Comparison

Handwritten Quick Notes vs ZenNotes

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

Head to head
About

Handwritten Quick Notes

Capture your thoughts naturally with digital convenience. This app allows you to create handwritten notes or convert typed text into realistic handwriting, perfect for studying, working, or planning.

Highlights
  • Natural handwriting experience
  • Convert typed text to handwriting
  • Multiple handwriting styles
  • Organize and preview notes
  • Export notes as images
  • Share notes across apps
Features
Read full description

Handwritten Quick Notes - Write Naturally, Save Digitally Turn your ideas into beautiful handwritten notes with the comfort of digital convenience. Handwritten Quick Notes lets you create natural-looking handwritten content or instantly convert typed text into handwriting-perfect for study, work, and everyday planning. Whether you’re a student, professional, or creative thinker, this app helps you capture thoughts in a way that feels personal and authentic-just like writing on paper. Key Features Write Naturally • Smooth and distraction-free handwriting experience • Feels like writing on real paper • Perfect for quick notes, journaling, and ideas Text to Handwriting • Convert typed text into realistic handwritten notes • Multiple handwriting styles for a natural look • Great for assignments, notes, and aesthetic content Smart & Simple • Preview notes before saving • Organize notes for quick and easy access • Minimal, clean interface for better focus Export & Share • Save notes as images • Easy to share across apps • Create clean, printable handwritten notes Privacy policy: https://digitalhole.github.io/Handwritten%20Digital%20Notes.html Standard Apple Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

ZenNotes

This app allows you to create and manage notes using plain Markdown files. It offers flexible storage options, rich text formatting with live previews, and powerful organization tools like task management and note linking. Designed for both phone and tablet, it prioritizes user privacy with no accounts or tracking.

Highlights
  • Plain Markdown file storage
  • Live rich text previews
  • Wikilinks and #tags
  • Vault-wide task management
  • Table databases as CSV
  • Excalidraw drawing support
  • Share extension for quick capture
Features
Read full description

ZenNotes is a local-first markdown notes app for writing, organizing, and connecting ideas without giving up ownership of your files. YOUR NOTES, YOUR FILES Every note is a plain .md file in a vault you control. Start with storage on your iPhone or iPad, use iCloud Drive, or open a folder through the system document picker. Local and iCloud vaults work without an account. ZENNOTES CLOUD Connect an optional ZenNotes Cloud plan to: • Sync a vault across ZenNotes desktop and mobile • Sync notes and attachments • Create manual and automatic daily backups • Restore a full vault or a single note from a backup • Publish notes to the web and manage their public links Cloud never replaces the free local-first workflow. Use it only when you want hosted sync, backup, or publishing. WRITE IN MARKDOWN Use a focused editor with headings, lists, tasks, tables, code, links, wikilinks, tags, callouts, footnotes, and frontmatter. A mobile formatting bar keeps common actions close to the keyboard, and a pinch resizes the text to your eyes. RICH, OFFLINE PREVIEW Render KaTeX math, Mermaid diagrams, JSXGraph, function plots, tables, callouts, and more directly on your device. ORGANIZE YOUR WAY Pin your go-to notes and folders to the top, swipe rows to act on them, create and rename nested folders, browse tags, search the full vault, manage tasks, create periodic notes, and work with table databases stored as CSV. CAPTURE QUICKLY Create a quick note from the app or send text and links to ZenNotes from the iOS share sheet. HOME SCREEN WIDGETS Start a note, open a recent one, or check today's tasks without opening the app. New Note also lives on the Lock Screen, and the widgets wear your theme. PRIVACY BY DEFAULT ZenNotes has no advertising or tracking. Local and iCloud notes stay in the storage you choose. When you enable ZenNotes Cloud, the account identity, connected-device information, and vault content needed for the Cloud features you use are sent to the ZenNotes service. Payment details are handled by Stripe. ZenNotes is open source. Your vault remains useful outside the app because it is made of ordinary files.

Screenshots

Handwritten Quick Notes4 screens
ZenNotes4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: ZenNotes at free against Handwritten Quick Notes's paid. ZenNotes also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 3 days vs every 6 months). On price, in-app purchases, 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Handwritten Quick Notes ships an update every 6 months, ZenNotes every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 2, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Handwritten Quick Notes versus ZenNotes: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHandwritten Quick NotesZenNotes
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (9 ratings) — better
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings—9 — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 monthsEvery 3 days — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.615.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size15 MB80 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDigital Hole Pvt. Ltd.Lumary Labs LLC

Customer experience

Handwritten Quick Notes

Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

ZenNotes

All ratings9 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Handwritten Quick Notes

No in-app purchases

None

ZenNotes

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Handwritten Quick Notes free?
Handwritten Quick Notes is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is ZenNotes free?
ZenNotes is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Handwritten Quick Notes or ZenNotes have ads?
Handwritten Quick Notes shows ads; ZenNotes does not.
Which is updated more often, Handwritten Quick Notes or ZenNotes?
Handwritten Quick Notes ships an update every 6 months, and ZenNotes every 3 days. Most recently, Handwritten Quick Notes was updated on October 2, 2026 and ZenNotes on September 23, 2026.

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