Comparison

Notes vs Papyrus

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

Head to head
About

Notes

Capture ideas, create to-do lists, and sketch designs with a versatile digital notebook. Customize your notes with various paper templates, stickers, fonts, and colors. Effortlessly organize and share your work as PDFs.

Highlights
  • Customizable paper covers and templates
  • Multimedia tools: pencil, text, photos
  • Vector-based digital pencil for drawing
  • Hundreds of font and color options
  • Organize notes with custom titles and covers
  • Export notes as PDF
Features
Read full description

Take your notes to the next level! Download Notes: Note taking & writing for free and experience the new way of taking digital notes. This notetaking app is as flexible as you are. Jot down ideas, take notes, or sketch your next big idea. Whether you're a student, a professional, or just love doodling, you'll find all the tools you need. UPGRADE YOUR NOTE-TAKING β€’ Choose from various cute and inspiring paper covers. β€’ Work on your content with many available paper templates like Daily Plan, To-do-list, Vocabulary list, and more. β€’ Bring photos from the gallery to your notes with one click. Easily memorize and mark the photos you prefer. β€’ Various sticker selections to make your notes lively and memorable. YOUR NOTES YOUR STYLES WITH CUSTOMIZED TEXTS AND HAND-DRAW OPTION β€’ Use multi-media tools like pencil, and text to work on the content. β€’ Add your text anywhere in the notes and choose from hundreds of available fonts and colors of your choice. β€’ Experience the most lifelike, vector-based digital pencil to freely draw anything you like. Enjoy fine-tuned, responsive, and precise writing. STAY ORGANIZED, STAY PAPER-FREE β€’ Keep all your notes in one place, without the bulk or waste of paper. β€’ Freely add additional pages to your current work to make your note endless. β€’ Organize with hundreds of different notebook covers and specify the title of your choice. SHARE IDEAS EFFORTLESSLY AS PDF β€’ Easily share your notes in PDF format with any contacts and channels. Our note-writer app goes beyond just being a cutting-edge, fast, and reliable note-taking appβ€”it's designed for anyone who takes notes or writes. This smart notepad and writing workspace is perfect for both your iPad and iPhone. Contact us: teammarketing@lutech.ltd Terms of Services: https://lutech.vn/term Privacy Policy: http://lutech.vn/privacy

About

Papyrus

Features
Read full description

Is your current note app slow? Meet a truly lightweight note app. - It's free β€” 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 β€” 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 β€” 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 β€” note-taking, PDF annotation, and more β€” 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

Notes4 screens
Papyrus4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Notes at every 2 days against Papyrus's every 4 days. Notes also leads on iOS requirement (14.0 vs 26.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price Β· Rating Β· Positive reviews Β· Number of ratings Β· Update frequency Β· Ads Β· In-app purchases Β· Monetization Β· Best chart rank Β· Devices Β· Requires iOS

CostPrice Β· In-app purchases Β· Ads Β· Monetization

Both are free to download. Notes sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month 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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Notes ships an update every 2 days, Papyrus every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on September 20, 2026 and September 28, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences Β· 6 level
Notes versus Papyrus: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNotesPapyrus
PriceFreeFree
Positive reviews0.0% of reviewsβ€”
Update frequencyEvery 2 days β€” betterEvery 4 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesβ€”
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod β€” betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS14.0 β€” better26.0
Further details β€” not scored
Size180 MB11 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLutech-DNwaraku kobayashi

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Notes

Subscriptions4
  • monthly$0.991 Month
  • quarterly$2.493 Months
  • Premium Year$3.491 Year
Show 1 more
  • Loyalty member1 Year trial$3.991 Year
2 purchases

Papyrus

Subscriptions2
  • Papyrus Sync Monthly$0.991 Month
  • Papyrus Sync Yearly$9.991 Year

Questions

Is Notes free?
Notes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Papyrus free?
Papyrus is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Notes or Papyrus have ads?
Neither Notes nor Papyrus shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Notes or Papyrus?
Notes ships an update every 2 days, and Papyrus every 4 days. Most recently, Notes was updated on September 20, 2026 and Papyrus on September 28, 2026.

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