Comparison

ZoomNotes Lite vs Calligraphy HD

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

Head to head
About

ZoomNotes Lite

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
Read full description

ZoomNotes Lite is an iPad/iPhone visual note-taking app. It lets you quickly make handwritten notes and sketches on virtual paper, on PDF files, on MS Word, Excel and Powerpoint docs (via GoogleDrive), and over images. Uniquely, it also lets you zoom in and out without arbitrary limits, an invaluable feature for this type of app. It has a free fully functioning pen (although you will be able to try the pens too), and more available as in-app purchases. It has unlimited paper sizes/styles, unlimited colours and line thicknesses, and a large range of ways to share its documents making ZoomNotes the most versatile handwriting/drawing app. ZoomNotes Desktop for Mac now also available. ZoomNotes is much more than a replacement for your trusted paper notebook! Compatible with any capacitive stylus pen (although fingers work well too). Here some reviews of the app store of the full version- The best note taking app available! ***** by MarkNance – Version 7.1.4 – Jul 6, 2016 Don’t be put off by all its features! ***** by Stevearcher – Version 7.1.3 – May 24, 2016 Most complete Note app I’ve tried ***** by ItsDartstx – Version 7.1.3 – Apr 20, 2016 Most effective note taking app ***** by John25642 – Version 7.1.3 – Jul 7, 2016 Full featured and innovative ***** by music-major – Version 7.1.3 – May 15, 2016 Hands(writing)-down, best notepad replacement out there. ***** by Jed123zz – Version 7.1.3 – Mar 23, 2016 Free features include: -1 Pen type - Felt tip. -Huge Zoom Range and Whiteboard page style -Rotatable views -Split screen mode (edit 2 documents at once) -Digital planning with links, which can also show events and reminders from the Calendar and Reminder apps -Write over PDF file -Write over MS Word, Powerpoint and Excel files (via GoogleDrive) -Calendar events/reminders :add events linked to your documents, possibly with alarms. The URL in the event links back to the document in ZoomNotes. -Typed text- limited to a single font, fills and borders -Regular shapes and arrows -Symbol library -Select, scale, rotate and shift -Cut, copy, paste (including between documents, pages and other apps) -Write over pdf files (markup) -Configurable paper types -Intuitive folder interface for documents -Sharing as PDF files, images, videos or ZoomNotes documents (via email, iTunes, clipboard, Dropbox, Twitter and Evernote) -In app printing -VGA compatible for use with projectors, monitors and AirPlay -Universal app - iPhone and iPad -iCloud support -Geo-located documents; documents can be optionally geo-located and viewed as pins on a map. -Layers let you control what is visible on a page, also options for 'master layers' which show on all pages. In app purchases features include: -7 extra Pen types, including Italic, Gel, Nib, Pencil and Watercolour. -Sub-pages (pages within pages within...) -Typed text- fully configurable fonts, colours, fills and borders -Unlimited colours and line styles -Bookmarks with animated playback -Insert images from camera or photo library -Insert web pages -Insert videos from camera or photo library -Edit inserted images, including masking and cropping -Record and playback sounds, including import and export of caf files - Handwriting recognition (14 different languages). Please note that the full version of ZoomNotes is equivalent to the Lite version with all the in-app purchases. There are lots more details including some videos of the app in action at www.zoom-notes.com Please remember to leave us a review. If you wish, you can send us feedback directly, we reply to every email sent to support@zoom-notes.com. If you experience any problems or bugs in the app, please email us your device information, which iOS version you are running to support@zoom-notes.com and we will fix it asap. Twitter - @zoomnotes

About

Calligraphy HD

Explore the art of calligraphy with a wide selection of digital nibs and brushes. Customize stroke thickness, texture, and pen angle to develop your unique lettering style. Save your creations to your device's photo gallery.

Highlights
  • Customizable nibs and brushes
  • Adjustable stroke thickness
  • Varying stroke texture
  • Pen angle control
  • Variety of backgrounds
  • Save artwork to gallery
Features
Read full description

Develop and create your very personal lettering style with Calligraphy HD Calligraphy HD comes with a choice of nibs and brushes, simply select your favourite tool and instantly vary nib thickness, stroke texture and pen angle. Discover a variety of backgrounds and save your artwork to your device photo gallery.

Screenshots

ZoomNotes Lite4 screens
Calligraphy HD4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: ZoomNotes Lite at 72% against Calligraphy HD's 12%. ZoomNotes Lite also leads on rating (4.2 vs 1.6) and ads (none vs shown). Calligraphy HD's advantage is iOS requirement (9.0 vs 15.6). On price, in-app purchases, monetization model and device support 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. ZoomNotes Lite sells 10 one-off in-app purchases and Calligraphy HD 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

ZoomNotes Lite holds the better App Store score, 4.2 against 1.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 214 and 64 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 72% of ZoomNotes Lite's written reviews are positive against 12% of Calligraphy HD's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ZoomNotes Lite ships an update every 3 weeks, Calligraphy HD every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on August 26, 2026 and September 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
ZoomNotes Lite versus Calligraphy HD: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterZoomNotes LiteCalligraphy HD
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.2 (214 ratings) — better1.6 (64 ratings)
Positive reviews72.0% of reviews — better11.5% of reviews
Number of ratings214 — better64
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.69.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size151 MB19 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDeliverance Software LtdTOUCHSCREEN LEARNING LTD

Customer experience

ZoomNotes Lite

All ratings214 ratings
Positive77.6%
Neutral9.8%
Negative12.6%
Written reviews329 reviews
Positive72.0%
Neutral8.5%
Negative19.5%

Calligraphy HD

All ratings64 ratings
Positive9.4%
Neutral9.4%
Negative81.3%
Written reviews113 reviews
Positive11.5%
Neutral8.0%
Negative80.5%

Bugs and requests

ZoomNotes Lite

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • 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

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

Calligraphy HD

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

10 purchases

ZoomNotes Lite

One-time10
  • Highlighter pen$0.99
  • Text$0.99
  • Images$0.99
Show 7 more
  • Bookmarks$0.99
  • Sounds$0.99
  • Sub-documents$0.99
  • Tables$0.99
  • Workspaces$1.99
  • All Pens$2.99
  • All features$7.99
1 purchases

Calligraphy HD

One-time1
  • Calligraphy HD Full App$2.99

Questions

Is ZoomNotes Lite free?
ZoomNotes Lite is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Calligraphy HD free?
Calligraphy HD is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, ZoomNotes Lite or Calligraphy HD?
ZoomNotes Lite is rated higher. ZoomNotes Lite averages 4.2 out of 5 from 214 ratings, while Calligraphy HD averages 1.6 from 64 ratings.
Do ZoomNotes Lite or Calligraphy HD have ads?
Calligraphy HD shows ads; ZoomNotes Lite does not.
Which is updated more often, ZoomNotes Lite or Calligraphy HD?
ZoomNotes Lite ships an update every 3 weeks, and Calligraphy HD every 3 months. Most recently, ZoomNotes Lite was updated on August 26, 2026 and Calligraphy HD on September 25, 2026.

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