Comparison

Prodrafts vs Element Note

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

Head to head
About

Prodrafts

This app offers an infinite canvas for note-taking and mind mapping, supporting various file formats and multimedia attachments. Experience natural handwriting and organize all your thoughts and documents in one place for efficient learning and work.

Highlights
  • Infinite expandable canvas
  • Realistic pen strokes
  • Supports all file formats
  • Multimedia attachments
  • Mind mapping tools
  • PDF annotation
  • Customizable paper backgrounds
Features
Read full description

Write by hand, annotate PDFs and connect your ideas with Prodrafts. Move freely across an infinite canvas, use paged notebooks for structured work, or organize ideas in a mind map. Keep words, drawings and study materials together. NOTES THAT FIT THE WAY YOU THINK Capture lecture notes, sketch concepts and work through diagrams without running out of room. Use natural pen tools, shapes, a ruler and a compass for handwritten explanations and geometry notes. READ, ANNOTATE AND REVISIT Import PDFs, highlight key passages and add handwritten notes. Bring course slides, reading materials and PDF planners into your notebook. Search PDF text and make supported scanned PDFs searchable with OCR. SEE CONNECTIONS Build mind maps with text, handwriting and attachments. Move ideas, fold branches and connect related topics to make a clearer study outline or brainstorm board. FROM QUICK NOTES TO DOCUMENTS Write with headings, lists, tasks, tables, links and equations. Import and export Markdown, and export text documents to Word/DOCX. Add images and recordings to your notes. Place web link cards and video on your canvas to keep related material together. PAPER FOR YOUR NEXT PROJECT Choose lined, grid and dot paper, Cornell layouts, weekly and monthly planner pages, music staff and guitar tablature paper, or guides for handwriting practice. Use them for a reading journal, study sheets or handwritten planning. RECORD AND PRESENT Record classes, meetings and ideas. On supported systems and languages, turn recordings into text. Present your canvas on an external display and guide attention with the laser pointer. KEEP YOUR WORK CLOSE Organize documents in folders, enable iCloud sync across your devices, and share notes as PDFs or images. Some tools, templates and document limits require an in-app purchase. Availability varies by device, system version and language. Audio transcription requires iOS, iPadOS or macOS 26 or later and a supported system language. The subscription will automatically renew unless canceled, and will be charged through your Apple iTunes account. The price may vary depending on your location. Prodrafts is a product registered and developed by EMMO Corp. Support: prodrafts@163.com Privacy Policy: https://www.prodrafts.cn/privacyPolicy Terms of Service: https://www.prodrafts.cn/termsOfService

About

Element Note

This app offers a distraction-free digital notebook experience with advanced handwriting, PDF annotation, and sketching capabilities. It features unique brushes, a powerful rendering engine, and smart organization tools. Sync your notes across devices and collaborate with others seamlessly.

Highlights
  • Unique handwriting brushes
  • Smooth drawing engine
  • PDF annotation
  • Text, shape, and image attachments
  • On-device OCR search
  • Smart dark mode
  • iCloud sync and collaboration
Features
Read full description

Element Note is the next-gen note taking, PDF annotation, and light sketching app. We stripped down the unnecessaries and carefully polished the elemental functions for a digital notebook. With a modern look and powerful features, Element Note strives to provide an elegant writing space free of distractions. Features: Unique brushes - Pencil (HB Pencil, Mechanical Pencil) - Pen (Pen, Line Pen, Fountain Pen) - Brush (Art Brush, Round Brush) - Marker (Marker, Round Marker) Best-in-class note rendering engine - Smooth and fluid drawing powered by Metal technology - Support gradient ink for more expressive notes Powerful attachments - Text - Shape - Sticker - Image Universal Search - Search through your PDF & Handwritting using on device OCR Smart Darkmode - Smartly adapts all of your notes to the system darkmode without changing the paper or stroke colors. iCloud Sync & Collaboration - Sync via your personal iCloud (No data is passed to our server) - Collaborate through iCloud collaboration for up to 100 users. Desktop class organization - Intuitive multi-select drag and drop gesture to organize your notes or pages Element Note is free to try for up to 3 notes. Unlock the full app with an in app purchase to create unlimited notes. Terms and Conditions https://elementnote.app/terms Privacy Policy https://elementnote.app/privacy

Screenshots

Prodrafts4 screens
Element Note4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Prodrafts at every 2 days against Element Note's fortnightly. Prodrafts also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.6). On price, review sentiment, 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. Prodrafts sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per year and Element Note sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $3.49 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Prodrafts holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3.9K and 2.6K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 70% of Prodrafts's written reviews are positive against 69% of Element Note's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Prodrafts ships an update every 2 days, Element Note fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Prodrafts versus Element Note: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterProdraftsElement Note
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (3.9K ratings) — better4.6 (2.6K ratings)
Positive reviews69.7% of reviews — better68.5% of reviews
Number of ratings3.9K — better2.6K
Update frequencyEvery 2 days — betterFortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, MaciPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size213 MB129 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperEMMO Corp.Soysauce Lab

Customer experience

Prodrafts

All ratings3,861 ratings
Positive95.4%
Neutral2.0%
Negative2.6%
Written reviews1,038 reviews
Positive69.7%
Neutral10.3%
Negative19.9%

Element Note

All ratings2,591 ratings
Positive90.5%
Neutral4.1%
Negative5.4%
Written reviews340 reviews
Positive68.5%
Neutral11.8%
Negative19.7%

User reviews

Prodrafts

From 3.9K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Syncing works great
  • 👍 Infinite canvas
  • 👍 Customizable paper backgrounds
  • 👍 Supports Apple Pencil
  • 👍 Versatile note-taking features

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Sync issues between devices
  • 🐛 Occasional data loss
  • 🐛 Buggy performance with large files
  • 🔧 Limited English support and documentation
  • 🔧 Lack of collaboration features

Element Note

From 2.6K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Smooth handwriting experience
  • 💡 Customizable pens and colors
  • 👍 Clean and intuitive interface
  • 🎨 Gradient and gradient brush tools
  • 📚 Great for journaling and note-taking

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and freezes
  • 🔍 Search function not working
  • 🖼️ Issues with image handling and export
  • 🔀 Difficulty switching between pen and eraser
  • 🔑 Lack of password/locking feature for notes

Bugs and requests

Prodrafts

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Notes disappearing without warning
  • Inability to create new drafts
  • Eraser tool not working as expected
  • Compatibility issues with newer Apple Drawing Format
  • Inconsistent translations in the UI

Requested features

7 requests
  • Bulk export of notes as PDFs
  • Ability to link notes to source content
  • Flashcard or spaced repetition feature
  • Improved organization with folders and tags
  • Dark mode option
Show 2 more
  • Better mouse/keyboard support on desktop
  • Handwriting recognition and conversion to text

Element Note

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Notes and files randomly disappearing
  • Inconsistent behavior when using the floating keyboard
  • Handwriting recognition not working as expected
  • Exported PDFs losing formatting and background colors

Requested features

6 requests
  • Ruler tool
  • Ability to resize/rotate selections
  • Improved text editing and formatting
  • Presentation mode for connecting to displays
  • Ability to import/export multiple files at once
Show 1 more
  • Seasonal or custom sticker packs

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Prodrafts

Subscriptions1
  • Prodrafts Pro3 Days trial$7.991 Year
One-time1
  • Unlock All$12.99
5 purchases

Element Note

Subscriptions2
  • Element Note Yearly$3.491 Year
  • Element Note Yearly$4.991 Year
One-time3
  • Lifetime Launch Special$4.99
  • Lifetime$9.99
  • Lifetime$14.99

Questions

Is Prodrafts free?
Prodrafts is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Element Note free?
Element Note is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Prodrafts or Element Note?
Prodrafts is rated higher. Prodrafts averages 4.8 out of 5 from 3.9K ratings, while Element Note averages 4.6 from 2.6K ratings.
Do Prodrafts or Element Note have ads?
Neither Prodrafts nor Element Note shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Prodrafts or Element Note?
Prodrafts ships an update every 2 days, and Element Note fortnightly. Most recently, Prodrafts was updated on October 14, 2026 and Element Note on October 13, 2026.

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