GUGA vs XNote
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
GUGA
This app combines notebook, whiteboard, and card functionalities for diverse learning needs. It allows for importing various formats, multi-layer handwriting, and creating interconnected learning materials. Share your progress and access cross-device data with ease.
- Import various notebook formats
- Multi-layer handwriting support
- Create and link cards
- Multi-level whiteboard functionality
- Cross-device data sharing
- Community sharing platform
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GUGA is a hyper learning tool that can meet your learning needs in different scenarios. “Notebook”, “Whiteboard” and “Cards” are the three most important functions of GUGA. In addition, GUGA also provides users with a community-SharePlace to share learning data; and provides a "Inspiration Shorthand" function to send data and record information across devices; and GUGA also provides a large number of shortcuts for you to use after connecting to the keyboard mouse. The “Notebook” is the most common learning material and the most basic learning scenario. GUGA's notebook: 1. Not only other notebook software, but also support a variety of formats to be imported into notebooks, create new notebooks, add/reduce pages, provide more than 100 inner pages and cover templates, DIY outline catalogues, edit page jumps, import pictures/text, etc. 2. It also supports adding an unlimited number of handwriting layers to each page of the notebook, hiding/displaying/merging handwriting layers, which is convenient for brushing questions and other uses when learning. And, 3. You can also long press to select the content on the notebook to mark/excerpt while writing and taking notes, and make cards for other uses based on the excerpt content. The “Whiteboard” is a multi-data learning console and a richer learning scenario. GUGA's whiteboard: 1. Support the import of multiple notebooks and use them in one whiteboard at the same time. You can also add/import data in other formats to learn and use them together. 2. Provide a notebook floating window system, which makes it more convenient for you to use multiple notebooks and whiteboards at the same time. The notebook in the whiteboard can be presented in the form of a floating window. The floating window has a variety of states (maximizing/mini window/up and down left and right side windows), which can hide/close/display all floating windows with one click; support floating window memory, type again Open the whiteboard, and all floating windows that are not closed can continue to be used. 3 Provide the "multi-level" whiteboard function. The whiteboard can create a lower-layer whiteboard, or it can be connected with other whiteboards to form a link relationship, thus creating a relationship between learning scenes. 4 You can copy the selected content in the floating notebook to the whiteboard to form a card. The cards on the whiteboard can be freely combined and split, and the cards can also be connected to form a brain map; the jump relationship can be set between the cards. 5 The whiteboard can be divided by frame, and it can also be positioned with pins to make it easier to use and manage the whiteboard content. In addition, 6 The entire whiteboard can be emitted as pdf, and the frame can also be emitted as a multi-page PDF, and the jump relationship between the frames will also be retained. The card is the achievement of atomization learning, and the card package is the collection of your achievements. GUGA's card: 1. Excerpt cards in the notebook and cards on the whiteboard can be collected in the card package. 2. You can use the "Inspiration Catcher" function of the GUGA WeChat official account/browser's GUGA plug-in to transfer the information you want to save to any of your card package at any time. 3. Each card is a "blocked" rich text editor, which can be combined and split on the whiteboard, or any block can be set as an answer block in flash card mode. 4. Card packs can be converted between ordinary packs and flash card packs; the function of flash card packs is consistent with other flash card software (Anki). 5. Each flash card pack can choose different learning modes and different memory algorithms to help you better learn and review cards. In addition, 6. The daily learning plan of flash cards will automatically appear in the GUGA log (My Logbook) on the right to learn flash card packages at any time. Have Fun with GUGA 2.0, and Enjoy Your Serious Learning Power.
XNote
This app offers unlimited whiteboards, PDF annotation, and notebook creation in a simple, intuitive interface. It allows for jotting down ideas, studying materials, and taking daily notes with smooth performance and flexible organization.
- Unlimited whiteboards
- PDF annotation
- Notebook creation
- File organization with folders
- Web, photo, and file browsing within the app
- Quick search functionality
- One-click export and sharing
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XNote is a passionate app that hopes to slow you down~ XNote combines the ability of using unlimited whiteboards, annotating PDFs and creating notebooks in one, and is easy-to-use You can use it to jot down inspiration, read professional materials and take daliy notes In every possible scenario, Xnote wants to give you smooth experience 【simple and understated, relaxing and flexible】 We made XNote simple and understated, with no complicated buttons and no confusing controls All the important features are at a glance and easy to operate ~ Keep the homepage as default and you'll find most of the files you want to edit ~ On the homepage, you can drag files directly into folders ~ You can quickly create a temporary draft with very simple gestures ~ By clicking the "+" button in the upper right corner, you can easily browse different files and web pages ~ You can take excerpts at any time while browsing files Xnote will become more and more flexible in continuous improvement and iteration 【Pursue the details and control the whole】 We worked on the XNote like horticulturists, pruning the gaudy leaves and carving the key branches You can create folders on the homepage to categorize files Highly compatible with the original pen case gives you a silky writing experience Text, picture, shape, search, every button is irreplaceable You can use the "Search" button to search quickly, and locate the target locator pin with one click You can edit and switch shapes at any time 【Sincere enthusiasm, aspirant and hardworking] We want XNote to be as sincere and passionate as the people it serves We hope that in the classroom, XNote accompanies the students to absorb the essence of knowledge with enthusiasm We hope that in life, XNote accompanies people to record the happy moments of their daily life We hope that at work, XNote accompanies everyone who strives to record the traces of their struggle 【XNote can】 Provide unlimited drawing boards allowing your thoughts and inspiration to extend infinitely Support finger doodling and the original brush of system, making it more convenient for you to draw Support viewing multiple documents simultaneously and inserting pictures, videos, files to enrich your notes Create different shapes to help you highlight key messages quickly Create locator pins to help you locate your target content Support browsing the web, photos and files within the app, helping you integrate internal and external information and study efficiently Search for notes quickly ...... 【Easy to share】 One click export, support for sharing (supports images, PDFs, drafts, and can be shared to guga, goodnotes, notability, collanote, and noteshelf for use) 【Friendly reminder】 XNote is currently in a high-frequency iteration stage, and we are continuously working on new features, welcome to follow and explore! 【Report the issue】 Report bugs and crashes to us, and we'll be happy to fix any problem you encounter while using it Email address:xnoteapp@163.com 【Contact us】 What do you expect from XNote, come and chat with us! ~ Your problems ~ Your advice ~ Your expectations All of the above can be heared in XNote community There are not only users like you, but also our R&D team We believe that everyone here will be excited by the spark of inspiration Contact our WeChat:li1299033501
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: XNote at none against GUGA's 3. GUGA's advantage is review sentiment (70% vs 60%). On price, rating, ratings volume 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. GUGA sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. XNote asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for GUGA against 4.6 for XNote. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 163 and 76 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 70% of GUGA's written reviews are positive against 60% of XNote's.
GUGA ships an update every 4 days, XNote weekly. The most recent releases landed on July 3, 2026 and August 11, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | GUGA | XNote |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (163 ratings) — better | 4.6 (76 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 70.2% of reviews — better | 60.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 163 — better | 76 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 days — better | Weekly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 14.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 705 MB | 40 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | GutenbergGalaxy Technology Co. | 华清 杨 |
Customer experience
GUGA
XNote
Bugs and requests
GUGA
Reported bugs
31 issues- Pencil direction does not rotate with pencil movement
- Cannot check Terms and Privacy Policy on first app open
- Cannot log in
- iCloud sync is glitchy
- Notes get erased when switching devices
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- All notes disappeared after not using for half a year
- Lost purchase and notes after re-login
- Cannot convert to flashcards or use mind map
- PDF viewing mode changed in version 2.0
- PDF cards open in a very small window
- Cannot view PDF in split-screen mode
- Handwritten notes on imported PDFs lost after automatic update
- Lasso tool gets stuck when moving objects
- Frequent crashes when using two-finger undo function
- Developers not responsive to English customers
- Two-finger undo is clumsy and often undoes too many steps
- Drawing a line from outside an image to inside adds points that cannot be removed by eraser
- Cannot edit curvature of drawn curves
- Lag when using ruler and pasting images
- Notes sometimes disappear and are hard to find
- Whiteboard viewing feature not yet released
- Pasting URLs no longer shows preview images
- App is laggy after update, especially when moving cards
- Cannot login with Apple account
- PDF export quality is blurry (exported as image/screenshot)
- Cannot delete pen stroke colors
- iCloud syncing is slow
- Handwriting search failed
- Card excerpt from PDF does not direct back to its location in PDF
- Vertical videos become horizontal with black bars
- Added fonts are not usable
Requested features
24 requests- Allow Apple Pencil to transition to previous tool
- Adapt to Apple Pencil Pro squeeze gesture
- Return to previous PDF card viewing mode
- Allow Mac OS version with iCloud syncing
- Add auto backup to other cloud drives (Google Drive, OneDrive)
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- Add backlinking feature
- Speedy, glitchless movement of cards
- Faster UI
- Ability to zoom with mouse scroll wheel
- Add presentation mode with set paths
- iPhone and iMac versions for syncing
- Add folder functionality for whiteboard organization
- Allow modification of pen stroke color with lasso tool
- Allow deletion of pen stroke colors
- Improve PDF export quality to vector quality
- Export whole canvas as PDF without limitation
- Allow adding more fonts
- Improve URL link preview functionality
- Allow inputting numbers to adjust pen size
- Allow editing curve curvature
- Fix issue with drawing lines from outside to inside images
- Fix issue with two-finger undo
- Allow users to see remaining free trial count
- Allow sign in with Google
XNote
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
GUGA
- Limited-time Discount C$4.99
- Limited-time Discount B$6.99
- Unlock GUGA PRO$9.99
XNote
No in-app purchases









