HandyWrite vs ObsiKO
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
HandyWrite
Read full descriptionHide full description
This is a note-taking app designed specifically for handwriting, focused on delivering a natural, smooth, and paper-like writing experience. Whether you’re taking class notes, recording meeting ideas, sketching concepts, or capturing daily thoughts, everything can be written down effortlessly. The app supports high-precision handwriting with ultra-low latency, accurately capturing stroke thickness and writing details. Write freely, draw, highlight key points, and organize your notes in a way that feels intuitive and natural. Key Features • Realistic Handwriting Experience — Paper-like writing feel with smooth and responsive strokes • Multiple Pen Tools — Fountain pen, pencil, highlighter, and more • Free-Form Canvas — Unlimited space for writing and drawing without layout restrictions • Smart Organization — Organize notes with notebooks and tags for quick access • Export & Share — Export notes as images or PDFs for easy sharing and storage Whether you’re a student, professional, or someone who enjoys handwritten notes, this app becomes your personal digital notebook— capturing every idea clearly and preserving every written moment.
ObsiKO
Read full descriptionHide full description
Tired of converting files or picking plugins? Spent the day on settings and never wrote a line? Plenty of features, none of them talking to each other? Everyday writing, LLM wikis, ontologies, Zettelkasten, mindmaps, reading logs, codices, schedules, file conversion — one app, no account or subscription. Obsidian vaults (.md/.canvas/.base) open as-is. (AI runs on your own API key; with Apple Intelligence on, it can run on the device with no key.) ■ You see it first, before anything changes · AI rewrites arrive as a suggestion card — nothing changes until you press Replace · The AI agent works on a copy; only what you pick reaches your notes · Before the first send to an outside AI, it shows what goes where and sends only if you allow ■ Share to the web, sync between devices (GitHub) · "Share to the web" publishes a note at one address — theme, tables and images intact, comments too · The text lives only in your GitHub account, never on our servers; "Stop sharing" takes it down · Sync runs through your own repository and only ever deletes to the trash ■ Write once, it connects itself · A "color" property colors the tab, header, tree icon, .base and codex cards. Define your own types and relations too · Type "book" pops a search that fills the rest; "project" adds start/due to the calendar · Highlight a PDF and quotes collect into a note of the same name, searchable and on the graph · Wiki links, types, relations and PARA form one constellation — more links, brighter star ■ Infinite mindmap canvas (.canvas) · Apple Pencil drawing — turn a sketch into an AI image. Have AI build an editable mindmap, or hand it yours · Auto-build from a note's links, auto-layout, embeds, groups, relations. 5 styles, 10+ presets. Drop a URL or file to add a card ■ .base files and search · Projects, kanban, cards, charts, a library (book/paper search), PARA, a budget that pastes receipts. Dataview queries become tables · Filenames, full text, Korean jamo, semantic search — pin results, bookmark a query, or ask Siri ■ A dashboard and themes you arrange · 50+ widgets plus query and embed boards — calendars, to-dos, habit trackers, stats. 20+ themes, your own fonts ■ Markdown and a writing helper · Calm editing tuned for Korean. Format bar and cheat sheet, Mermaid, 20+ charts, inline drawing, video in a note · 70+ structures across 13 genres (Hero's Journey, Save the Cat, SCQA, character sheets), Socratic questions and style polish · Spell check, dictionaries, device TTS, a saved assistant role, on-device translation ■ Schedules and viewers · A date in any file lands on the calendar (Obsidian Tasks compatible) — year/month/week/day, timeline, widget, reminders · One frontmatter line switches the viewer: book, web novel, messenger, visual novel, codex ■ Clipping and conversion · The article body and photos become a note, not just the URL — share button or RSS · One-click Markdown for doc/docx, PDF, hwp/hwpx — one file or a folder; a read-only panel opens dozens more · Import from Apple Notes, Notion, Evernote, Bear or Logseq — always into a new folder · Highlight PDFs and Markdown to insert or quote. AI OCR and transcription (labelled by speaker) ■ AI agent · Add an API key and go (Claude, Gemini, GPT) — the app is complete without one · Builds mindmaps and .base tables on your phone and reads existing ones. Read-aloud and images in the editor · File creation, automatic memory, LLM wikis, ontology and Zettelkasten design, MCP. Bulk work is desktop-only ■ Export, images, and everything else · Marp properties make a deck. Export to PDF, HWPX, DOCX, EPUB, HTML, ZIP, wiki markup · Dictate on iPhone (on device), Control Center, Lock Screen and Home widgets, Watch quick notes · Ready for iOS 27 — Markdown round-trips with Apple Notes, the new Siri can add to a note, 4×6 widget · Image editing, free image search, colors panel, routines, palette, focus timer, screen lock All of it is free. No account, no payment, a small download.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: ObsiKO at none against HandyWrite's shown. ObsiKO also leads on device support (4 vs 2) and iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.0). On price and in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
| Parameter | HandyWrite | ObsiKO |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | — | Every 6 days |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 15.1 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 2 MB | 55 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | 俊柯 吴 | Hyojin Kim |
In-app purchases
HandyWrite
No in-app purchases
ObsiKO
No in-app purchases





