Comparison

Element Note vs Forms

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

Forms

Easily create and customize surveys, quizzes, and forms directly from your mobile device. Access templates, import questions, and add interactive elements. Analyze responses with real-time analytics and share your creations via a simple link.

Highlights
  • Create custom forms, surveys, and quizzes
  • Edit existing Google Forms
  • Access and customize templates
  • Import questions from other forms
  • Real-time response analytics and graphs
  • Share forms via link
  • Customizable themes
Features
Read full description

Forms: Online Form Builder: Build Custom Forms with Ease. Forms: Online Form Builder allows you to easily create new Google Forms™, or edit the existing ones directly from your iPhone. Create customised forms, surveys, quizzes and more, with Forms: Online Form Builder. Our powerful mobile App makes it easy to build any type of form exactly as you want it. Disclaimer: This is an independently developed third-party app by LightApps. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Google LLC. Google Forms™ is a trademark of Google LLC. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Key Benefits: Create forms faster with an intuitive editor. Access templates to quickly customize forms. Import questions from other forms. Add more interactive questions. Customize themes - fonts, colors and backgrounds. Get real-time response, analytics and graphs. Share forms via email, social media and more Main Features: Build forms from the scratch, or edit the existing ones. Make quizzes, surveys or job applications. Select from the ready-made templates. Add texts, multiple choices, images, videos and more. View and analyze the results with charts. Change the looks and feels with custom themes. Share forms with a simple link. Take the frustration out of form building. With Forms: Online Form Builder, you can create surveys, quizzes and forms efficiently, and customize them to match your brand. Imagination is your only limit!  Subscription payments will be charged to your App Store account upon confirmation of your purchase. Subscriptions are automatically renewed and you will be charged unless auto-renew is turned off or unless you cancel at least 24 hours prior to the end of the current subscription or trial period. Any unused portion of a free trial period will be forfeited when you purchase a premium subscription during the free trial period. The renewal cost depends on the Subscription Plan you choose. Privacy policy: https://lightappsfor.me/forms/Privacy-Policy.pdf Terms of use: https://lightappsfor.me/forms/Terms-and-Conditions.pdf

Screenshots

Element Note4 screens
Forms4 screens

Verdict

The call

Element Note and Forms both sit at 4.6 stars, but that hides the real split: 70% of Element Note's written reviews are positive against 6% of Forms's. Element Note also leads on ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (2.6K vs 391). On price, rating, update cadence and in-app purchases 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 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.49 per year and Forms sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per 7 days. 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 4.6 for Forms. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Element Note has 2.6K ratings behind it against 391, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 70% of Element Note's written reviews are positive against 6% of Forms's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Element Note ships an update fortnightly, Forms every 11 days. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and November 4, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Element Note versus Forms: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterElement NoteForms
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (2.6K ratings) — better4.6 (391 ratings)
Positive reviews69.8% of reviews — better6.3% of reviews
Number of ratings2.6K — better391
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 11 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.016.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size129 MB71 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSoysauce LabLightApps OU

Customer experience

Element Note

All ratings2,625 ratings
Positive90.5%
Neutral4.1%
Negative5.4%
Written reviews361 reviews
Positive69.8%
Neutral11.4%
Negative18.8%

Forms

All ratings391 ratings
Positive90.5%
Neutral3.8%
Negative5.6%
Written reviews16 reviews
Positive6.3%
Neutral6.3%
Negative87.5%

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

Forms

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Element Note

Subscriptions2
  • Element Note Yearly$3.491 Year
  • Element Note Yearly$4.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime$14.99
3 purchases

Forms

Subscriptions2
  • Forms Pro3 Days trial$6.997 Days
  • Forms Pro$29.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime Access$99.99

Questions

Is Element Note free?
Element Note is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Forms free?
Forms is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Element Note or Forms?
Element Note is rated higher. Element Note averages 4.6 out of 5 from 2.6K ratings, while Forms averages 4.6 from 391 ratings.
Do Element Note or Forms have ads?
Forms shows ads; Element Note does not.
Which is updated more often, Element Note or Forms?
Element Note ships an update fortnightly, and Forms every 11 days. Most recently, Element Note was updated on November 3, 2026 and Forms on November 4, 2026.

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