# Inkflow Visual Notebook vs Carbo › Pencil Notes & Drawing

The clearest difference is ads: Carbo › Pencil Notes & Drawing at none against Inkflow Visual Notebook's shown. Inkflow Visual Notebook's advantage is ratings volume (1.9K vs 51) and rating (4.6 vs 4.3). On price, update cadence, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Inkflow Visual Notebook sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and Carbo › Pencil Notes & Drawing sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Inkflow Visual Notebook holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Inkflow Visual Notebook has 1.9K ratings behind it against 51, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 71% of Inkflow Visual Notebook's written reviews are positive against 55% of Carbo › Pencil Notes & Drawing's.

Inkflow Visual Notebook ships an update every 5 months, Carbo › Pencil Notes & Drawing every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 20, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Inkflow Visual Notebook | Carbo › Pencil Notes & Drawing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.6 (1.9K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/inkflow-visual-notebook/id519524685/reviews)** | [4.3 (51 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/carbo-pencil-notes-and-drawing/id956811074/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **1.9K** | 51 |
| Positive reviews | **71.0% of reviews** | 54.8% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | **Every 4 months** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 58 MB | 36 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.6** | 18.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Mac |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Qrayon, LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/354980265) | [Creaceed SRL](https://appshunter.io/developer/291683889) |

## What reviewers say

### Inkflow Visual Notebook

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/inkflow-visual-notebook/id519524685)

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:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Inkflow Plus Monthly Subscription | $1.99 | per month |
| Inkflow Plus Annual Subscription | $12.99 | per year |
| Inkflow Plus | $19.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

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

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🔒 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

**Reported bugs**

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

**Requested features**

- 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


### Carbo › Pencil Notes & Drawing

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/carbo-pencil-notes-and-drawing/id956811074)

Capture and organize handwritten notes and sketches digitally. This app preserves the expressiveness of your original drawings with innovative visualization technology. Tag, annotate, and store your creations in the cloud for easy retrieval and sharing.

**Highlights:** Hybrid visualization technology, Image-based input options, Natural sketching with Apple Pencil support, Editable notes and drawings, Tagging and annotation for search, Cloud storage integration, Customizable export styles

**Features:** Family Sharing

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Pro Plan (Monthly) | $3.99 | per month |
| Pro Plan (Yearly) | $9.99 | per year |
| Pro Pack 2 | $23.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Great for sketching ideas
- 👍 Pleasantly surprised by subscription plan
- 👍 Laser-focused on B&W scanning
- 👍 Excellent for capturing notes
- 👍 Manipulate scans easily

**What reviewers complain about**

- 👎 Lacking features for daily use
- 👎 Difficult for diagrams and notes
- 👎 Rudimentary editing tools
- 👎 Lacks color
- 👎 Crippled by lack of export options

**Reported bugs**

- Keeps crashing on iPad
- Update bricks app (crashes on launch)
- Carbo keeps crashing
- Sync problem with Evernote
- Exporting pages (archiving) doesn't work

**Requested features**

- Adding colors
- More pencil sizes
- Ability to handle multi-page docs
- Viable export options (PDF, etc.)
- Ability to bundle pages into PDF


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Inkflow Visual Notebook free?

Inkflow Visual Notebook is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Carbo › Pencil Notes & Drawing free?

Carbo › Pencil Notes & Drawing is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Inkflow Visual Notebook or Carbo › Pencil Notes & Drawing?

Inkflow Visual Notebook is rated higher. Inkflow Visual Notebook averages 4.6 out of 5 from 1.9K ratings, while Carbo › Pencil Notes & Drawing averages 4.3 from 51 ratings.

### Do Inkflow Visual Notebook or Carbo › Pencil Notes & Drawing have ads?

Inkflow Visual Notebook shows ads; Carbo › Pencil Notes & Drawing does not.

### Which is updated more often, Inkflow Visual Notebook or Carbo › Pencil Notes & Drawing?

Inkflow Visual Notebook ships an update every 5 months, and Carbo › Pencil Notes & Drawing every 4 months. Most recently, Inkflow Visual Notebook was updated on October 21, 2026 and Carbo › Pencil Notes & Drawing on October 20, 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.*