BindNotes vs OpenNotes

Your notes. Linked. Notes shouldn't be limited by the size of a page. But linear pages and infinite canvas aren't the answer — you just get lost. BindNotes takes a different approach: go infinitely deep, not infinitely long. Lasso any handwriting with Apple Pencil, link it to another page, and tap to jump. Pages give you focus. Links give you depth. Your notes become a connected network of ideas — not a stack of dead-end pages. BindNotes is a notebook app built for Apple Pencil. Write, sketch, and draw like any notebook — then connect your pages. Headers & Outline Assign header levels (H1–H5) to any page. Headers build a navigable outline for your notebook — tap to see the full structure, drill into sections, jump to any page. Color-coded by level so you can see hierarchy at a glance. Links let you follow a thought. Headers let you see the shape of your notebook. Together, they turn a stack of pages into a system. Page Overview See every page connection in your notebook as a visual graph. Arrows show which pages link where. Spot structure, find orphaned pages, navigate by tapping. PDF Annotation Import any PDF into a notebook. Annotate with pen, highlighter, and lasso. The highlighter lifts actual pixels from the PDF — highlighted content becomes a visual element you can work with. Add headers to organize the PDF. Create links between pages. Turn a static document into something navigable. PDF Export Export your notebook as a PDF. Links become clickable cross-references. An outline page is auto-generated. Your handwritten notebook exports like a professional document. Sync with iCloud Drive Notebooks sync across iPhone, iPad, and Mac via iCloud Drive. No account. No server. You control where your data lives. All Features Are Free No purchases, subscriptions, or ads. All features are included: • Unlimited notebooks and pages • All drawing tools — pen, highlighter, eraser, lasso • Page-to-page linking • Headers and outline navigation • Page overview (link graph) • iCloud Drive sync • 10 light and dark page templates • PDF import and annotation • PDF export with clickable links and bookmarks • Tags for notebook organization • Dark page templates • Full link and header color palettes Your notes stay on your device. We collect no data. No analytics. No tracking. No server. Your notebooks are stored locally or in your iCloud Drive — nowhere else. See our privacy policy at bindnotes.com/privacy.

OpenNotes is a simple, free, open-source notes app built for handwriting, PDFs, and focused organization. Create notebooks, import PDFs, write with Apple Pencil, add images or text, organize notes into folders, and export your work when you need it. OpenNotes is local-first and privacy focused. There are no accounts, no analytics, and no tracking. Your notes live on your device, with optional backup to your own iCloud so they survive a lost iPad or a deleted app. Nothing is ever sent to us — your notes stay in your Apple account, readable by no one else.