Comparison

Freeform vs Noteshelf 3

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

Head to head
About

Freeform

This app provides a flexible canvas for bringing ideas to life. It supports various file types, drawing tools, and shape libraries for creative projects. Real-time collaboration with multiple users is also a key feature.

Highlights
  • Flexible canvas for ideas
  • Supports photos, video, audio, documents, PDFs, web links
  • Drawing with finger or Apple Pencil
  • Library of over 700 shapes
  • Built-in document scanner
  • Real-time collaboration with up to 100 users
  • Integrated Messages and FaceTime
Read full description

Freeform is now part of Apple Creator Studio, an amazing collection of Apple’s most powerful creative apps designed to help you bring your ideas to life. The suite includes Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, Pixelmator Pro, Motion, Compressor, and MainStage — plus premium content and intelligence features* in Keynote, Pages, Numbers, and Freeform, all in one simple plan. Creating, viewing, and editing boards in Freeform, as well as collaborating in real time, does not require a subscription. Freeform is a great place to bring your ideas to life. Sketch out a project, design a mood board or start a brainstorming session on a flexible canvas that supports almost any kind of file. And with iCloud, all your boards stay in sync, whether you’re on your Apple Vision Pro, your Mac, your iPad or your iPhone. New Features For Apple Creator Studio Subscribers: • Explore high-quality photos, graphics, and illustrations for your document in the all-new Content Hub • Find inspiration faster with collections of new Apple-curated content in the Content Hub • Create stunning images and graphics right in your document, apply quick edits, or adjust the style using AI • Increase the clarity and detail of existing images and graphics using Super Resolution • Use Auto Crop to generate suggestions for how to frame your image Other New Features: • Organize Your Board with Tables. Arrange text, images, and content into flexible rows and columns • Present your ideas with Scenes, letting you save and jump to specific regions of your board Overview Unleash your creativity • Add photos, video, audio, documents, PDFs, web links, stickies and more anywhere on a Freeform board, perfect for creating a digital pinboard, collecting research for a school project or gathering inspiration for your home renovation. • Use your finger to draw anywhere on the canvas. Choose from a variety of brush styles and colors. • Create beautiful diagrams with a library of over 700 shapes and alignment guides to help make your document look just the way you’d like. • Scan paper documents with your iPhone or iPad’s built-in document scanner to archive documents and even annotate them if you’d like, directly on the board. Collaborate with others • Invite your friends or colleagues into your board for real-time collaboration. Freeform brings people together into a shared space for creativity, whether you’re at your desk or on the go. Easily invite others via email, link or Messages. • Brainstorm together with up to 100 collaborators in the same board. • Communicate with Messages or FaceTime. When you’re working on a board with others, you can jump into the associated Messages conversation or start a FaceTime call with your collaborators with a single tap. * Some features of Apple Creator Studio require an Apple Intelligence–capable device. For full system requirements and usage limits for Apple Creator Studio intelligence features, see Apple Support article 125029.

About

Noteshelf 3

Create handwritten notes, annotate PDFs, and record audio with this app. It offers extensive customization for notebooks, a variety of writing tools, and AI-powered features for summarization and translation. Organize your thoughts and documents seamlessly.

Highlights
  • Handwritten note creation
  • PDF annotation and markup
  • Audio recording with notes
  • AI-powered summarization and translation
  • Customizable notebooks and templates
  • Handwriting to text conversion
  • Document scanning and import
Features
Read full description

Transform your note-taking with Noteshelf! Create stunning handwritten notes, markup PDFs, and record audio, all powered by AI. Noteshelf is designed for students, teachers, and anyone who loves to take notes. Organize your thoughts and ideas like never before. Why You'll Love It - Craft beautiful handwritten notes with realistic pens and highlighters. - Personalize notebooks with custom covers and a customizable toolbar. - Choose from 200+ exclusive templates for planners, journals, and more. Write, Type, Draw, or Record - Convert handwriting to text in 65 languages. - Add fun emojis and stickers to personalize your pages. - Record audio as you take notes, perfect for lectures and meetings. - Use advanced image editing features. Paperless Organization - Organize notebooks into folders and subfolders. - Bookmark important pages and create a table of contents. - Use tags to quickly categorize and find your notes. - Create links between notebooks to connect ideas. Annotate Like a Pro - Import and annotate PDFs, DOCs, PPTs, and images. - Use the built-in document scanner to digitize physical documents. - Export and share your notes as images and PDFs. Noteshelf AI - Generate handwritten notes on any topic. - Summarize pages, translate text, and explain complex terms. Keep Your Notes Safe - Secure your notes with passwords, Face ID, or Touch ID. - Access your notes across iPad, iPhone, and Mac with iCloud sync. - Auto-backup to Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox, and WebDAV. Share Ideas with Presentation Mode - Project your notes via external display. - Use the Laser Pointer to highlight key points. Go Premium for unlimited notebooks, handwriting recognition, auto-backup, and 100 monthly AI credits. Download Noteshelf today and take your note-taking to the next level! Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula

Screenshots

Freeform4 screens
Noteshelf 34 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Freeform at none against Noteshelf 3's 17. Freeform also leads on ratings volume (440K vs 6.7K) and review sentiment (73% vs 55%). Noteshelf 3's advantage is update cadence (every 5 days vs every 3 months). On price, rating, ads 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. Noteshelf 3 sells 17 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days. Freeform 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 Freeform against 4.6 for Noteshelf 3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Freeform has 440K ratings behind it against 6.7K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 73% of Freeform's written reviews are positive against 55% of Noteshelf 3's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Freeform ships an update every 3 months, Noteshelf 3 every 5 days. Both last shipped on September 29, 2026.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Freeform versus Noteshelf 3: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFreeformNoteshelf 3
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (440K ratings)4.6 (6.7K ratings)
Positive reviews72.5% of reviews — better55.1% of reviews
Number of ratings440K — better6.7K
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Vision ProiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS16.2 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size6 MB462 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAppleFluid Touch Pte. Ltd.

Customer experience

Freeform

All ratings439,937 ratings
Positive88.3%
Neutral5.0%
Negative6.7%
Written reviews3,543 reviews
Positive72.5%
Neutral10.0%
Negative17.5%

Noteshelf 3

All ratings6,655 ratings
Positive89.2%
Neutral3.2%
Negative7.7%
Written reviews858 reviews
Positive55.1%
Neutral9.7%
Negative35.2%

User reviews

Freeform

From 440K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Great for note-taking and organizing
  • 👍 Intuitive and easy to use
  • 🎨 Excellent for creative projects
  • 💡 Useful for brainstorming and mind mapping
  • 🤝 Helpful for collaboration and sharing

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and glitches
  • 🔋 Drains battery quickly
  • 🤔 Laggy performance, especially with complex boards
  • 🤷‍♀️ Lack of organizational features like folders
  • 📦 Issues with syncing and sharing boards

Noteshelf 3

From 6.7K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Smooth handwriting experience
  • 📚 Versatile note-taking features
  • 🎨 Customizable templates and covers
  • 🔍 Accurate handwriting recognition
  • 💻 Seamless integration across devices

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and freezes
  • 🔄 Sync issues between devices
  • 🔒 Concerns about privacy and data security
  • 🔍 Unreliable search functionality
  • 🔧 Buggy or missing features from previous versions

Bugs and requests

Freeform

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Boards randomly disappearing or not syncing properly
  • Writing and drawing becoming unresponsive or laggy
  • Overlapping and misaligned elements after editing
  • Inability to rotate or resize objects accurately

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add dark mode option
  • Improve Apple Pencil integration with pressure sensitivity
  • Implement undo/redo shortcuts
  • Allow for grouping and aligning of objects
  • Add more shape and text formatting options

Noteshelf 3

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Notebooks failing to open or sync correctly
  • Handwriting recognition not working as expected
  • Imported PDFs losing formatting or functionality
  • Unexpected loss of data or notes
  • Compatibility issues with older devices or operating systems

Requested features

6 requests
  • Add ability to create folders within notebooks
  • Improve page organization and navigation
  • Implement a more intuitive color picker and pen customization
  • Introduce a history/undo feature for linked pages
  • Add support for custom stickers and templates
Show 1 more
  • Optimize performance and reduce loading times

In-app purchases

None

Freeform

No in-app purchases

17 purchases

Noteshelf 3

Subscriptions15
  • Noteshelf 3 Weekly Premium$4.997 Days
  • Noteshelf 3 Weekly Premium3 Days trial$4.997 Days
  • Noteshelf 3 Weekly Premium$7.997 Days
Show 12 more
  • Noteshelf3 Weekly Premium3 Days trial$7.997 Days
  • Noteshelf3 Monthly Premium$9.991 Month
  • Noteshelf3 Monthly Premium$19.991 Month
  • Noteshelf 3 Yearly Premium3 Days trial$19.991 Year
  • Noteshelf3 Yearly Premium3 Days trial$29.991 Year
  • Noteshelf3 Yearly Premium$39.991 Year
  • Noteshelf 3 Yearly Premium3 Days trial$39.991 Year
  • Noteshelf Premium Yearly$49.991 Year
  • Noteshelf3 Yearly Premium3 Days trial$49.991 Year
  • Noteshelf 3 Yearly Premium1 Month trial$69.991 Year
  • Noteshelf3 Yearly Premium$79.991 Year
  • Premium3 Days trial$99.991 Year
One-time2
  • Premium for Noteshelf 2 users$9.99
  • Noteshelf 3 Premium - Lifetime$14.99

Questions

Is Freeform free?
Freeform is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Noteshelf 3 free?
Noteshelf 3 is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Freeform or Noteshelf 3?
Freeform and Noteshelf 3 are both rated 4.6 out of 5 on the App Store, from 440K and 6.7K ratings respectively.
Do Freeform or Noteshelf 3 have ads?
Neither Freeform nor Noteshelf 3 shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Freeform or Noteshelf 3?
Freeform ships an update every 3 months, and Noteshelf 3 every 5 days. Most recently, Freeform was updated on September 29, 2026 and Noteshelf 3 on September 29, 2026.

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