Comparison

Notes vs ScribblePad

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

Head to head
About

Notes

This app helps you create, organize, and manage daily notes, to-do lists, and reminders with a clean, user-friendly interface. It's designed for distraction-free writing and staying focused on your tasks and ideas.

Highlights
  • Create and edit notes
  • Manage task lists with checkboxes
  • Set reminders
  • Supports dark mode
  • Intuitive design
Features
Read full description

Notes - Notebook, Notepad is the simple and powerful app to create, organize, and manage your daily notes, to-do lists, and reminders. Whether you're jotting down quick thoughts or planning a full task list, this notepad app helps you stay focused and productive. Designed with a clean, user-friendly interface, Notes - Notebook, Notepad makes it effortless to write and manage your notes. It's the perfect digital notebook to capture your ideas anytime, anywhere. Key Features: - Create and edit notes and notebooks easily - Manage task lists with checkboxes - Set reminders to never miss a thing - Supports dark mode for comfortable night use - Minimal and intuitive notepad design for distraction-free writing Whether you're a student, professional, or someone who just loves staying organized, this Notes app is built to support your productivity. Download Notes - Notebook, Notepad today and enjoy a fast, simple, and reliable note-taking experience!

About

ScribblePad

A private, free note-taking and PDF annotation app for Apple devices. It offers natural handwriting, organization tools, and optional cloud backup to your own storage. Enjoy a distraction-free experience with no accounts or tracking.

Highlights
  • Natural handwriting with Apple Pencil
  • PDF annotation and markup
  • Organize notes with subjects and notebooks
  • On-device handwriting search (OCR)
  • Audio recording synced to notes
  • Optional Google Drive/iCloud backup
  • Offline functionality
Features
Read full description

The free, private note app for iPhone, iPad & Mac. No subscription, no account, no tracking — just fast handwriting, PDF markup, and backup to YOUR own cloud. Write naturally with Apple Pencil, organize notes into colorful subjects, and keep everything synced to your own Google Drive or iCloud. Nothing lives on our servers — your notes stay yours. WRITING & TOOLS • Smooth, low-latency ink (PencilKit) — pen, pencil, highlighter, eraser, lasso • Pinch to zoom, palm rejection, and ruler • Add text boxes, shapes, images, and stickers on top of your ink ORGANIZE • Subjects → notebooks → pages, drag to reorder • Templates: blank, ruled, grid, dotted + your own custom pages • Search your handwriting instantly with on-device OCR PDF & IMPORT/EXPORT • Import and annotate PDFs • Export as PDF, PNG, or the native .scribble format • Share notes with other ScribblePad users AUDIO • Record audio synced to your strokes — replay your notes in time PRIVATE BACKUP & SYNC (OPTIONAL) • Back up to your own Google Drive (the app only sees files it creates) or iCloud • Works fully offline — the cloud is yours, not ours No sign-up. No ads. No data collection. Just a beautiful place to think.

Screenshots

Notes4 screens
ScribblePad4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: ScribblePad at none against Notes's shown. ScribblePad also leads on update cadence (every 4 days vs every 8 months) and rating (5.0 vs 4.7). Notes's advantage is ratings volume (10 vs 2) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

ScribblePad holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Notes has 10 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Notes ships an update every 8 months, ScribblePad every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on September 17, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 3 level
Notes versus ScribblePad: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNotesScribblePad
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (10 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Number of ratings10 — better2
Update frequencyEvery 8 monthsEvery 4 days — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationAd-supportedFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size28 MB5 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNguyen ThanhSagar Seth

Customer experience

Notes

All ratings10 ratings
Positive90.0%
Neutral10.0%
Negative0.0%

ScribblePad

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Notes

No in-app purchases

None

ScribblePad

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Notes free?
Notes is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is ScribblePad free?
ScribblePad is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Notes or ScribblePad?
ScribblePad is rated higher. Notes averages 4.7 out of 5 from 10 ratings, while ScribblePad averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do Notes or ScribblePad have ads?
Notes shows ads; ScribblePad does not.
Which is updated more often, Notes or ScribblePad?
Notes ships an update every 8 months, and ScribblePad every 4 days. Most recently, Notes was updated on September 17, 2026 and ScribblePad on September 23, 2026.

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