UltraNotes vs Papyrus
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
UltraNotes
This app combines powerful note-taking, handwriting, and PDF annotation features. Create rich text notes, sketch with various tools, and mark up documents. Organize, search, and sync your notes across devices.
- Handwritten notes with Apple Pencil
- Rich text formatting and templates
- PDF annotation and signing
- Cross-device synchronization via iCloud
- Searchable handwriting and text
- Side-by-side multitasking on iPad/Mac
- Audio recording with notes
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UltraNotes is a powerful note-taking app and writing app that supports handwriting with Apple Pencil, typing with a keyboard, and annotating PDFs. Handwritten Notes • Create notes with covers and paper templates. Built-in 19 covers and 17 templates. And you could also import your own covers and templates. • 10+ Pens and Brushes: Ball Pen, Fountain Pen, Marker, Crayon, Water Color, Laser, Scribble, Tape etc. • Adjust the thickness and color of the pen tip • Draw perfect shapes and lines. • Write with scribble tool by using Apple Pencil, and it will convert to text instantly. • Use tape tool to help you memorize learning content. • Squeeze Apple Pencil Pro to show contextual palette. • Add text box, stickers and images to make your note more beautiful. • Export note to PDF and image Text Notes • Set headings to make TOC(Table of Contents). • Format text with bold, italics, strikethrough, underline • Highlight text with colors • Bullet List, Numbered List and To-Do List. • Set your own font, font size, line spacing, paragraph spacing, and more • Attach files and images on note. • Templates: Resume, Essay, Shopping List, To-Do List, Weekly Planner etc. • Export note to PDF, RTF, HTML and Plain TXT Annotation • Mark up PDFs. • Sign documents Search • Search text and handwritting in notes and PDFs. Multi-task • Work with two notes side-by-side on iPad and Mac. • Drag & Drop handwriting, typed text, and images between notes. Presentation • Present your notes on TV screen via AirPlay or HDMI cable. • 3 Presentation Modes: Entire Screen, Current Page and All Pages. • Use laser tool to point out the content what you’re presenting. More • Record audio while you’re taking note. • Set reminder on note. • Organize notes into categories and folders. • Move, copy and delete notes and folders. • Show notes in grid view and list view. • Sort notes by name, date etc. • Scan physical documents and import to UltraNotes. • Import PDFs and images. • Lock app with password or Face ID. Synchronization & Backup • Synchronize notes among your iPhone, iPad, and Mac via iCloud. • Backup notes to Google Drive. ===== CONTACT US ===== Email: support@skyjos.com Twitter: @SkyjosApps Facebook: @SkyjosApp
Papyrus
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Is your current note app slow? Meet a truly lightweight note app. - It's free — with no stingy limit on the number of notes. - Trimmed of every bit of bloat, yet complete with the features you actually need. - Open as many notes as you like with no slowdown, and PDFs load blazingly fast. - Import and edit notes from another popular note app. - Import by the folder — the hierarchy is preserved. [GoodNotes Import] Import .goodnotes files. Strokes, images, shapes, and masks are reproduced almost perfectly. [Handwriting] A custom vector drawing engine delivers extremely lightweight, high-precision ink. Five tools are built in: Pen, Highlighter, Eraser, Lasso, and Mask. Anything selected with the Lasso can be copied, moved, deleted, or duplicated. Mask is a study aid — cover what you want to memorize with the pen, then tap to peek underneath. Straight-line snapping and shape recognition (rectangles, circles, lines, and more) are also supported. [PDF Import & Annotation] Import a PDF and write directly on its pages. Switch between four page layouts: continuous scroll, single page, horizontal, and two-page spread. [File Organization] Organize your notes with a Finder-like file browser, creating folders freely. Switch between list and grid views, and move files and folders by drag and drop. A Trash lets you restore notes you deleted by mistake. [Tabs & Split View (iPad)] Open multiple notes at once in tabs. On iPad, split the screen to view and edit two notes side by side (Split View). [Page Sidebar] Swipe in from the left edge to reveal page thumbnails. Press and hold a thumbnail to reorder pages, and select multiple pages to delete, copy, and paste. [Images] Paste images from Photos, Files, or the clipboard. [Export] Export notes and PDFs as a "PDF for submission/printing," a "fast annotation PDF" (PDF annotations only), or a "Papyrus Archive" (.papyrus). [Apple Pencil] - iPad: draw with Apple Pencil only; pan and zoom with your finger. - iPhone: draw with your finger while the compact ink palette is open; otherwise pan and zoom. - With Apple Pencil Pro, use the squeeze gesture to bring up the hover palette. About Papyrus Sync (Subscription) iCloud sync and sharing are available through the "Papyrus Sync" subscription (monthly or yearly, auto-renewing). All core features — note-taking, PDF annotation, and more — are completely free. - Payment will be charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. - The subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. - Your account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period. - You can manage your subscription or turn off auto-renewal in your Apple Account settings after purchase. - Prices are shown in the app and may vary by region. Terms of Use (EULA): https://coremedica.jp/pages/legal/terms-of-use Privacy Policy: https://coremedica.jp/pages/legal/privacy-policy
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Papyrus at every 4 days against UltraNotes's every 3 weeks. UltraNotes's advantage is iOS requirement (16.0 vs 26.0). 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. UltraNotes sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Papyrus sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
UltraNotes ships an update every 3 weeks, Papyrus every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on September 29, 2026 and September 28, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | UltraNotes | Papyrus |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (171 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 81.9% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 171 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Every 4 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 31 MB | 11 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Skyjos Co., Ltd. | waraku kobayashi |
Bugs and requests
UltraNotes
Reported bugs
12 issues- Writing and drawing input not working
- Page scrolling interferes with writing
- iCloud sync not functioning
- Export to other apps failing
- Hand gestures changing page zoom during writing
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- Shape resizing not working after cutting
- Search functionality crashes app
- Added pages not saving when importing PDFs
- PDF import quirks related to iCloud sync
- App crashes causing data loss
- Pro version access lost unexpectedly
- Audio recording cannot be exported
Requested features
21 requests- Ability to lock zoom while writing with Apple Pencil
- Resize shapes after cutting/moving them
- Export notes to PDF and other apps
- Dark/light theme toggle for pages
- Nested list item support
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- Additional font options
- More sticker varieties
- Infinite canvas on all sides
- Password protection for individual notes
- Straightened highlighter tool
- Zoom video with auto-advance feature
- LaTeX conversion support
- Hierarchical folder navigation panel
- Left-right page swiping navigation
- Borderless canvas option
- Selection tool with resize capability
- One-click PDF annotation save option
- Category deletion/renaming without cloud deletion
- Audio recording export
- UI language selection independent of system settings
- Finger tap to undo functionality
Papyrus
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
UltraNotes
- UltraNotes Pro Lifetime$4.99
Papyrus
- Papyrus Sync Monthly$0.991 Month
- Papyrus Sync Yearly$9.991 Year









