Comparison

Element Note vs Wellnote

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

Head to head
About

Element Note

This app offers a distraction-free digital notebook experience with advanced handwriting, PDF annotation, and sketching capabilities. It features unique brushes, a powerful rendering engine, and smart organization tools. Sync your notes across devices and collaborate with others seamlessly.

Highlights
  • Unique handwriting brushes
  • Smooth drawing engine
  • PDF annotation
  • Text, shape, and image attachments
  • On-device OCR search
  • Smart dark mode
  • iCloud sync and collaboration
Features
Read full description

Element Note is the next-gen note taking, PDF annotation, and light sketching app. We stripped down the unnecessaries and carefully polished the elemental functions for a digital notebook. With a modern look and powerful features, Element Note strives to provide an elegant writing space free of distractions. Features: Unique brushes - Pencil (HB Pencil, Mechanical Pencil) - Pen (Pen, Line Pen, Fountain Pen) - Brush (Art Brush, Round Brush) - Marker (Marker, Round Marker) Best-in-class note rendering engine - Smooth and fluid drawing powered by Metal technology - Support gradient ink for more expressive notes Powerful attachments - Text - Shape - Sticker - Image Universal Search - Search through your PDF & Handwritting using on device OCR Smart Darkmode - Smartly adapts all of your notes to the system darkmode without changing the paper or stroke colors. iCloud Sync & Collaboration - Sync via your personal iCloud (No data is passed to our server) - Collaborate through iCloud collaboration for up to 100 users. Desktop class organization - Intuitive multi-select drag and drop gesture to organize your notes or pages Element Note is free to try for up to 3 notes. Unlock the full app with an in app purchase to create unlimited notes. Terms and Conditions https://elementnote.app/terms Privacy Policy https://elementnote.app/privacy

About

Wellnote

Experience natural handwriting with a stylus for note-taking and document annotation. Organize your thoughts with categorization and search, and study more effectively using split-screen and custom templates. Import and mark up PDFs, Word, and PPT files for interactive learning.

Highlights
  • Real handwriting experience with stylus
  • Categorize and search notes
  • Import and annotate PDFs, Word, PPT
  • Split-screen for multitasking
  • Customizable templates
  • Masking tape feature for memorization
Features
Read full description

Real Writing Experience -- Combined with a stylus pen, you can feel the real touch of writing on the iPad, achieving a natural writing sensation. -- Wellnote provides a smooth writing experience, accurately capturing your handwriting whether you're jotting down notes quickly or making detailed records. Categorize Notes -- The categorization feature allows you to organize your notes by project, course, or topic, keeping your notes tidy and orderly. -- With the search function, you can easily find the notes you need. -- The writing effects that used to require a stack of paper can now be easily achieved on the iPad. Import Documents for Annotation -- Log in to Baidu Cloud, and files in the cloud (PPT, Word, PDF) can be downloaded and imported at any time. -- Annotate, mark, and highlight directly on PDF files or by importing PPTs and Word documents as PDFs, making learning more interactive and vivid. -- Combining text and notes helps you better understand and remember the content of your studies. Study More Efficiently -- The split-screen feature allows you to view different books, materials, or apps simultaneously, efficiently taking notes. -- Using the split-screen feature in class allows you to record key points in real-time while viewing class materials, ensuring you don't miss any important information. -- The masking tape feature can cover and reveal content, allowing you to study and memorize more efficiently. Customize Templates -- Based on your personal learning and working style, custom templates let you create note formats that meet your needs. -- With preset templates, you can not only improve the efficiency of organizing notes but also study and review more effectively. Explanation of Automatic Subscription Service (1) Subscription Services: AI+VIP Continuous Monthly Subscription (1 month), AI+VIP Continuous Annual Subscription (12 months) (2) Subscription Price: For example, AI+VIP continuous monthly subscription (1 month) is US$1.99 per month, and the continuous annual subscription product is US$10.99/year. The specific price will be adjusted according to promotional activities during different periods, subject to the actual display within the application. (3) Payment: After the user confirms the purchase and makes the payment, it will be credited to the iTunes account. (4) Auto-renewal: The Apple iTunes account will be charged within 24 hours before expiration, and upon successful payment, the subscription period will be extended by one subscription cycle. (5) Cancel Service: You can go to "Settings" on your iPhone --> enter "iTunes Store & App Store" --> tap "Apple ID" and select "View Apple ID", enter the "Account Settings" page, tap "Subscriptions" to manage auto-renewal subscriptions. If you need to cancel, simply turn it off 24 hours before the end of each billing cycle, and no further charges will be incurred within 24 hours before expiration. Terms of Use and Privacy Policy: https://wellnote.meatmeet.top/app/privacy/index.html?language=en End User Licensing Agreement (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ If you have any questions, you can contact us via email for assistance: wellnote@maxeye.com

Screenshots

Element Note4 screens
Wellnote4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: Wellnote at free against Element Note's free with in-app purchases. Wellnote also leads on review sentiment (78% vs 68%) and iOS requirement (14.0 vs 17.0). Element Note's advantage is ratings volume (2.6K vs 794). On price, rating, update cadence 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. Element Note sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $3.49 per year and Wellnote sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Element Note against 4.7 for Wellnote. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2.6K and 794 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 68% of Element Note's written reviews are positive against 78% of Wellnote's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly fortnightly. Both last shipped on September 24, 2026.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Element Note versus Wellnote: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterElement NoteWellnote
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (2.6K ratings)4.7 (794 ratings) — better
Positive reviews68.1% of reviews77.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2.6K — better794
Update frequencyFortnightlyFortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, MaciPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS17.014.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size129 MB439 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSoysauce LabMAXEYE US INC.

Customer experience

Element Note

All ratings2,564 ratings
Positive90.5%
Neutral4.1%
Negative5.4%
Written reviews335 reviews
Positive68.1%
Neutral11.6%
Negative20.3%

Wellnote

All ratings794 ratings
Positive93.7%
Neutral2.6%
Negative3.7%
Written reviews307 reviews
Positive77.5%
Neutral9.8%
Negative12.7%

Bugs and requests

Element Note

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Notes and files randomly disappearing
  • Inconsistent behavior when using the floating keyboard
  • Handwriting recognition not working as expected
  • Exported PDFs losing formatting and background colors

Requested features

6 requests
  • Ruler tool
  • Ability to resize/rotate selections
  • Improved text editing and formatting
  • Presentation mode for connecting to displays
  • Ability to import/export multiple files at once
Show 1 more
  • Seasonal or custom sticker packs

Wellnote

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

5 purchases

Element Note

Subscriptions2
  • Element Note Yearly$3.491 Year
  • Element Note Yearly$4.991 Year
One-time3
  • Lifetime Launch Special$4.99
  • Lifetime$9.99
  • Lifetime$14.99
4 purchases

Wellnote

Subscriptions3
  • AI+VIP$1.991 Month
  • AI+VIP$10.991 Year
  • AI Pro VIP$99.991 Year
One-time1
  • AI Credits$9.99

Questions

Is Element Note free?
Element Note is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Wellnote free?
Wellnote is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Element Note or Wellnote?
Wellnote is rated higher. Element Note averages 4.6 out of 5 from 2.6K ratings, while Wellnote averages 4.7 from 794 ratings.
Do Element Note or Wellnote have ads?
Neither Element Note nor Wellnote shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Element Note or Wellnote?
Element Note ships an update fortnightly, and Wellnote fortnightly. Most recently, Element Note was updated on September 24, 2026 and Wellnote on September 24, 2026.

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