# Microsoft OneNote vs Kilonotes

The clearest difference is ads: Microsoft OneNote at none against Kilonotes's shown. Microsoft OneNote also leads on ratings volume (1.1M vs 5K) and chart position (#115 vs unranked). Kilonotes's advantage is review sentiment (71% vs 44%) and iOS requirement (15.6 vs 18.0). On price, rating, update cadence and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Microsoft OneNote sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month and Kilonotes sells 20 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Microsoft OneNote against 4.6 for Kilonotes. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Microsoft OneNote has 1.1M ratings behind it against 5K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 44% of Microsoft OneNote's written reviews are positive against 71% of Kilonotes's.

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly weekly. Both last shipped on October 19, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | Microsoft OneNote | Kilonotes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.7 (1.1M ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/microsoft-onenote/id410395246/reviews)** | [4.6 (5K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/kilonotes-notes-and-mark-up-pdf/id1514322479/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **1.1M** | 5K |
| Positive reviews | 44.5% of reviews | **70.9% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | Weekly | Weekly |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | **#115** | — |
| Size | 411 MB | 482 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | **15.6** |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Vision Pro** | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Microsoft Corporation](https://appshunter.io/developer/298856275) | [Hefei T-Stack Information Technology Co., Ltd.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1514322478) |

## What reviewers say

### Microsoft OneNote

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/microsoft-onenote/id410395246)

**Currently charting:** #115 Top Free · Productivity (US App Store)

Capture thoughts, ideas, and plans in a digital notepad. Organize, search, and secure your notes, memos, and sketches. Sync across devices for access anywhere, anytime. Collaborate with others on shared notepads.

**Highlights:** Capture thoughts and ideas, Digital sketchbook, Organize and search notes, Sync notes via OneDrive, Collaborate on shared notepads, Handwritten notes and drawings

**Features:** Apple Watch app

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Microsoft 365 Personal | $9.99 | per month |
| Microsoft 365 Personal | $11.99 | per month |
| Microsoft 365 Family | $12.99 | per month |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Simple, works well
- 👍 Great for planning
- 👍 Powerful note-taking app
- 👍 Invaluable tool for note taking
- 👍 Used for years, couldn't be without this app

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🔨 Could be better
- 🔨 Formatting issues on mobile app
- 🔨 Buggy widget, no dark app icon
- 🐛 Glitchy, crashes often
- 🐛 Terrible sync speeds

**Reported bugs**

- Cursor positioning is erratic
- Search function does not work well
- Ink to text conversion missing on iPad
- Syncing issues, notes not syncing properly across devices
- Crashing, freezing, and performance issues

**Requested features**

- Native Markdown support and merged cell support
- Ruler, ability to choose or create notebook covers
- Ability to password protect app or individual notebooks
- Option to open on last opened page instead of Home
- Ability to turn note into task that appears on To Do and Planner


### Kilonotes

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/kilonotes-notes-and-mark-up-pdf/id1514322479)

This app offers a digital notebook experience for handwritten notes, PDF annotation, and study organization. It features freehand drawing, text extraction, AI assistance for learning, and customizable templates to enhance productivity and learning.

**Highlights:** Handwritten note-taking, PDF annotation and markup, AI assistant for learning, OCR text extraction, Customizable notebooks and templates, Recording function, Global PDF search

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (20)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Cloud space monthly membership | $0.99 | per month |
| Monthly Subscription | $1.99 | per month |
| Quarterly Plan | $4.99 | per 3 months |
| AIChat | $5.99 | per month |
| Year Subscription | $8.99 | per year |
| Annual Plan | $9.99 | per year |
| Cloud space annual membership | $9.99 | per year |
| ExamPolitics_2019_2023_test | Free | one-time |
| Summer Forest 2022 Handbook | $0.99 | one-time |
| Xiaofen Diary 2022 Handbook | $0.99 | one-time |
| Fresh 2022 Handbook | $0.99 | one-time |
| 康奈尔笔记 | $0.99 | one-time |
| Cartoon mistake book | $0.99 | one-time |
| Paid Notebook | $0.99 | one-time |
| Alice | $1.99 | one-time |
| 咸鱼日常 | $1.99 | one-time |
| AI Points Products | $1.99 | one-time |
| 月亮兔 | $1.99 | one-time |
| Paid Notebook | $2.99 | one-time |
| Lifetime Access | $19.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Affordable
- 🚀 Lots of free features
- 👍 Easy to use and intuitive
- 👍 Customizable notebooks and pages
- 👍 Good alternative to paid apps

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Occasional bugs and glitches
- 🐛 Syncing and backup issues
- 🔒 Lack of password protection or privacy features
- 👎 Limited free notebooks
- 👎 Some features locked behind paywall

**Reported bugs**

- Notebooks and notes getting deleted or scrambled
- Lag and performance issues when writing or zooming
- Inconsistent behavior of the pen and eraser tools

**Requested features**

- Add more free sticker packs and templates
- Improve the lasso tool and image editing
- Implement iCloud or cloud sync
- Add a dark mode option
- Improve the audio recording and playback features


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Microsoft OneNote free?

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

### Is Kilonotes free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Microsoft OneNote or Kilonotes?

Microsoft OneNote is rated higher. Microsoft OneNote averages 4.7 out of 5 from 1.1M ratings, while Kilonotes averages 4.6 from 5K ratings.

### Do Microsoft OneNote or Kilonotes have ads?

Kilonotes shows ads; Microsoft OneNote does not.

### Which is updated more often, Microsoft OneNote or Kilonotes?

Microsoft OneNote ships an update weekly, and Kilonotes weekly. Most recently, Microsoft OneNote was updated on October 19, 2026 and Kilonotes 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.*