Comparison

Hand vs Oaklet Notes

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

Head to head
About

Hand

Features
Read full description

【Hand-drawn】Hand-drawn is a high-performance, local-first digital drawing and gallery application built for creative work on your device. **Professional Drawing Tools** Access a full set of brushes, pens, and erasers designed for precise control. Adjust stroke weight, opacity, and color to suit your workflow. **Layer Management** Organize your artwork with a flexible layer system. Create, reorder, merge, and adjust layer visibility and opacity for detailed compositions. **Built-in Gallery** Browse and manage all your creations in one place. The gallery keeps your drawings organized and easy to access without relying on external apps. **Local-First Architecture** All data is stored on your device. The app operates without requiring a network connection, ensuring your work remains accessible at all times. **Privacy by Design** No account registration is required, and no personal data is collected or transmitted. Your drawings and creative process stay entirely on your device. Hand-drawn provides a focused, distraction-free environment for digital drawing with the tools and performance needed for both casual sketches and detailed illustrations. Premium Account Pricing and Terms $ 4.99/week* $ 39.99/year* *Prices shown are in U.S. dollars; actual charges may be converted to your local currency. Payment will be charged to your iTunes account at confirmation of purchase. Subscriptions automatically renew unless auto-renewal 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, and the renewal cost will be provided. Subscriptions can be managed by the user. Turning off auto-renewal may be done by going to your account settings after purchase. Cancellation of the current subscription is not allowed during the active subscription period. Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that publication. EULA: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://suhanhui.xyz/shouhua/privacy.html

About

Oaklet Notes

This app combines writing, drawing, and structured knowledge in a secure, encrypted vault on your device. Create rich text notes, sketch with Apple Pencil, build mind maps, and organize information with AI assistance, all while keeping your data private and offline.

Highlights
  • Encrypted note vault
  • Rich text and Markdown editor
  • Apple Pencil drawing and SVG export
  • Whiteboard for mind maps
  • Tables with formulas and diagrams
  • Optional local AI integration
  • WikiLinks and knowledge graph
Features
Read full description

Type and handwrite in the same note. Oaklet Notes puts your writing, Apple Pencil handwriting, whiteboards, tables, and math on one page, and recognizes your handwriting on your device, so search finds what you wrote by hand. Everything stays in an encrypted vault on your device. No account needed, and it works fully offline. ONE NOTE, EVERY WAY YOU THINK • Type with a block editor, then write over it with Apple Pencil — your ink moves with the line it's next to • Handwriting is recognized on your device: search your handwriting, or turn it into typed text • Whiteboards for mind maps and flowcharts, drawing with layers, tables with formulas, LaTeX math, task lists • Lay out blocks side by side, or freely as cards connected with lines • Decorations — stickers, sticky notes, tape, and stamps LOCKED TO YOU • AES-256-GCM encryption protects every note • Vault password, plus an optional Note Password for sensitive notes • Unlock with Face ID or Touch ID • Auto-lock when you step away • Works fully offline, and your notes never pass through our servers • Sign in with Apple is optional and only used to carry a subscription to your other devices. Your notes are never sent to us CONNECT YOUR NOTES • [[WikiLinks]] and ![[embeds]] link notes together, with a backlinks panel • Interactive knowledge graph that shows how your notes connect • Hierarchical tags and full-text search • Calendar view and reminders — browse notes by date, and set a reminder on a note or on its own. By default, notifications show only a generic alert, never your note's title or text AI IF YOU WANT IT — YOUR MODEL, YOUR KEY • AI is optional. Connect a local model running on your own computer, or your own cloud provider's key — the app connects to your provider rather than hosting one • Semantic search with your own model; drafting and rewriting, questions about your notes, and plain-language tool calling ON MAC, IPAD, IPHONE, WINDOWS, AND LINUX • Direct Share — send a note straight to a nearby device. Pair once with a code; transfers are encrypted end to end and go straight from one device to the other • Sync through one of your own computers or your own WebDAV server — the server only ever holds encrypted files • Notes on your own disk, not a vendor's database. Import and export Markdown anytime; export to PDF, HTML, and Word Oaklet Notes is free to use. An optional Pro subscription adds sync, the knowledge graph, AI writing tools, PDF, HTML, and Word export, Face ID unlock, and more — try it free for 30 days in the app. Subscriptions are billed through your Apple ID and can be managed in Settings. Privacy Policy: https://oakletnotes.com/en/privacy Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Hand3 screens
Oaklet Notes4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is device support: Oaklet Notes at 4 against Hand's 1. On price, ads, in-app purchases 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. Hand sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days and Oaklet Notes sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Hand versus Oaklet Notes: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHandOaklet Notes
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequency—Every 10 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
Monetization—Freemium
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better
Requires iOS16.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size4 MB103 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperHONG KONG GANGSHENG TRADING CO. LIMITEDOceanoax LLC

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Hand

Subscriptions2
  • Weekly Prime3 Days trial$4.997 Days
  • Yearly Prime$39.991 Year
2 purchases

Oaklet Notes

Subscriptions2
  • Pro Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Pro Annual$39.991 Year

Questions

Is Hand free?
Hand is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Oaklet Notes free?
Oaklet Notes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Hand or Oaklet Notes have ads?
Neither Hand nor Oaklet Notes shows ads.

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