Element Note vs Kanso Space
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Unique handwriting brushes
- Smooth drawing engine
- PDF annotation
- Text, shape, and image attachments
- On-device OCR search
- Smart dark mode
- iCloud sync and collaboration
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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
Kanso Space
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Kanso Space is an app for saving fast and sorting later. Or better: for never sorting at all. SAVE WITHOUT DECIDING A link, a photo, a video or a loose idea. Share it from any app or write it straight in. No folders to pick, no tags to invent: save it and get on with your day. THE AI DOES THE BORING PART Everything you save gets summarised, tagged and connected to what you already had on the subject. Links are read in full, not just the title. It all becomes searchable without you typing a single word. ASK YOUR SECOND BRAIN "What did I save about watercolour?" "What was that place in Seville called?" Kanso answers in plain language and shows you which notes the answer came from, so you can go and check the source. SPACES, YOURS OR SHARED Keep work apart from home. And when something involves someone else, open a shared space and invite them: a trip, a renovation, a list of places to go. A DESIGN THAT DOESN'T SHOUT Japandi aesthetics: plenty of air, little noise, and not one red notification badge. Light and dark themes, following your system. FREE PLAN 20 AI notes a month, forever. No limit on saved notes or spaces. KANSO PRO 500 AI notes and 100 conversations with your library a month, with a one-week free trial. --- Kanso Pro is an auto-renewing subscription. Payment is charged to your Apple account when you confirm the purchase. It renews automatically unless you cancel at least 24 hours before the current period ends, and you can manage or cancel it in your account settings. Terms: https://kansospace.yebenes.dev/en/terms-of-service.html Privacy: https://kansospace.yebenes.dev/en/privacy-policy.html
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Kanso Space at every 2 days against Element Note's fortnightly. Kanso Space also leads on iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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
Both are free to download. Element Note sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $3.49 per year and Kanso Space sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Element Note ships an update fortnightly, Kanso Space every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 18, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Element Note | Kanso Space |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (2.6K ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 68.5% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 2.6K — better | — |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | Every 2 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 129 MB | 51 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Soysauce Lab | Jose Antonio Yebenes Galvez |
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
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- Seasonal or custom sticker packs
Kanso Space
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Element Note
- Element Note Yearly$3.491 Year
- Element Note Yearly$4.991 Year
- Lifetime Launch Special$4.99
- Lifetime$9.99
- Lifetime$14.99
Kanso Space
- Kanso Pro7 Days trial$4.991 Month
- Kanso Pro7 Days trial$39.991 Year









