Comparison

Draw Pad Pro vs Element Note

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

Head to head
About

Draw Pad Pro

This app provides a digital space for capturing thoughts, ideas, and sketches. It offers extensive customization and productivity tools, with sharing capabilities, designed for seamless use across all your devices.

Highlights
  • Note taking
  • Sketching
  • Idea management
  • Customization options
  • Productivity features
  • Sharing capabilities
Features
Read full description

Draw Pad Pro helps you capture ideas the moment they appear. Turn quick sketches into organized notebooks without slowing down your flow. Keep everything clear so you can return to your work with confidence. From first concept to final draft, Draw Pad Pro combines a smooth PencilKit canvas with practical organization tools. You can build notebooks, split them into sections, and keep each sketch easy to find. The app is built for daily creative work, whether you are planning, studying, or designing. **Organized Notebooks That Stay Clean** Create notebooks for each project and add sections to separate topics, phases, or clients. A clear structure keeps your drawing library readable as it grows. You spend less time searching and more time creating. **Natural Drawing on a Fast Canvas** Use PencilKit for responsive drawing that feels fluid with Apple Pencil and touch. Capture rough ideas, refine details, and keep momentum during busy sessions. The canvas stays focused so your work moves quickly. **Tags and Captions for Instant Context** Add tags and captions to sketches so every image carries meaning at a glance. This makes review sessions faster when you are handling many drafts at once. You can track progress without building extra documents. **Flexible Actions for Real Workflow** Duplicate sketches, move them between notebooks, and share results when feedback is needed. These actions support iterative work without forcing you into complicated steps. You can finish handoffs faster with less friction. **Local-First Reliability with Optional Sync** Your core drawing workflow works without a subscription and without depending on constant connectivity. Optional sync is available through subscription when you want continuity across devices. You stay in control of when and how your work travels. Download Draw Pad Pro and start building a cleaner, calmer sketch workflow today.

About

Element Note

This app offers a distraction-free digital notebook experience with advanced handwriting, PDF annotation, and sketching capabilities. It features unique brushes, a powerful rendering engine, and smart organization tools. Sync your notes across devices and collaborate with others seamlessly.

Highlights
  • Unique handwriting brushes
  • Smooth drawing engine
  • PDF annotation
  • Text, shape, and image attachments
  • On-device OCR search
  • Smart dark mode
  • iCloud sync and collaboration
Features
Read full description

Element Note is the next-gen note taking, PDF annotation, and light sketching app. We stripped down the unnecessaries and carefully polished the elemental functions for a digital notebook. With a modern look and powerful features, Element Note strives to provide an elegant writing space free of distractions. Features: Unique brushes - Pencil (HB Pencil, Mechanical Pencil) - Pen (Pen, Line Pen, Fountain Pen) - Brush (Art Brush, Round Brush) - Marker (Marker, Round Marker) Best-in-class note rendering engine - Smooth and fluid drawing powered by Metal technology - Support gradient ink for more expressive notes Powerful attachments - Text - Shape - Sticker - Image Universal Search - Search through your PDF & Handwritting using on device OCR Smart Darkmode - Smartly adapts all of your notes to the system darkmode without changing the paper or stroke colors. iCloud Sync & Collaboration - Sync via your personal iCloud (No data is passed to our server) - Collaborate through iCloud collaboration for up to 100 users. Desktop class organization - Intuitive multi-select drag and drop gesture to organize your notes or pages Element Note is free to try for up to 3 notes. Unlock the full app with an in app purchase to create unlimited notes. Terms and Conditions https://elementnote.app/terms Privacy Policy https://elementnote.app/privacy

Screenshots

Draw Pad Pro4 screens
Element Note4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Element Note at 4.6 against Draw Pad Pro's 4.0. Element Note also leads on review sentiment (69% vs 36%) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 2 months). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Draw Pad Pro sells 10 one-off in-app purchases and Element Note sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $3.49 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Element Note holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Element Note has 2.6K ratings behind it against 159, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 36% of Draw Pad Pro's written reviews are positive against 69% of Element Note's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Draw Pad Pro ships an update every 2 months, Element Note fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 1, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Draw Pad Pro versus Element Note: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDraw Pad ProElement Note
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (159 ratings)4.6 (2.6K ratings) — better
Positive reviews35.8% of reviews68.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1592.6K — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Mac — better
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size16 MB129 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperFishington StudiosSoysauce Lab

Customer experience

Draw Pad Pro

All ratings159 ratings
Positive74.2%
Neutral10.1%
Negative15.7%
Written reviews162 reviews
Positive35.8%
Neutral13.6%
Negative50.6%

Element Note

All ratings2,591 ratings
Positive90.5%
Neutral4.1%
Negative5.4%
Written reviews340 reviews
Positive68.5%
Neutral11.8%
Negative19.7%

Bugs and requests

Draw Pad Pro

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Element Note

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Notes and files randomly disappearing
  • Inconsistent behavior when using the floating keyboard
  • Handwriting recognition not working as expected
  • Exported PDFs losing formatting and background colors

Requested features

6 requests
  • Ruler tool
  • Ability to resize/rotate selections
  • Improved text editing and formatting
  • Presentation mode for connecting to displays
  • Ability to import/export multiple files at once
Show 1 more
  • Seasonal or custom sticker packs

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Draw Pad Pro

One-time10
  • Photo Add-on Tool$0.99
  • Text Add-on$0.99
  • Construction Pack$0.99
Show 7 more
  • 3D Pack$0.99
  • Blueprint Pack$0.99
  • Game Pack$0.99
  • Productivity Pack$0.99
  • Sports Pack$0.99
  • Business Pack$0.99
  • All Drawing Tools$2.99
5 purchases

Element Note

Subscriptions2
  • Element Note Yearly$3.491 Year
  • Element Note Yearly$4.991 Year
One-time3
  • Lifetime Launch Special$4.99
  • Lifetime$9.99
  • Lifetime$14.99

Questions

Is Draw Pad Pro free?
Draw Pad Pro is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Element Note free?
Element Note is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Draw Pad Pro or Element Note?
Element Note is rated higher. Draw Pad Pro averages 4.0 out of 5 from 159 ratings, while Element Note averages 4.6 from 2.6K ratings.
Do Draw Pad Pro or Element Note have ads?
Neither Draw Pad Pro nor Element Note shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Draw Pad Pro or Element Note?
Draw Pad Pro ships an update every 2 months, and Element Note fortnightly. Most recently, Draw Pad Pro was updated on October 1, 2026 and Element Note on October 13, 2026.

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