Noteful vs OrigNotes
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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
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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
OrigNotes
Capture, organize, and develop your thoughts with a free digital note-taking app. It offers handwritten notes, PDF annotation, mind mapping, and multimedia integration, all optimized for a natural writing experience.
- Handwriting & Drawing with Apple Pencil
- PDF Reading & Annotation
- Mind Map creation
- Handwriting to Text conversion
- Powerful Search
- Multimedia integration (images, audio, video)
- Customizable workspace
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OrigNotes is a powerful, free digital note-taking app built for iPad and iPhone. Whether you're taking handwritten notes, annotating PDFs, organizing ideas with mind maps, or capturing inspiration with images, audio, and video, OrigNotes gives you the tools to keep everything in one place. Write naturally with Apple Pencil, convert handwriting into editable text, search through your notes, and customize your workspace to fit the way you think and work. OrigNotes is free to use, and we're committed to keeping it that way. If you're enjoying OrigNotes, we'd greatly appreciate a 5-star review. Your support helps us continue improving the app and building new features for everyone. Have an idea or feature request? Leave us a review or contact us directly through the app. You can also check our Future Plans inside OrigNotes to see what we're working on and follow the progress of upcoming features. KEY FEATURES • Handwriting & Drawing Enjoy a natural writing experience with a variety of pens, brushes, and creative tools designed for Apple Pencil. • PDF Reading & Annotation Import PDFs to read, highlight, annotate, draw, and take notes directly on your documents. • Mind Maps Create mind maps to organize ideas, study topics, and brainstorm visually. Add topics and subtopics, drag and rearrange nodes, and customize your mind map to fit your ideas. • Handwriting to Text Turn handwritten notes into editable text for easier editing, organizing, and reuse. • Powerful Search Find information faster by searching handwritten notes and text inside PDFs. • Images, GIFs, Audio & Video Bring your notes to life with images, animated GIFs, audio, and video—all within your notebook. • Personalized Notebooks Customize covers, paper templates, and themes to create a workspace that feels like your own. • Custom Toolbar & Tool Box Arrange your favorite tools around the way you work and keep the ones you use most within easy reach. • Smooth Writing Experience Optimized handwriting, palm rejection, and Apple Pencil interactions help writing feel smooth, responsive, and natural. • Easy Organization Organize and sort your documents, bookmark important pages, and quickly get back to the content you need. • Data Protection & Backup Multiple backup options and improved data protection help keep your important notes safe. • Cloud Backup Back up your notebooks to cloud storage for easier long-term storage and management. MADE FOR THE WAY YOU TAKE NOTES From class notes and study materials to work documents, PDF annotation, brainstorming, and everyday ideas, OrigNotes gives you a flexible space to capture, organize, and develop your thoughts. Simple when you need it. Powerful when you need more. Write. Think. Create. Organize. All in OrigNotes.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: OrigNotes at none against Noteful's 1. Noteful's advantage is ratings volume (24K vs 382). On price, rating, review sentiment and update cadence 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
Both are free to download. Noteful sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. OrigNotes asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Noteful against 4.7 for OrigNotes. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Noteful has 24K ratings behind it against 382, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 87% of Noteful's written reviews are positive against 85% of OrigNotes's.
Noteful ships an update fortnightly, OrigNotes every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 8, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Noteful | OrigNotes |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (24K ratings) — better | 4.7 (382 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 87.0% of reviews — better | 84.7% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 24K — better | 382 |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.4 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 157 MB | 97 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Noteful Technologies Ltd | Hangzhou Future Writing Technology Co.,LTD. |
Customer experience
Noteful
OrigNotes
Bugs and requests
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.)
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- Customizable pen pressure and smoothing
OrigNotes
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Noteful
- Noteful Pro, Lifetime$6.99
OrigNotes
No in-app purchases









