# ZoomNotes Lite vs Carbo › Pencil Notes & Drawing

The clearest difference is update cadence: ZoomNotes Lite at every 3 weeks against Carbo › Pencil Notes & Drawing's every 4 months. ZoomNotes Lite also leads on review sentiment (72% vs 55%) and ratings volume (214 vs 51). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. ZoomNotes Lite sells 10 one-off in-app purchases 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.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.2 for ZoomNotes Lite against 4.3 for Carbo › Pencil Notes & Drawing. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 214 and 51 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 72% of ZoomNotes Lite's written reviews are positive against 55% of Carbo › Pencil Notes & Drawing's.

ZoomNotes Lite ships an update every 3 weeks, Carbo › Pencil Notes & Drawing every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 20, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | ZoomNotes Lite | Carbo › Pencil Notes & Drawing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.2 (214 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/zoomnotes-lite/id621255925/reviews) | **[4.3 (51 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/carbo-pencil-notes-and-drawing/id956811074/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **214** | 51 |
| Positive reviews | **72.0% of reviews** | 54.8% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 3 weeks** | Every 4 months |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 151 MB | 36 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.6** | 18.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Mac |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Deliverance Software Ltd](https://appshunter.io/developer/374494333) | [Creaceed SRL](https://appshunter.io/developer/291683889) |

## What reviewers say

### ZoomNotes Lite

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/zoomnotes-lite/id621255925)

This app allows for handwritten notes and sketches on various digital documents, including PDFs and Office files. It offers unlimited zooming, customizable paper styles, and extensive sharing options. Additional features and pen types are available through in-app purchases.

**Highlights:** Unlimited zoom and panning, Handwritten notes and sketches, Markup PDFs and Office documents, Customizable paper sizes and styles, Extensive document sharing options, Digital planning with calendar integration

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

**In-app purchases (10)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Highlighter pen | $0.99 | one-time |
| Text | $0.99 | one-time |
| Images | $0.99 | one-time |
| Bookmarks | $0.99 | one-time |
| Sounds | $0.99 | one-time |
| Sub-documents | $0.99 | one-time |
| Tables | $0.99 | one-time |
| Workspaces | $1.99 | one-time |
| All Pens | $2.99 | one-time |
| All features | $7.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Versatile and feature-rich
- 👍 Smooth handwriting experience
- 💡 Powerful customization options
- 🚀 Seamless PDF annotation
- 👍 Reliable syncing and backup

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Occasional crashes and glitches
- 👎 Confusing and outdated user interface
- 🐛 Inconsistent pen and eraser behavior
- 👎 Limited free version functionality

**Reported bugs**

- Syncing issues leading to document conflicts
- Random lines and dots appearing on the page
- Disappearing handwritten notes after saving
- Inability to unlock paid features after purchase

**Requested features**

- Improved text editing and formatting
- Easier organization with better folder management
- More tutorials and documentation
- Ability to recover accidentally deleted notes


### 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 ZoomNotes Lite free?

ZoomNotes Lite 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, ZoomNotes Lite or Carbo › Pencil Notes & Drawing?

Carbo › Pencil Notes & Drawing is rated higher. ZoomNotes Lite averages 4.2 out of 5 from 214 ratings, while Carbo › Pencil Notes & Drawing averages 4.3 from 51 ratings.

### Do ZoomNotes Lite or Carbo › Pencil Notes & Drawing have ads?

Neither ZoomNotes Lite nor Carbo › Pencil Notes & Drawing shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, ZoomNotes Lite or Carbo › Pencil Notes & Drawing?

ZoomNotes Lite ships an update every 3 weeks, and Carbo › Pencil Notes & Drawing every 4 months. Most recently, ZoomNotes Lite was updated on October 23, 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.*