# Noteful vs Noteshelf 3

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Noteful at 88% against Noteshelf 3's 55%. Noteful also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.6) and ratings volume (24K vs 6.7K). Noteshelf 3's advantage is update cadence (every 5 days vs every 3 weeks). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Noteful sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Noteshelf 3 sells 17 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Noteful holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 24K and 6.7K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 88% of Noteful's written reviews are positive against 55% of Noteshelf 3's.

Noteful ships an update every 3 weeks, Noteshelf 3 every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Noteful | Noteshelf 3 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.8 (24K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/noteful-notes-and-pdf-markup/id1587904334/reviews)** | [4.6 (6.7K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/noteshelf-3-ai-digital-notes/id6458735203/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **24K** | 6.7K |
| Positive reviews | **87.5% of reviews** | 55.5% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | **Every 5 days** |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 158 MB | 462 MB |
| Requires iOS | **14.3** | 18.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | **iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Noteful Technologies Ltd](https://appshunter.io/developer/1587904336) | [Fluid Touch Pte. Ltd.](https://appshunter.io/developer/318004740) |

## What reviewers say

### 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.)


### Noteshelf 3

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/noteshelf-3-ai-digital-notes/id6458735203)

Create handwritten notes, annotate PDFs, and record audio with this app. It offers extensive customization for notebooks, a variety of writing tools, and AI-powered features for summarization and translation. Organize your thoughts and documents seamlessly.

**Highlights:** Handwritten note creation, PDF annotation and markup, Audio recording with notes, AI-powered summarization and translation, Customizable notebooks and templates, Handwriting to text conversion, Document scanning and import

**Features:** Family Sharing, Siri integration, Apple Watch app, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (17)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Noteshelf 3 Weekly Premium | $4.99 | per 7 days |
| Noteshelf 3 Weekly Premium | $4.99 | per 7 days |
| Noteshelf 3 Weekly Premium | $7.99 | per 7 days |
| Noteshelf3 Weekly Premium | $7.99 | per 7 days |
| Noteshelf3 Monthly Premium | $9.99 | per month |
| Noteshelf3 Monthly Premium | $19.99 | per month |
| Noteshelf 3 Yearly Premium | $19.99 | per year |
| Noteshelf3 Yearly Premium | $29.99 | per year |
| Noteshelf3 Yearly Premium | $39.99 | per year |
| Noteshelf 3 Yearly Premium | $39.99 | per year |
| Noteshelf Premium Yearly | $49.99 | per year |
| Noteshelf3 Yearly Premium | $49.99 | per year |
| Noteshelf 3 Yearly Premium | $69.99 | per year |
| Noteshelf3 Yearly Premium | $79.99 | per year |
| Premium | $99.99 | per year |
| Premium for Noteshelf 2 users | $9.99 | one-time |
| Noteshelf 3 Premium - Lifetime | $14.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Smooth handwriting experience
- 📚 Versatile note-taking features
- 🎨 Customizable templates and covers
- 🔍 Accurate handwriting recognition
- 💻 Seamless integration across devices

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent crashes and freezes
- 🔄 Sync issues between devices
- 🔒 Concerns about privacy and data security
- 🔍 Unreliable search functionality
- 🔧 Buggy or missing features from previous versions

**Reported bugs**

- Notebooks failing to open or sync correctly
- Handwriting recognition not working as expected
- Imported PDFs losing formatting or functionality
- Unexpected loss of data or notes
- Compatibility issues with older devices or operating systems

**Requested features**

- Add ability to create folders within notebooks
- Improve page organization and navigation
- Implement a more intuitive color picker and pen customization
- Introduce a history/undo feature for linked pages
- Add support for custom stickers and templates


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Noteful free?

Noteful is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Noteshelf 3 free?

Noteshelf 3 is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Noteful or Noteshelf 3?

Noteful is rated higher. Noteful averages 4.8 out of 5 from 24K ratings, while Noteshelf 3 averages 4.6 from 6.7K ratings.

### Do Noteful or Noteshelf 3 have ads?

Neither Noteful nor Noteshelf 3 shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Noteful or Noteshelf 3?

Noteful ships an update every 3 weeks, and Noteshelf 3 every 5 days. Most recently, Noteful was updated on September 25, 2026 and Noteshelf 3 on September 24, 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.*