Comparison

Notewise vs MathNotes

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

Head to head
About

Notewise

This app offers a versatile digital canvas for note-taking, PDF annotation, and sketching. It leverages AI to summarize content, generate quizzes, and transcribe audio. Designed for students, professionals, and creators, it provides tools for organization, collaboration, and enhanced productivity.

Highlights
  • AI-powered note summarization and quizzing
  • Handwritten notes and PDF annotation
  • Audio recording with synced transcripts
  • OCR for searchable handwriting
  • Real-time collaboration
  • Infinite freeform canvas
Features
Read full description

Featured on the App Store. 8M+ downloads. Trusted by millions worldwide. Your meetings, lectures, ideas, and research don’t arrive in one format. Your notes shouldn’t have to either. Notewise brings together what you write, record, draw, read, and save. Capture it once, then find it again, ask about it, learn from it, and build on it. Notewise is an AI note-taking app for iPhone and iPad with handwritten notes, audio recording and transcription, PDF annotation, documents, web sources, and AI search and chat. ■ CAPTURE EVERYTHING IN ONE NOTE • Write, type, or handwrite notes • Sketch ideas and diagrams on a freeform canvas • Record meetings, lectures, conversations, and voice notes • Import 25+ file formats, including PDFs, documents, slides, images, and more • Add website links and bring web research into your notes • Scan paper notes and whiteboards Start with whatever is in front of you. Add things in any order, and keep related notes, recordings, files, and ideas together as you go. ■ SEARCH & ASK ACROSS YOUR NOTES Search handwritten notes, typed text, audio transcripts, PDFs, documents, and images. Ask Notewise AI about the note you’re in or across all your notes. Search the web when you need more context. Answers can cite the notes, recordings, files, and sources behind them, so you can always see where the information came from. Search less. Pick up where you left off and keep thinking. ■ RECORD, TRANSCRIBE & ASK IN REAL TIME Stay focused on the meeting, lecture, or conversation instead of trying to write down every word. • Automatic transcription in 20+ languages • Key points, decisions, and next steps • Ask questions while a meeting or lecture is still happening • Ask across past recordings later • Keep audio, meeting notes, PDFs, and related documents together Meeting notes become more than transcripts. Class notes stay useful long after the lecture ends. ■ WRITE, DRAW & ANNOTATE FREELY Handwrite a page. Draw a diagram. Work through a problem. Mark up a PDF. Move things around until the idea makes sense. Choose from 30+ brushes and tools — including pencil, oil paint, watercolor, highlighter, lasso, tape, shapes, tables, rulers, sticky notes, and more. Start from 20+ templates or create your own, from Cornell notes to meeting notes and custom workflows. ■ TURN NOTES INTO FLASHCARDS, QUIZZES & PODCASTS Good notes don’t all look the same. Turn study notes, meeting notes, or research into AI notes, summaries, flashcards, quizzes, podcasts, and more — using the same material in the format that helps you most. Summarize a recording. Ask questions about a PDF. Search handwritten notes. Find connections across different notes. Sometimes you want AI. Sometimes you just want a blank page. Notewise gives you both. ■ FOR WORK, STUDY & RESEARCH Use Notewise for meeting notes, lecture recording, handwritten and digital notes, voice notes, PDF annotation, research papers, brainstorming, and search across everything you save. On iOS 27, use Siri AI to create, edit, and find information in your notes, or Visual Intelligence to surface related content from what you see. Whether you’re building a company, studying for an exam, researching your next idea, or simply trying to remember what matters, Notewise gives your thinking one place to grow. ■ PRIVACY FIRST Notewise is built by a small, independent team. We don’t sell your data or show ads. Your notes are encrypted, secure, and under your control. ■ TRY NOTEWISE FREE Start with 10 free canvas notes and import your own slides and documents. Explore Notewise with a 7-day free trial, while core features remain free to use. Write. Record. Draw. Remember. Privacy Policy: https://www.notewise.dev/privacy-policy Terms & Conditions: https://www.notewise.dev/terms-conditions

About

MathNotes

This app offers a comprehensive suite for STEM students, combining handwritten note-taking with powerful math solving capabilities. It features an AI tutor, graphing tools, and specialized calculators, all designed to aid in learning and organization. Notes can be compiled into professional documents and exported as PDFs.

Highlights
  • Handwritten note-taking with Apple Pencil
  • Photo-based math problem solver
  • 12 specialized calculators
  • AI tutor for homework help
  • PDF import and annotation
  • Offline functionality
  • Export to formatted PDFs
Features
Read full description

The all-in-one math solver and study app. MathNotes combines Desmos-like graphing, Symbolab-like step-by-step solving, 12 specialized calculators, an AI tutor, and beautiful handwritten notes, all in one place. Write naturally - Handwrite with Apple Pencil or your finger, no keyboard needed - Keep notes handwritten or compile to publication-ready documents Solve anything - Snap a photo of any problem for instant solutions, graphs, and step-by-step explanations - 12 built-in calculators: graphing, scientific, matrix, symbolic, unit converter, and more - AI-powered help that actually understands your work Stay organized - Unlimited notebooks and folders - Tag definitions, theorems, and formulas to build your own knowledge base - Import, annotate, and markup PDFs and textbooks - Export beautiful, perfectly formatted PDFs Built for students - Privacy-first: your notes are encrypted and never used for AI training - Works offline - One app replaces Desmos, Symbolab, Photomath, and your note-taking app Subscription - Plus unlocks unlimited notes, cloud sync, and other basic features. Premium unlocks the AI chat, agentic LaTeX editor, and cloud sync. Everything else: notes, all 12 calculators, PDF support: is free with limited use. Try Premium free for 7 days! Terms of Use: https://mathnotes.io/terms Privacy Policy: https://mathnotes.io/privacy

Screenshots

Notewise4 screens
MathNotes4 screens

Verdict

The call

Notewise and MathNotes both sit at 4.6 stars, but that hides the real split: 100% of MathNotes's written reviews are positive against 54% of Notewise's. MathNotes also leads on iOS requirement (15.1 vs 26.0). Notewise's advantage is ratings volume (282 vs 8). 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. Notewise sells 16 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and MathNotes sells 8 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 Notewise against 4.5 for MathNotes. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Notewise has 282 ratings behind it against 8, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 54% of Notewise's written reviews are positive against 100% of MathNotes's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Notewise ships an update every 2 days, MathNotes every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Notewise versus MathNotes: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNotewiseMathNotes
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (282 ratings) — better4.5 (8 ratings)
Positive reviews54.3% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings282 — better8
Update frequencyEvery 2 days — betterEvery 4 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS26.015.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size435 MB173 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperZIIKRMark Miller

Customer experience

Notewise

All ratings282 ratings
Positive90.4%
Neutral2.8%
Negative6.7%
Written reviews140 reviews
Positive54.3%
Neutral12.9%
Negative32.9%

MathNotes

All ratings8 ratings
Positive87.5%
Neutral0.0%
Negative12.5%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Notewise

Reported bugs

18 issues
  • App crashes on every update
  • Handwritten content randomly disappears
  • Annotations vanishing intermittently
  • Lasso selection tool malfunctions
  • Text input fields not responding
Show 13 more
  • App freezes when highlighting large areas with markers
  • Handwriting input not registering
  • Palm rejection issues causing unwanted marks
  • Shape recognition failures
  • Scribble-to-erase function unreliable
  • PDF export causing app crashes
  • Notes auto-deleting or getting corrupted
  • Sync getting stuck mid-process
  • Slow and delayed cross-device synchronization
  • UI elements obscuring page content after 20+ minutes of use
  • Copy-paste functionality limited and unreliable
  • App performance degradation over time
  • Glitchy behavior with shape drawing mode

Requested features

20 requests
  • Add layers feature for advanced editing
  • Implement automatic zoom box that follows writing
  • Add pencil, waterbrush, and crayon drawing tools
  • Sticker marketplace or sticker customization
  • Horizontal page flipping/swiping navigation
Show 15 more
  • Ability to pause real-time syncing
  • MacBook native app with full feature parity
  • More shape customization (arcs for graphing)
  • Improved text formatting and customization options
  • Single page view mode (vertical and horizontal)
  • Notebook organization beyond just pages
  • Magnifying glass tool like GoodNotes
  • More pen and pencil style options
  • Line spacing customization for text
  • PDF import from web/internet
  • Printing functionality
  • Audio recording and sharing capabilities
  • Hyperlink support on desktop version
  • Scroll locking to prevent accidental page movement
  • Better shape recognition (arrows, parentheses)

MathNotes

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

16 purchases

Notewise

Subscriptions6
  • Notewise Cloud Basic Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Notewise Cloud Starter Monthly$6.991 Month
  • Notewise Cloud Pro Monthly$15.991 Month
Show 3 more
  • Notewise Cloud Basic Yearly$28.991 Year
  • Notewise Cloud Starter Yearly7 Days trial$36.991 Year
  • Notewise Cloud Pro Yearly$129.991 Year
One-time10
  • Notewise Marketplace Content$1.99
  • Notewise Marketplace Content$2.99
  • Notewise Marketplace Content$3.99
Show 7 more
  • Notewise Marketplace Content$4.99
  • Notewise Marketplace Content$5.99
  • Notewise Marketplace Content$6.99
  • Notewise Marketplace Content$7.99
  • Notewise Marketplace Content$8.99
  • Notewise Marketplace Content$9.99
  • Notewise Unlimited$19.99
8 purchases

MathNotes

Subscriptions5
  • iwrote Plus7 Days trial$1.991 Month
  • MathNotes Premium7 Days trial$9.991 Month
  • MathNotes Pro7 Days trial$9.991 Month
Show 2 more
  • MathNotes Plus7 Days trial$19.991 Year
  • MathNotes Pro7 Days trial$99.991 Year
One-time3
  • 1 Course Credit$24.99
  • 3 MathNotes Credits$54.99
  • 5 MathNotes Credits$74.99

Questions

Is Notewise free?
Notewise is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is MathNotes free?
MathNotes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Notewise or MathNotes?
Notewise is rated higher. Notewise averages 4.6 out of 5 from 282 ratings, while MathNotes averages 4.5 from 8 ratings.
Do Notewise or MathNotes have ads?
Neither Notewise nor MathNotes shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Notewise or MathNotes?
Notewise ships an update every 2 days, and MathNotes every 4 days. Most recently, Notewise was updated on October 12, 2026 and MathNotes on October 8, 2026.

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