Comparison

Noteful vs Arca AI Chat

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

Head to head
About

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.

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
Read full description

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

About

Arca AI Chat

This app provides a private and flexible interface for interacting with any OpenAI-compatible language model. Your conversations are end-to-end encrypted and stored only on your device, ensuring complete data control and security.

Highlights
  • True privacy for conversations
  • Local chat history storage
  • API key secured on device
  • Connect to any OpenAI-compatible endpoint
  • Apple Watch companion app
  • Clean, focused interface
Features
Read full description

Arca AI Chat is a private, flexible client for any OpenAI-compatible language model service. Your conversations go directly from your device to the server you choose — nowhere else. No accounts. No data collection. No conversation logging on our end. Arca never sees your messages, your API key, or who you're talking to. Your chat history is stored only on your device, under your control. Connect to any OpenAI-compatible endpoint — OpenAI, Groq, your own local Ollama instance, or any self-hosted inference server. You own the entire stack. Key Features: • True privacy: messages go directly to your configured endpoint, never through Arca's servers • Chat history stored locally on your device only • API key secured in your device's encrypted Keychain — never transmitted to us • Connect to any OpenAI-compatible LLM endpoint (OpenAI, Groq, Ollama, and more) • Apple Watch companion app for on-the-go conversations • Clean, focused interface for productive AI conversations Whether you're running your own local inference server or using a third-party provider, Arca gives you a unified, private interface — and nothing more.

Screenshots

Noteful4 screens
Arca AI Chat4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Noteful at Free against Arca AI Chat's $1.99. Noteful also leads on ratings volume (24K vs 1) and iOS requirement (16.4 vs 26.0). Arca AI Chat's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and rating (5.0 vs 4.8). On 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

Noteful is free to download; Arca AI Chat costs $1.99 up front. Noteful sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Arca AI Chat asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Arca AI Chat holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Noteful has 24K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Noteful versus Arca AI Chat: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNotefulArca AI Chat
PriceFree — better$1.99
Rating4.8 (24K ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews86.9% of reviews—
Number of ratings24K — better1
Update frequencyFortnightly—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemium — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS16.4 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size157 MB5 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNoteful Technologies LtdEric Schlichting

Customer experience

Noteful

All ratings23,951 ratings
Positive94.4%
Neutral2.5%
Negative3.1%
Written reviews1,241 reviews
Positive86.9%
Neutral6.5%
Negative6.6%

Arca AI Chat

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

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.)
Show 1 more
  • Customizable pen pressure and smoothing

Arca AI Chat

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Noteful

One-time1
  • Noteful Pro, Lifetime$6.99
None

Arca AI Chat

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Noteful free?
Noteful is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Arca AI Chat free?
Arca AI Chat costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Noteful or Arca AI Chat?
Arca AI Chat is rated higher. Noteful averages 4.8 out of 5 from 24K ratings, while Arca AI Chat averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Noteful or Arca AI Chat have ads?
Neither Noteful nor Arca AI Chat shows ads.

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