app purchases

4 purchases

CollaNote

One-time4
  • Lifetime Premium Loyal Users$6.95
  • Premium: Time Limited Sale$6.95
  • Lifetime Premium Welcome Offer$9.69
Show 1 more
  • Lifetime Premium$13.90
1 purchases

Noteful

One-time1
  • Noteful Pro, Lifetime$6.99

Questions

Is CollaNote free?
CollaNote is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Noteful free?
Noteful is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, CollaNote or Noteful?
Noteful is rated higher. CollaNote averages 4.7 out of 5 from 15K ratings, while Noteful averages 4.8 from 24K ratings.
Do CollaNote or Noteful have ads?
Neither CollaNote nor Noteful shows ads.
Which is updated more often, CollaNote or Noteful?
CollaNote ships an update every 6 days, and Noteful fortnightly. Most recently, CollaNote was updated on November 7, 2026 and Noteful on November 7, 2026.

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