Comparison

Uni vs UnivNote

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

Head to head
About

Uni

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Uni:Note is a handwritten note app with a clean, simple, ad-free UI designed to feel like writing in a real college notebook. Supervised by current university students, it is built around what actually feels comfortable and practical during classes. When you open the app, you can immediately start writing with Apple Pencil. The interface is designed to minimize unnecessary operations so you can stay focused on writing. Notes can be organized by subject and managed page by page for easy review. Pages are separated clearly while still allowing you to continue writing naturally. Uni:Note supports portrait mode, landscape mode, and multiwindow use. You can attach images or PDFs, write directly on them, or add notes beside them. In Vertical Notebook Mode, PDFs can be displayed full-screen for annotation and class handout markup. Documents captured with the camera can also be corrected and attached instantly. Your notes naturally connect to review and studying. You can hide marked sections for memorization review or generate practice questions using the Learning Assistant (AI). With “Circle to Solve,” you can simply circle a problem in your notes and have the Learning Assistant (AI) help solve it. Uni:Note also supports recording, real-time transcription, and AI summaries. You can record lectures while taking notes and review the content later in an organized way. With the companion app “Uni:Note Pocket,” you can review your notes anytime. Backup and restore are also supported, so you can continue using your important notes safely. ■ Privacy Uni:Note collects and uses in-app identifiers that do not directly identify individual users in order to manage remaining usage for AI features and purchase status. When the app crashes, Uni:Note collects diagnostic information such as crash logs for troubleshooting purposes. Crash logs do not include information that directly identifies individual users, note contents, audio contents, transcription contents, or the contents of attached data. Uni:Note does not collect device information except for diagnostic information such as crash logs and information necessary to manage AI feature usage limits and purchase status. Collected information is used only to manage AI feature usage and improve app quality. ■ Main Features • College notebook-style page design • Automatic page creation while writing • Organize notes by subject • Write on images and PDFs • Automatic document correction and attachment • Zoom support • Support for different screen sizes and orientations • Multiwindow support • Open two Uni:Note windows side by side • Vertical ruled lines and Vertical Notebook Mode • PDF annotation support • Audio recording • Real-time transcription • AI summaries (Learning Assistant) • Memorization marker • Circle to Solve (Learning Assistant) • Practice question generation (Learning Assistant) • Ruler tool • Select and move note areas • Subject sorting • Note sorting • Uni:Note Pocket integration • PDF export • Backup and restore

About

UnivNote

Features
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UnivNote — Smooth PDF Note App UnivNote makes the fundamentals — writing, reading, and organizing on PDFs — fast and reliable, instead of leading with AI. Write on textbooks, slides, papers, and books with iPad and Apple Pencil — open your notes on iPhone and Mac. Recent updates added layers, shapes, memorization tests, exam countdowns, and study time tracking while improving speed, heat, and battery on stroke-heavy pages. ▶ What Makes UnivNote Different · A simple writing tool without AI clutter Responsive pen, fast lasso, easy copy and paste, and a stable PDF reader come first. · Layers — keep the original and your notes apart Keep handwriting, answers, and corrections on 5 layers per note. One tap hides or shows the answer layer everywhere; lock layers to protect originals, move lassoed ink between them. Unused, they tuck behind one button. · Study tools for memorization and review Cover answers with the masking highlighter, tap to reveal. Hide or show all masks, self-grade right/wrong tests, move down the mask list — flow never breaks. Each subject folder shows an exam countdown and logs study time. · Shapes you can re-edit anytime 30+ shapes — lines, arrows, polygons, cylinders, cones, spheres. Drag handles after inserting to tune an ellipse's flatness or a cylinder's shell thickness — great for math and science. · Fast writing with lower heat Input stays responsive as strokes pile up; eraser, paste, undo, and lasso stay smooth. Heat and battery keep improving under load — Split View, screen recording. · Built for lectures and class notes Laser pointer, reading mode, gesture shortcuts, recording, handwriting-synced playback. Recordings survive crashes and continue in the background. · Extend PDF margins on all four sides Add the mm you want per side for problem solving and notes. · Word-aware highlighting on PDF text Long-press and highlights snap to words; text stays black, never washed out. ▶ Main Features · Pen, highlighter, eraser, fountain pen — widths, colors, line styles · Layers — 5 per note, hide, lock, rename, move via lasso · Shape insertion — 30+ flat and 3D shapes, re-edit with handles · Masking highlighter — masks, right/wrong tests, mask list · Exam countdowns + auto study time per subject · Lasso selection — move, resize, rotate, copy, cut, duplicate, delete · Eraser capture delete — wipe all ink inside a closed area · Paste images — photos, screenshots, crop · Share sheet import — PDFs and photos from any app · Audio synced to handwriting — tap a stroke to jump there, up to 3x · Backlinks — all links pointing to this note · Text boxes with text style presets · Favorite pens + per-note tool memory · No-Pencil mode — finger writing, two-finger scroll · Page manager — add, delete, duplicate, rotate, multi-select · Sidebar table of contents — detects and edits PDF Outline · Unified search — PDF text, text boxes, note titles · Reading mode, laser pointer, gesture shortcuts · Design templates — study, planner, journal, creator · Folder library — nested folders, colors, favorites · iCloud sync — notes stay on device when off · WebDAV — import and full backup upload · 27 languages — 한국어/English/日本語/简体中文/繁體中文/Español/Deutsch/Français/Italiano/Português/Nederlands/Svenska/Dansk/Norsk/Suomi/Polski/Čeština/Magyar/Română/Ελληνικά/Русский/Українська/Türkçe/Tiếng Việt/ไทย/Bahasa Indonesia/Bahasa Melayu ▶ Pricing · Free for up to 20 notes · Unlimited Notes is a one-time lifetime purchase · No subscription · No ads · Family Sharing supported · Early Supporters automatically get Unlimited Notes ▶ Privacy · No note data is sent externally · Notes stay on your device or your own iCloud ▶ Recommended Setup · iPad + Apple Pencil recommended; iPhone and Mac supported · iPadOS 18 or later, optimized for 13" and 11" iPad Pro / iPad Air

Screenshots

UnivNote4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: UnivNote at daily against Uni's every 5 days. UnivNote also leads on device support (3 vs 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. Uni sells 5 one-off in-app purchases and UnivNote sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Uni ships an update every 5 days, UnivNote daily. The most recent releases landed on September 16, 2026 and September 13, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 4 level
Uni versus UnivNote: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterUniUnivNote
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 5 daysDaily — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPadiPhone, iPad, Mac — better
Requires iOS17.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size11 MB45 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperYuya NakamuraJeonghwan Ryu

In-app purchases

5 purchases

Uni

One-time5
  • AI Balance Small$0.99
  • AI Balance Medium$2.99
  • Premium$5.99
Show 2 more
  • AI Balance Large$8.99
  • AI Balance Extra Large$19.99
1 purchases

UnivNote

One-time1
  • Unlimited Notes$5.99

Questions

Is Uni free?
Uni is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is UnivNote free?
UnivNote is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Uni or UnivNote have ads?
Neither Uni nor UnivNote shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Uni or UnivNote?
Uni ships an update every 5 days, and UnivNote daily. Most recently, Uni was updated on September 16, 2026 and UnivNote on September 13, 2026.

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