Comparison

CanvasNote vs Wren

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

Head to head
About

CanvasNote

Read full description

The Ultimate Note-Taking App CanvasNote is the indispensable app for everyone who loves to write with a pen and seeks the ultimate note-taking experience. This app is specifically designed for use with a pen and offers a plethora of features to perfect your handwritten notes. It naturally supports the Apple Pencil, as well as alternatives compatible with the iPad or iPad Pro. Here is a detailed overview of everything CanvasNote has to offer: Outstanding Note-Taking Features: Integrated Templates: Choose from a selection of templates, including squared or lined paper, as well as special templates for music notes and mathematics. You can write in both portrait and landscape orientation. The innovative "Own Templates" area: Here, you can not only create individual categories but also share your templates with other users and save them directly on the iPad. A backup of the template folders can also be created to easily restore them on a new device. Effortlessly import templates via the iPad's photo gallery or as a PDF document and explore the variety of free note templates available online in image format or as PDF templates, to save on the iPad and import into CanvasNote. Create your own template collection, neatly divided into categories, to quickly find and apply them in your notes. Customizable Pens and Colors: Switch between different pen types, tools, and colors to give your notes a personal touch. Creating your own color palette is also possible. With three integrated sliders for the individual RGB channels, any conceivable color can be mixed. There are tools for circles, rectangles, and a special line pen that allows for the perfect drawing of vertical and horizontal lines. The line thickness and pressure sensitivity of each pen and tool can be individually adjusted via sliders. The eraser function is also available. Organization and Management: Dynamically Growing Folders: Create folders for different notes that dynamically expand as you add new pages. This keeps you always organized. Image and Document Integration: Add images from the iPad's photo gallery and write directly on them. Use the iPad's internal camera to capture documents and insert them into your notes. The integrated scan function allows for perfect capture of external documents via the iPad camera or photo gallery. Comprehensive PDF Integration: CanvasNote offers extensive PDF features. Import and edit PDF files with ease and export your edited documents in no time. Versatile Application Areas: Perfect for School, Work, and Personal Use: CanvasNote is excellent for use in school, at work, and for personal notes. Whether you want to create lecture notes, ideas, or drawings, this app is the right choice. Intuitive Management: Clear Folders: All your notes are stored neatly in folders within the app and can be easily viewed and organized. Requires a Digital Stylus: Please note that CanvasNote requires a stylus for input (Apple Pencil or iPad-compatible alternative) and cannot be written or drawn on with fingers. Experience the ultimate note-taking experience with CanvasNote and enhance your productivity and creativity. Get CanvasNote now and dive into the world of digital handwritten notes!

About

Wren

Transform your handwritten notes into study materials. This app uses AI to generate summaries, practice questions, flashcards, and mind maps from your lecture notes. It also includes a calendar for tracking deadlines and scheduling study sessions.

Highlights
  • AI-generated summaries
  • Practice questions from notes
  • Flashcard creation
  • Mind map generation
  • Specialized sticky types (code, graphs, flowcharts)
  • Integrated calendar with deadline tracking
  • Search by meaning, not just keywords
Features
Read full description

You write the question. Wren's AI writes the answer back in neat handwriting, right on your page. It adds step-by-step math solves, function graphs, mind maps, tables, flowcharts and timelines in clean ink. On iPad, write a request with Apple Pencil, pause, and tap Keep. Or ask Study Buddy and tap Add to note. Most AI talks back in a chat window. Wren talks back in handwriting, on the same page you're taking notes on. Stuck at 11pm on a problem you can't crack? Write it on your board and ask. Wren writes the answer right next to your work, by hand: the graph, the steps, the mind map. No chat window. No copy and paste. Just your board, filling in. ONE ENDLESS WHITEBOARD Open a whiteboard note and you get one board with no pages and no edges. Work a problem in one corner. Sketch a cell in another. Zoom out and the whole topic sits on one screen. Want structure instead? Wren also has Notebooks with real pages and Documents for typed work. INK, NOT CARDS Wren's AI writes with real pen strokes, the same kind of ink you write with. It can put any of these on your board: • A few lines of text, like a definition or a short explanation • Graphs of the function you are working on • Diagrams and flowcharts • Mind maps that branch out from one idea • Timelines, from cell division to the Cold War • Checklists for what to do next • Formulas • Tables that line facts up side by side It all comes out in Wren's own neat hand, so it reads clearly next to your notes. THREE WAYS TO ASK Study Buddy. Open the chat, ask your question, and tap Add to note. The answer is written onto your page by hand. AI Tutor. Pin a Tutor answer you like, then add it to your page. It goes on as ink. Pen pause, on iPad. Write what you want with Apple Pencil, like "graph y = x^2 + 1" or "mind map the causes of World War I", then pause. A preview appears on your page. Keep it or discard it. YOU DECIDE WHAT STAYS On iPad, every pen pause starts as a preview. Tap Keep and it becomes ink on your board. Tap Discard and it is gone. Your board stays yours. ONE NIGHT AT THE BOARD 9pm, calculus. You write the function and ask for its graph. The curve shows up on the board next to your work. 10pm, biology. You ask Study Buddy for the stages of mitosis and tap Add to note. A timeline is written beside your sketch of the cell. 11pm, history. On iPad you write "mind map the causes of World War I" and pause your Apple Pencil. The preview shows the causes branching out. You keep it. Midnight, chemistry. You ask for a table comparing ionic and covalent bonds. It is written in neat rows, right on the board. Then you zoom out, and the whole night of studying is one board you can actually read. WRITE ON IPAD OR IPHONE On iPad, Wren works with Apple Pencil, with pressure and palm rejection, and pen pause is there whenever you stop to think. On iPhone, write with your finger and use Study Buddy's Add to note to bring answers onto your page. Your notes sync across your devices. WHY WE BUILT IT We're a brother and sister, both in college. We take notes every day, and we were tired of copying answers out of a chat window and into our notes. So we made the notes answer back. We are our own users, and Wren is the whiteboard we wanted. Wren is free to download. Some features are part of an optional subscription, billed to your Apple ID. It renews automatically unless you cancel at least 24 hours before the current period ends. You can manage or cancel it anytime in your App Store account settings. Terms of Use: https://www.getnotenest.com/terms Privacy Policy: https://www.getnotenest.com/privacy

Screenshots

Wren4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ratings volume: Wren at 22 against CanvasNote's 2. 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. CanvasNote sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Wren sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 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 — 5.0 for CanvasNote against 5.0 for Wren. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Wren has 22 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

CanvasNote ships an update every 5 days, Wren every 10 days. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
CanvasNote versus Wren: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCanvasNoteWren
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (2 ratings)5.0 (22 ratings)
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings222 — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 days — betterEvery 10 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
Monetization—Freemium
DevicesiPadiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS15.0 — better16.6
Further details — not scored
Size44 MB105 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNicolai KummerNOTENEST LLC

In-app purchases

1 purchases

CanvasNote

One-time1
  • Unlock Full Version$1.99
5 purchases

Wren

Subscriptions5
  • NoteNest Lite7 Days trial$4.991 Month
  • NoteNest Founder7 Days trial$6.991 Month
  • NoteNest Pro7 Days trial$9.991 Month
Show 2 more
  • NoteNest Elite7 Days trial$14.991 Month
  • NoteNest Pro Annual7 Days trial$71.991 Year

Questions

Is CanvasNote free?
CanvasNote is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Wren free?
Wren is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, CanvasNote or Wren?
CanvasNote and Wren are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 2 and 22 ratings respectively.
Do CanvasNote or Wren have ads?
Neither CanvasNote nor Wren shows ads.
Which is updated more often, CanvasNote or Wren?
CanvasNote ships an update every 5 days, and Wren every 10 days. Most recently, CanvasNote was updated on October 24, 2026 and Wren on October 24, 2026.

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