Comparison

Kilonotes 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

Kilonotes

This app offers a flexible digital notebook experience for iPhone users. Easily add images, photos, and text to your notes, and customize layouts with a lasso tool. Choose from various notebook covers and paper templates to personalize your digital workspace.

Highlights
  • Customizable notebook covers and templates
  • Insert images and photos
  • Lasso tool for layout design
  • Resizable and rotatable handwriting
  • Unlimited sheets of paper
  • Undo and eraser tools
Features
Read full description

Kilonotes Pocket is a convenient and flexible note taking tool for iPhone . You could insert images or photos to enrich the content and use the lasso tool to design the layout as you like. [Customized notebooks] A wide range of covers with beautiful colors for you to choose from A rich selection of paper templates: blank, dotted, square, English, etc. Able to choose multiple paper background colors [Escape the limits of analog paper] Move, resize and rotate your handwriting Undo the typed content Adjust the eraser size and control the eraser radius Zoom in and out to write more freely Insert pictures or photos, combine text and images to help your memory recall Insert text information to collect text quickly Create unlimited sheets of paper to free up space for your memory [Contact us] We look forward to receiving your feedback. You can contact us via email :business@top-stack.com [about subscription] Users can subscribe to the monthly subscription service of kilonotes to unlock advanced content, including custom time planning books. The subscription will be automatically renewed. If the user needs to cancel the subscription, the renewal needs to be closed 24 hours before the end of the current cycle Users can close and cancel subscriptions and trials in their iTunes account. Privacy Policy: https://www.top-stack.com/page/Kilonotes_Privacy_Policy_En.html User agreement: https://www.top-stack.com/page/Kilonotes_Terms_of_use_En.html

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

Kilonotes4 screens
Element Note4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Element Note at none against Kilonotes's shown. Element Note also leads on ratings volume (2.6K vs 857). Kilonotes's advantage is review sentiment (88% vs 68%) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 17.0). On price, rating, update cadence and in-app purchases 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. Kilonotes sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month 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

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Kilonotes against 4.6 for Element Note. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 857 and 2.6K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 88% of Kilonotes's written reviews are positive against 68% of Element Note's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Kilonotes ships an update every 2 weeks, Element Note fortnightly. Both last shipped on September 27, 2026.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Kilonotes versus Element Note: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterKilonotesElement Note
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (857 ratings) — better4.6 (2.6K ratings)
Positive reviews87.7% of reviews — better68.1% of reviews
Number of ratings8572.6K — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksFortnightly — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac — better
Requires iOS13.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size230 MB129 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperHefei T-Stack Information Technology Co., Ltd.Soysauce Lab

Customer experience

Kilonotes

All ratings857 ratings
Positive94.0%
Neutral2.9%
Negative3.0%
Written reviews881 reviews
Positive87.7%
Neutral6.0%
Negative6.2%

Element Note

All ratings2,591 ratings
Positive90.5%
Neutral4.1%
Negative5.4%
Written reviews335 reviews
Positive68.1%
Neutral11.6%
Negative20.3%

User reviews

Kilonotes

From 857 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 🎨 Highly customizable
  • 🆓 Lots of free features
  • 📚 Great for note-taking and journaling
  • 🧠 Helps with organization and productivity

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes or freezes
  • 🔒 Limited functionality without premium subscription
  • 🖍️ Difficulty resizing text and images
  • 🔍 Lack of search or navigation features
  • 🌙 No dark mode option

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

Kilonotes

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • App crashes when trying to insert images
  • Text formatting issues when switching between devices
  • Inconsistent performance on older devices

Requested features

5 requests
  • Sync across devices
  • More free templates and stickers
  • Improved text editing tools
  • Ability to export notes as PDF
  • Customizable backgrounds and layouts

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

5 purchases

Kilonotes

Subscriptions3
  • Monthly Subscription$0.991 Month
  • Quarterly subscription$2.493 Months
  • Annual Subscription$3.991 Year
One-time2
  • BerryBaby 2022 Handbook$1.99
  • Salted fish daily$1.99
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 Kilonotes free?
Kilonotes 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, Kilonotes or Element Note?
Kilonotes is rated higher. Kilonotes averages 4.7 out of 5 from 857 ratings, while Element Note averages 4.6 from 2.6K ratings.
Do Kilonotes or Element Note have ads?
Kilonotes shows ads; Element Note does not.
Which is updated more often, Kilonotes or Element Note?
Kilonotes ships an update every 2 weeks, and Element Note fortnightly. Most recently, Kilonotes was updated on September 27, 2026 and Element Note on September 27, 2026.

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