# Noteful vs Noteshelf

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Noteful at 87% against Noteshelf's 57%. Noteful also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.6) and ratings volume (24K vs 7K). Noteshelf's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs fortnightly) and device support (4 vs 2). 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 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 7K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 87% of Noteful's written reviews are positive against 57% of Noteshelf's.

Noteful ships an update fortnightly, Noteshelf weekly. Both last shipped on October 19, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | Noteful | Noteshelf |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.8 (24K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/noteful-notes-and-pdf-markup/id1587904334/reviews)** | [4.6 (7K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/noteshelf-ai-notes-and-pdf/id6458735203/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **24K** | 7K |
| Positive reviews | **86.9% of reviews** | 57.1% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | **Weekly** |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 157 MB | 558 MB |
| Requires iOS | **16.4** | 18.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **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

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/noteshelf-ai-notes-and-pdf/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 free?

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

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

Noteful is rated higher. Noteful averages 4.8 out of 5 from 24K ratings, while Noteshelf averages 4.6 from 7K ratings.

### Do Noteful or Noteshelf have ads?

Neither Noteful nor Noteshelf shows ads.

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

Noteful ships an update fortnightly, and Noteshelf weekly. Most recently, Noteful was updated on October 19, 2026 and Noteshelf on October 19, 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.*