# CollaNote vs Noteful

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.

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.

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.

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

## The numbers

| Metric | CollaNote | Noteful |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.7 (15K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/collanote-notes-and-pdf-markup/id1540956268/reviews) | **[4.8 (24K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/noteful-notes-and-pdf-markup/id1587904334/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 15K | **24K** |
| Positive reviews | 73.6% of reviews | **87.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 6 days** | Fortnightly |
| Monetization | **Free** | Freemium |
| Size | 229 MB | 157 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.6 | **16.4** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Zauberberg Lab Company Limited](https://appshunter.io/developer/1693142923) | [Noteful Technologies Ltd](https://appshunter.io/developer/1587904336) |

## What reviewers say

### CollaNote

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/collanote-notes-and-pdf-markup/id1540956268)

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:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support, iPhone Duo support

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Lifetime Premium Loyal Users | $6.95 | one-time |
| Premium: Time Limited Sale | $6.95 | one-time |
| Lifetime Premium Welcome Offer | $9.69 | one-time |
| Lifetime Premium | $13.90 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

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

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 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

**Reported bugs**

- 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

**Requested features**

- 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


### Noteful

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/noteful-notes-and-pdf-markup/id1587904334)

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:** macOS Compatibility, Family Sharing, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Noteful Pro, Lifetime | $6.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

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

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 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

**Reported bugs**

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

**Requested features**

- 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.)


## Frequently asked 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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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*