Comparison

Obsidian vs Handwriting Scan

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

Head to head
About

Obsidian

Organize your thoughts and ideas with a powerful knowledge base that utilizes local Markdown files. This app acts as your personal second brain, accessible on your mobile device for seamless note-taking and idea connection.

Highlights
  • Local Markdown file storage
  • Customizable toolbar
  • Graph view for connections
  • Community plugins
  • Themes
  • iCloud sync
Features
Read full description

Obsidian is a powerful knowledge base that works on top of a local folder of plain text Markdown files. It is a second brain, for you, forever. Now available on the go for iOS! Features include: - Customizable toolbar - Pull down quick actions - Graph view - Community plugins - Themes - Sidebar pinning for tablet - iCloud vaults

About

Handwriting Scan

Digitize handwritten notes and paper memos, converting them into searchable text. Organize, review, and share your captured information easily. Extract to-do lists and sync them with your reminders.

Highlights
  • OCR for handwritten notes
  • Searchable text notes
  • Markdown export
  • iCloud support
  • Task extraction and management
  • Sync with Apple Reminders
Features
Read full description

WriteScan helps you capture handwritten notes and paper memos, turn them into searchable text, and keep them organized. It keeps the freedom of writing on paper while making your notes easier to find, review, and share later. Main Features - Capture notebooks and journals with your camera and convert them to text with OCR - Save each page with both the original image and recognized text - Search past notes by keyword - Copy and share notes in Markdown format - iCloud support: data is stored on your device and in iCloud - Scan multiple pages in a single flow - Extract handwritten TODO lists and manage them as tasks - Organize detected tasks by parent groups - Sync tasks with Apple Reminders - Optionally save captured images to your photo library Perfect for - Digitally managing notebooks and journals - Quickly capturing shopping lists and ideas - Reviewing meeting notes or study notes later - Turning paper TODO lists into a task list - Archiving past notebooks for future reference Privacy & Security Your data is stored on your device and in iCloud. Text recognition uses an external AI service, but submitted data is never used for training. Terms of Use & Privacy Policy Terms of Use: https://writescan.app/en/terms/ Privacy Policy: https://writescan.app/en/privacy/

Screenshots

Obsidian4 screens
Handwriting Scan4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Handwriting Scan at 5.0 against Obsidian's 4.5. Handwriting Scan also leads on update cadence (every 3 days vs every 3 weeks). Obsidian's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and ratings volume (2.8K vs 1). On price, ads 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. Handwriting Scan sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Obsidian asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Handwriting Scan holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Obsidian has 2.8K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Obsidian ships an update every 3 weeks, Handwriting Scan every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Obsidian versus Handwriting Scan: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterObsidianHandwriting Scan
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (2.8K ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews61.9% of reviews—
Number of ratings2.8K — better1
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFreemium
Best chart rank#124 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.6 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size40 MB71 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDynalist Inc.Kodai Hiradate

Customer experience

Obsidian

All ratings2,757 ratings
Positive85.6%
Neutral4.0%
Negative10.5%
Written reviews1,335 reviews
Positive61.9%
Neutral11.9%
Negative26.1%

Handwriting Scan

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Obsidian

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Sync issues leading to data loss
  • Freezing and crashing on mobile devices
  • Editing bugs and text input issues

Requested features

5 requests
  • Improved sorting and organization options
  • WYSIWYG editing on mobile
  • Better integration with other cloud storage services
  • More intuitive onboarding process for new users
  • Native mobile widgets and share sheet integration

Handwriting Scan

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Obsidian

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Handwriting Scan

Subscriptions2
  • Pro plan(monthly)$3.991 Month
  • Pro plan (Annual)1 Year trial$29.991 Year
One-time1
  • 20-Scan Add-on Pack$0.49

Questions

Is Obsidian free?
Obsidian is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Handwriting Scan free?
Handwriting Scan is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Obsidian or Handwriting Scan?
Handwriting Scan is rated higher. Obsidian averages 4.5 out of 5 from 2.8K ratings, while Handwriting Scan averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Obsidian or Handwriting Scan have ads?
Neither Obsidian nor Handwriting Scan shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Obsidian or Handwriting Scan?
Obsidian ships an update every 3 weeks, and Handwriting Scan every 3 days. Most recently, Obsidian was updated on October 24, 2026 and Handwriting Scan on October 16, 2026.

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