Comparison

Pen and Paper vs Inkflow Visual Notebook

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

Head to head
About

Pen and Paper

Create handwritten notes and drawings, annotate PDFs, and add text and shapes. Zoom in for detailed editing, organize content with layers, and import custom fonts and page styles. Share your creations as PDFs or JPEGs.

Highlights
  • Handwritten notes and drawings
  • PDF import and annotation
  • Text and shape insertion
  • Zoom and split view
  • Layer management
  • Custom font installation
  • PDF export
Features
Read full description

Pen and Paper is perfect for hand-written notes on your iPad or iPhone. You can even import and write on PDFs. INK Draw ink with your finger. Resize, recolor, and move your doodles. TEXT Add text and text boxes. Change alignment, fonts, color, and install additional fonts. Perfect for adding comments to PDF. SHAPES Add geometric primitives, arrows, curves, and polygons Use the built in diagram elements and arrows to create diagrams. Create clip art of portions that you wish to reuse. shapes can be colored using gradients and fill with patterns. Use "rough" outline to make it look more like a drawing. ZOOM AND SPLIT VIEW Zoom more than 10 times to edit and draw even tiny details. Use split view (iPad only) to see full page view or look at another page PHOTOS Include photos. You can crop and rotate photos. BOOKMARKS Add bookmarks to navigate in your documents PDF SUPPORT AND SLIDE NOTES Import and annotate PDFs from other apps or Files. Use any of the built-in "Slide Note" templates to annotate presentations. When you are done export as PDF again. Use the "clone" tool to copy a portion a PDF and marker to mark text in the PDF for easy search. SHARING To share your notes with the world, simply email them as PDF. You can also extract individual pages as JPEG images. LAYERS Use the layer list to organize order of shapes and ink on the page PAGE STYLES Pen and paper comes with a variety of page styles, but you can also create your own. Import a PDF of your favourite page style and store it as a "page style" in the app. ICLOUD SUPPORT Documents, clipart and page styles, can be stored in iCloud. FONTS Are the built-in fonts not interesting enough? Install extra Truetype fonts from sites like FontSquirrel and Blambot within the app. Features: • Layers • Pen tool with color and thickness • Marker tool for marking text in PDFs • Smooth pan and zoom • Split-view to see two parts of your documents at the same time • Bookmarks and search • Insert text, arrows, photos, rectangles, circles and polygons easily • Fill shapes with gradients and patterns • Area selection, for moving and resizing large areas of your note • Built-in icon library • PDF import and export (email or other accounts) • Install additional fonts (Truetype) • Various page styles and add your own. • Fullscreen mode • iCloud support SUBSCRIPTION Subscription removes watermark (on export) and enables lasso tool. All other features are part of free version. TERMS OF USE (EULA) Uses Apple's standard terms of use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Inkflow Visual Notebook

This app offers a fluid digital writing and sketching experience, allowing users to easily capture, resize, and reorganize ideas. It supports high-resolution zooming for detailed work and integrates text, photos, and custom paper backgrounds. Users can share their creations in various formats.

Highlights
  • Fluid digital ink for writing and sketching
  • Resize and reorganize content with touch gestures
  • High-resolution zoom for precision detail
  • Insert text, photos, and custom paper backgrounds
  • Export to PDF, JPEG, and PNG
  • Inkport for scanning real-world notes
Features
Read full description

Inkflow is a note-taking and brainstorming experience unlike any other! Capture your ideas as easily as with pen and paper, then resize and reorganize them with your fingers. DIGITAL WRITING DONE RIGHT Inkflow's ink feels like a really smooth fountain pen. Great for expressive writing or sketching. Effortlessly scale or move anything you select. This will change the way you think about ink: Jot down a list of concepts then rearrange them to fit into the bigger picture. literally move your thoughts around the page, and assemble big ideas with your fingers. This works great for brainstorming and planning. It's also perfect for prototyping layouts, sketching, and drawing. FULL RESOLUTION ZOOM Zoom and pan with two fingers. Inkflow's ink stays sharp no matter how much you zoom in, so you can add fine details at full quality. It's also lightning fast and lag free. This allows writing and drawing with incredible precision, with or without a stylus. TEXT, PHOTOS, and PAPER BACKGROUNDS TOO Insert text boxes and photos anywhere on the page and resize them seamlessly with the ink. You can also choose from a selection of different stationery. EASILY CREATE and SHARE Inkflow let's you export your books to PDF, high-resolution JPEG, and share them via Twitter, Email, or with other Apps. TRY INKFLOW FOR FREE Rather than just read about Inkflow, go ahead and try it out: We've decided to make the Basic Edition of Inkflow completely FREE. The Basic Edition is a full featured note-taking and sketching app. It comes with the Fountain Pen with black ink, photos, and a standard set of 5 popular fonts for text. Books max out at 20 pages each, but you can create as many as you like. If you're looking for more, there is... INKFLOW PLUS Upgrade instantly at any time to the Plus Edition to get: - Inkport - Dozens of premium stationery designs - iCloud sync - A customizable, full color palette, - Pencil, Eraser, and Paint Brush tools, - The Write-Behind Highlighter tool, - Rotate, Cut, Copy, Paste Ink, and Page Management, - Export as PNG with transparent backgrounds, - Notebooks with unlimited pages, - Custom paper backgrounds, - An additional 50+ fonts, - And more! The Plus Edition lets you do even more things such as: Painting, cartooning, page layouts, and brainstorming in full color. Learn more in the in-App Quickstart Guide. INKPORT: COPY AND PASTE FROM THE REAL WORLD Only Inkflow Plus includes the revolutionary Inkport tool. Inkport uses your iPad's camera to instantly convert your written notes and sketches into Inkflow's native vector ink. Easily pull in materials from multiple sources and go from paper to iPad without missing a beat. Inkport is going to change the way you use paper in your workflow. Universal App for iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch: Upgrade once and get Inkflow Plus on all your compatible devices connected to your iTunes account! EDUCATORS: Inkflow Plus is also available as a standalone App, and qualifies for Apple's Volume Purchase Program. A PLATFORM FOR CREATIVITY We strongly believe that the iPad is not just a consumption device. It's a creativity device. Check out our whole range of creativity Apps on our website. Keep on creating! Terms of use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy policy: https://www.qrayon.com/home/privacy/

Screenshots

Pen and Paper4 screens
Inkflow Visual Notebook4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Pen and Paper at none against Inkflow Visual Notebook's shown. Pen and Paper also leads on update cadence (every 5 weeks vs every 5 months). Inkflow Visual Notebook's advantage is ratings volume (1.9K vs 41). On price, rating, review sentiment 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. Pen and Paper sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month and Inkflow Visual Notebook sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Inkflow Visual Notebook holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Inkflow Visual Notebook has 1.9K ratings behind it against 41, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 70% of Pen and Paper's written reviews are positive against 71% of Inkflow Visual Notebook's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Pen and Paper ships an update every 5 weeks, Inkflow Visual Notebook every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 18, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Pen and Paper versus Inkflow Visual Notebook: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPen and PaperInkflow Visual Notebook
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (41 ratings)4.6 (1.9K ratings) — better
Positive reviews69.7% of reviews71.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings411.9K — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeks — betterEvery 5 months
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size50 MB58 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperVivid AppsQrayon, LLC

Customer experience

Pen and Paper

All ratings41 ratings
Positive80.5%
Neutral9.8%
Negative9.8%
Written reviews145 reviews
Positive69.7%
Neutral17.2%
Negative13.1%

Inkflow Visual Notebook

All ratings1,868 ratings
Positive88.9%
Neutral5.1%
Negative5.9%
Written reviews379 reviews
Positive71.0%
Neutral8.4%
Negative20.6%

Bugs and requests

Pen and Paper

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Inkflow Visual Notebook

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Frequent crashes and data loss
  • Unreliable auto-save and syncing
  • Compatibility issues with newer devices/OS
  • Pen/input lag and inconsistent responsiveness

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add more pen/brush options and customization
  • Implement layers and advanced drawing tools
  • Improve page management (insert, delete, reorder)
  • Integrate cloud sync and cross-device access
  • Add password protection and locking features

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Pen and Paper

Subscriptions2
  • Pen and Paper PRO monthly$0.991 Month
  • Pen and Paper PRO$5.991 Year
One-time1
  • Pen and Paper PRO$7.99
1 purchases

Inkflow Visual Notebook

One-time1
  • Inkflow Plus$12.99

Questions

Is Pen and Paper free?
Pen and Paper is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Inkflow Visual Notebook free?
Inkflow Visual Notebook is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Pen and Paper or Inkflow Visual Notebook?
Inkflow Visual Notebook is rated higher. Pen and Paper averages 4.4 out of 5 from 41 ratings, while Inkflow Visual Notebook averages 4.6 from 1.9K ratings.
Do Pen and Paper or Inkflow Visual Notebook have ads?
Inkflow Visual Notebook shows ads; Pen and Paper does not.
Which is updated more often, Pen and Paper or Inkflow Visual Notebook?
Pen and Paper ships an update every 5 weeks, and Inkflow Visual Notebook every 5 months. Most recently, Pen and Paper was updated on October 15, 2026 and Inkflow Visual Notebook on October 18, 2026.

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