Comparison

Simplify Notes vs 100 Notes Studio

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

Head to head
About

Simplify Notes

Capture and organize handwritten notes, notebooks, and PDFs in one place. Create unlimited notebooks, draw naturally with Apple Pencil, and import PDFs to study, plan, or research. Reduce clutter and enhance focus with a calm, organized system.

Highlights
  • Unlimited notebooks
  • Natural handwriting and drawing
  • Apple Pencil support
  • PDF import and annotation
  • Folder organization
  • Add images and tags
  • Quick search and PDF export
Features
Read full description

CAPTURE EVERY IDEA. ORGANIZE EVERY SUBJECT. Simplify Notes brings handwritten notes, notebooks and PDFs together in one calm, organized place. Write naturally with Apple Pencil, create notebooks for every subject, organize your work into folders and keep important ideas easy to find. Whether you’re studying for an exam, attending a lecture or planning a personal project, everything stays clear and connected. BUILT FOR THE WAY YOU STUDY • Create unlimited notebooks • Write and draw naturally • Use Apple Pencil on iPad • Import and work with PDFs • Organize notebooks into folders • Add images to your notes • Mark important content with tags and favorites • Search and find notes quickly • Export your work as PDF • Choose from multiple paper formats • Keep courses, projects and ideas together LESS CLUTTER. MORE FOCUS. Simplify Notes helps you reduce the mental load of scattered files, loose pages and disconnected ideas. Give every course, subject or project its own place, so you can focus on learning instead of searching. PERFECT FOR • College and university students • Lecture and class notes • Exam preparation • Research and assignments • Engineering and MBA studies • Personal projects • Everyday ideas and planning No account required. No subscription. Just open the app and start writing. Your ideas deserve a place you’ll actually remember.

About

100 Notes Studio

Features
Read full description

100 Notes Studio is a private, offline workspace for handwriting, typed notes, PDF markup, page-attached audio recordings and study. WRITE WITH CHARACTER 29 distinct pens and brushes — fountain pen, calligraphy, fude brush, technical pen, watercolor wash, charcoal, mechanical pencil (2B/4B/6B) and more — each with its own texture and stroke response. Pressure and tilt shape supported strokes, while palm rejection helps prevent stray marks. Pixel, whole-stroke, and precision erasers handle corrections. Use the lasso to move, scale, copy, or delete strokes, plus a ruler, eight shape tools, and a laser pointer for presentations. 100 DISTINCT NOTEBOOK STYLES Each Studio Style has its own cover, paper structure, color palette, dividers, stamps or stickers, toolbar accent, and widget appearance. The collection includes minimal, linen, Japanese grid, academic, engineering, music, meeting, research, planner, travel, wellness, recipe, creative, and dark-paper systems. Browse and preview all 100 styles before choosing one. MORE THAN A CANVAS Fixed pages or an infinite canvas, with A4, A5, Letter, screen, and custom sizes in portrait or landscape Formatted text with bold, italic, underline, fonts, colors, lists, checklists, tables, and links PDF import and markup with highlights, underlines, strike-through, text notes, handwriting, rotation, cropping, page insertion, extraction, merging, and export Audio recordings attached to the page you choose On-device handwriting and PDF text recognition, with search across titles, body text, handwriting, and attachments Study tools with linked flashcards, cloze cards, and FSRS spaced repetition Stickers, washi tape, and an auto-numbered table of contents Nested folders, tags, pins, favorites, archives, recoverable trash, and restorable page history Ink layers with opacity, visibility, and locking, plus a reference view that keeps a PDF or image beside the page Widgets and quick capture for faster access PRIVATE BY DESIGN No account, ads, third-party tracking or analytics, and no external AI. Editing, search, and study work offline. Notes stay on your device unless you choose to export or back them up. Lock the workspace or an individual notebook with device authentication. FREE CORE, OPTIONAL ONE-TIME UPGRADE The free version includes the core editor, 29 writing tools, PDF markup, page audio attachments, handwriting search, and study tools, with 1 active notebook of up to 5 pages and 2 of the 100 styles. An optional one-time upgrade adds unlimited notebooks and pages, all 100 styles, vector-ink PDF export, restorable page history, and encrypted backup. A focused home for handwriting, documents, and study. Privacy Policy https://alice51849.github.io/100notes-support/privacy.html Terms of Use https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Simplify Notes2 screens
100 Notes Studio4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Simplify Notes at none against 100 Notes Studio's 1. 100 Notes Studio's advantage is ads (none vs shown). On price, update cadence, device support and iOS requirement 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. 100 Notes Studio sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Simplify Notes asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Simplify Notes ships an update weekly, 100 Notes Studio every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 7 level
Simplify Notes versus 100 Notes Studio: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSimplify Notes100 Notes Studio
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyWeeklyEvery 5 days — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationAd-supported—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size13 MB19 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMario GuzmanGuan Feng Lai

In-app purchases

None

Simplify Notes

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

100 Notes Studio

One-time1
  • Lifetime Studio$5.99

Questions

Is Simplify Notes free?
Simplify Notes is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is 100 Notes Studio free?
100 Notes Studio is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Simplify Notes or 100 Notes Studio have ads?
Simplify Notes shows ads; 100 Notes Studio does not.
Which is updated more often, Simplify Notes or 100 Notes Studio?
Simplify Notes ships an update weekly, and 100 Notes Studio every 5 days. Most recently, Simplify Notes was updated on October 16, 2026 and 100 Notes Studio on October 9, 2026.

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