Comparison

GUGA vs BoardNotes

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • Import various notebook formats
  • Multi-layer handwriting support
  • Create and link cards
  • Multi-level whiteboard functionality
  • Cross-device data sharing
  • Community sharing platform
Read full description

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.

About

BoardNotes

This app combines note-taking, whiteboarding, PDF management, mind mapping, and flashcards into a single, versatile tool. It offers a rich set of handwriting and drawing features, supports various media types, and includes an intelligent flashcard system for efficient learning.

Highlights
  • Integrated whiteboard, notebook, PDF, mind map, and flashcards
  • Extensive handwriting pen and brush options
  • Lasso tool and pixel/object eraser
  • Whiteboard with media cards and auxiliary tools
  • Notebooks and PDFs with import/export and page management
  • Mind mapping with customizable nodes and structures
  • Spaced repetition flashcards with SuperMemo algorithm
Features
Read full description

Feature Introduction: BoardNotes is a versatile handwriting note-taking app that integrates five major functions—whiteboard, notebook, PDF, mind map, and flashcards—covering most note-taking scenarios. It serves as your All-In-One App. Handwriting Pen: 1. BoardNotes utilizes Apple's native pen technology and has developed additional pens tailored for Chinese writing, including a fountain pen, a laser pointer for presentations, and a tape pen for masking notes. 2. Choose from a variety of brushes (laser pen, tape pen, ballpoint pen, straight-line pen, wavy-line pen, custom fountain pen, quill pen, pencil, marker, watercolor pen, fill pen, single-line pen, crayon, freehand pen) to unleash your creativity. 3. Lasso tool (extremely powerful). 4. Eraser (pixel eraser and object eraser). Whiteboard: 1. The whiteboard is ideal for organizing fragmented knowledge, brainstorming, and boosting creativity. 2. Write and draw freely without worrying about boundaries. 3. Customize background colors and grid templates. 4. Add various card types (text, image, video, audio, webpage, file, handwriting). 5. Multiple auxiliary tools: background board, pins, link navigation (supports bidirectional links), connectors, timer (countdown supported), calculator. 6. Quickly locate notes using the search function. Notebook & PDF: 1. Create notebooks and PDFs with multiple paper templates and cover options. Import images from Photos or PDFs from the Files app as pages or covers. 2. Add text, images, stickers, videos, webpage snapshots, audio recordings, links (bidirectional links supported), timers, calculators, and floating PDF windows. 3. Layer functionality—show or hide layers as needed. 4. Insert new pages via blank sheets, images, scanned documents, or files. 5. Cut, copy, and paste pages into other notebooks or PDFs. 6. Duplicate, rotate, or delete pages. 7. Reorder pages via long-press and drag in thumbnail view. 8. Create outlines and add bookmarks. 9. Search (text, handwritten notes, etc.). 10. Import e-books (epub, mobi, azw, etc.). Mind Map: 1. Mind mapping is a key feature within the whiteboard. 2. Nodes support multiple formats (text, image, handwriting, video, audio, webpage snapshot, file). 3. Offers 3 structures and 18 color schemes. 4. Add summaries (brackets). 5. Handwritten mind maps (using handwritten cards). 6. Long-press and drag selected cards into the mind map. 7. Reorder nodes or adjust hierarchy via long-press and drag. Flashcard: 1. Flashcards use the SuperMemo algorithm to automatically schedule optimal review intervals, reminding you before forgetting to maximize memory efficiency. 2. Flashcards support text, images, and handwriting. 3. Quickly create cards from notes in whiteboards, notebooks, or PDFs using the rectangular lasso tool. Download BoardNotes for free on iPad, iPhone, and Mac. For suggestions, please contact us via the in-app feedback feature.

Screenshots

GUGA1 screens
BoardNotes4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: GUGA at none against BoardNotes's shown. GUGA also leads on update cadence (every 4 days vs every 2 weeks). BoardNotes's advantage is review sentiment (80% vs 70%). On price, rating, ratings volume and in-app purchases 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

Both are free to download. GUGA sells 2 one-off in-app purchases and BoardNotes sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for GUGA against 4.7 for BoardNotes. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 170 and 116 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 70% of GUGA's written reviews are positive against 80% of BoardNotes's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

GUGA ships an update every 4 days, BoardNotes every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
GUGA versus BoardNotes: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGUGABoardNotes
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (170 ratings)4.7 (116 ratings) — better
Positive reviews70.2% of reviews80.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings170 — better116
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterEvery 2 weeks
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details — not scored
Size705 MB342 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperGutenbergGalaxy Technology Co.Chongqing Ouluowa Technology Co., Ltd.

Customer experience

GUGA

All ratings163 ratings
Positive92.6%
Neutral3.1%
Negative4.3%
Written reviews57 reviews
Positive70.2%
Neutral7.0%
Negative22.8%

BoardNotes

All ratings116 ratings
Positive94.8%
Neutral1.7%
Negative3.4%
Written reviews45 reviews
Positive80.0%
Neutral6.7%
Negative13.3%

User reviews

GUGA

From 170 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 User-friendly interface
  • 💡 Handwriting search capability
  • 🌟 Good for note-taking and studying
  • 🎨 Beautiful app design
  • ✍️ Natural pen strokes

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Pencil direction not rotating
  • 🐛 Terms and Privacy Policy not accessible
  • 🐛 Cannot log in
  • 🐛 iCloud sync glitchy
  • 🐛 Notes erased when switching devices

BoardNotes

From 116 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 💎 All-in-one app
  • 💡 Feature-rich note-taking
  • ✍️ Excellent Apple Pencil integration
  • 💰 Affordable one-time purchase
  • 🚀 Smooth performance

Room to improve

  • 🔋 High battery consumption
  • 🔥 Device gets hot
  • 🐛 Data loss (whiteboards erased)
  • 🚫 No automatic backup
  • 🔍 Limited search functions

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
Show 26 more
  • 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)
Show 19 more
  • 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

BoardNotes

Reported bugs

16 issues
  • Whiteboards erasing automatically
  • No automatic backup leading to data loss
  • Syncing issues between iPad and Mac
  • Pencil tip not appearing on PDF annotations
  • App crashes frequently
Show 11 more
  • Recording data is lost
  • Cannot create new notebooks
  • Gear icon for settings missing in dark mode
  • Issue with eraser and color selection logic
  • Lasso tool missing cut button after cropping
  • PDF embeds appear blurry
  • Handwriting search not implemented
  • Accidental touches/palm rejection issues
  • Chinese font display issues in markdown
  • App freezes when using search function
  • Software flashes back (crashes)

Requested features

24 requests
  • Sync to Google Drive/other cloud services
  • Faster 'add to cards' function
  • View carded items in sidebar
  • Color coding for pins
  • Image opacity adjustment
Show 19 more
  • Faster image copy from whiteboard
  • Android app version
  • WebDAV function
  • Markdown editing/viewing function
  • Handwriting recognition and search
  • Improve palm rejection/anti-touch
  • Add more brush types (with stroke variation)
  • Search for handwritten text
  • Dark Mode UI
  • More calculator functions (square root, trig identities)
  • In-app browser (ChatGPT, YouTube integration)
  • Easier UI navigation of notebook pages
  • Ability to change existing page formats
  • More in-depth pen fine-tuning
  • Optimize UI, move undo/redo to top right
  • Adjust pressure sensitivity
  • Customizable top toolbar icons
  • Add college rule paper
  • Translate function for papers

In-app purchases

2 purchases

GUGA

One-time2
  • Limited-time Discount B$6.99
  • Unlock GUGA PRO$9.99
10 purchases

BoardNotes

One-time10
  • 5 days membership$0.99
  • Math Formula Recognition$1.99
  • 1 month membership$1.99
Show 7 more
  • Permanent Unlock All$4.99
  • 6 months membership$4.99
  • 6 months membership$6.99
  • Permanent Unlock All$6.99
  • Annual Membership$7.99
  • Permanent Unlock All$7.99
  • Permanent Unlock All$9.99

Questions

Is GUGA free?
GUGA is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is BoardNotes free?
BoardNotes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, GUGA or BoardNotes?
BoardNotes is rated higher. GUGA averages 4.6 out of 5 from 170 ratings, while BoardNotes averages 4.7 from 116 ratings.
Do GUGA or BoardNotes have ads?
BoardNotes shows ads; GUGA does not.
Which is updated more often, GUGA or BoardNotes?
GUGA ships an update every 4 days, and BoardNotes every 2 weeks. Most recently, GUGA was updated on November 3, 2026 and BoardNotes on November 7, 2026.

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