Comparison

Inkflow Visual Notebook vs Charcoal

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

Head to head
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 paper backgrounds. 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. *** NOTE: To delete ink, tap on the selection then tap delete. Tap on the book name to delete a book. If you're looking for more, there is... INKFLOW PLUS Upgrade instantly at any time to the Plus Edition to get: - Inkport - A customizable, full color palette, - Pencil, Eraser, and Paint Brush tools, - The Write-Behind Hilighter 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!

About

Charcoal

This app offers a simple yet powerful sketching experience with rich tools and beautiful color palettes. Easily create and export your artwork for use in other graphics programs. It supports modern iOS features like multiple windows and dark mode for enhanced productivity.

Highlights
  • Simple sketching interface
  • Rich drawing tools
  • Beautiful color palettes
  • Export sketches
  • Multiple window support
  • Dark mode
Features
Read full description

• Charcoal is incredibly easy to use: Just create or open a sketch and start sketching. There are no layers or confusing settings. Instead, Charcoal features rich tools and beautiful color palettes. • Charcoal allows you to export a sketch to use it in your favorite graphics program. • Charcoal supports modern iOS and iPadOS features like multiple windows and dark mode: use it at night or open multiple sketches, even side by side.

Screenshots

Inkflow Visual Notebook4 screens
Charcoal3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Charcoal at none against Inkflow Visual Notebook's 1. Charcoal also leads on update cadence (every 2 months vs every 5 months). Inkflow Visual Notebook's advantage is ratings volume (1.9K vs 143) and iOS requirement (12.1 vs 15.0). On price, rating, review sentiment and ads 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. Inkflow Visual Notebook sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Charcoal asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Inkflow Visual Notebook against 4.5 for Charcoal. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Inkflow Visual Notebook has 1.9K ratings behind it against 143, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 71% of Inkflow Visual Notebook's written reviews are positive against 77% of Charcoal's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Inkflow Visual Notebook ships an update every 5 months, Charcoal every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 20, 2026 and September 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Inkflow Visual Notebook versus Charcoal: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterInkflow Visual NotebookCharcoal
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (1.9K ratings) — better4.5 (143 ratings)
Positive reviews71.2% of reviews76.9% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1.9K — better143
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Vision Pro — better
Requires iOS12.1 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size42 MB28 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperQrayon, LLCLars Augustin

Customer experience

Inkflow Visual Notebook

All ratings1,865 ratings
Positive89.0%
Neutral5.0%
Negative6.0%
Written reviews378 reviews
Positive71.2%
Neutral8.2%
Negative20.6%

Charcoal

All ratings141 ratings
Positive87.2%
Neutral7.1%
Negative5.7%
Written reviews117 reviews
Positive76.9%
Neutral13.7%
Negative9.4%

User reviews

Inkflow Visual Notebook

From 1.9K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 🚀 Intuitive interface
  • 💡 Great for brainstorming and sketching
  • 👍 Useful for note-taking and journaling
  • 👍 Versatile for various purposes (work, school, art)

Room to improve

  • 🔒 Limited features in free version
  • 💰 Paid upgrade is expensive for some users
  • 🐛 Occasional crashes and data loss issues
  • 🔒 Lack of cloud sync and cross-device access
  • 🔒 Difficult to organize and manage notebooks/pages

Charcoal

From 143 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Simple and intuitive
  • 👍 Great for quick sketching
  • 🎨 Aesthetically pleasing design
  • 💰 Free with no ads

Room to improve

  • 🎨 Limited color palette
  • 🎨 Lack of customization options
  • 🎨 Missing advanced drawing tools
  • 🐛 Occasional bugs and crashes

Bugs and 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

Charcoal

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Saved sketches lose quality
  • Palette colors change unexpectedly
  • Freezing when opening color palette

Requested features

4 requests
  • Ability to change brush/pen size
  • Layers and blending tools
  • Color wheel and custom color selection
  • Import/export options

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Inkflow Visual Notebook

One-time1
  • Inkflow Plus$5.99
None

Charcoal

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Inkflow Visual Notebook free?
Inkflow Visual Notebook is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Charcoal free?
Charcoal is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Inkflow Visual Notebook or Charcoal?
Inkflow Visual Notebook is rated higher. Inkflow Visual Notebook averages 4.6 out of 5 from 1.9K ratings, while Charcoal averages 4.5 from 143 ratings.
Do Inkflow Visual Notebook or Charcoal have ads?
Neither Inkflow Visual Notebook nor Charcoal shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Inkflow Visual Notebook or Charcoal?
Inkflow Visual Notebook ships an update every 5 months, and Charcoal every 2 months. Most recently, Inkflow Visual Notebook was updated on September 20, 2026 and Charcoal on September 8, 2026.

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