Comparison

BindNotes vs Noteleaf

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

Head to head
About

BindNotes

Features
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Your notes. Linked. Notes shouldn't be limited by the size of a page. But linear pages and infinite canvas aren't the answer โ€” 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 โ€” not a stack of dead-end pages. BindNotes is a notebook app built for Apple Pencil. Write, sketch, and draw like any notebook โ€” then connect your pages. Headers & Outline Assign header levels (H1โ€“H5) to any page. Headers build a navigable outline for your notebook โ€” 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 (Pro) Import any PDF into a notebook. Annotate with pen, highlighter, and lasso. The highlighter lifts actual pixels from the PDF โ€” 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 (Pro) 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. Free โ€” No Limits on Note-Taking Everything you need to write, draw, and link is free: โ€ข Unlimited notebooks and pages โ€ข All drawing tools โ€” pen, highlighter, eraser, lasso โ€ข Page-to-page linking โ€ข Headers and outline navigation โ€ข Page overview (link graph) โ€ข iCloud Drive sync โ€ข 5 page templates (blank, ruled, graph, dots) BindNotes Pro โ€” One-Time Purchase Unlock tools for serious workflows. No subscription. Buy once, own forever. โ€ข PDF import and annotation โ€ข PDF export with clickable links and bookmarks โ€ข Tags for notebook organization โ€ข Dark page templates โ€ข 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 โ€” nowhere else. See our privacy policy at bindnotes.com/privacy.

About

Noteleaf

Features
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Noteleaf is a handwriting notebook that feels like real looseleaf paper. Write freely with Apple Pencil, rearrange pages, choose from templates, and make it your own. โ–  Key Features Looseleaf Feel Pages can be reordered freely, just like real looseleaf paper. Move, insert, or remove pages to organize your notes the way you want. Handwriting with Apple Pencil Write naturally with Apple Pencil. Supports Scribble. Turn on Apple Pencil-Only Mode in Settings to prevent accidental palm touches. Ruler Tool Draw perfectly straight lines at any angle using the on-screen ruler โ€” no physical ruler needed. 10 Page Templates Choose from blank, lined, wide-ruled, grid, dot grid, Cornell, and more. Mix templates freely within a single notebook. 16 Leather Cover Colors Personalize each notebook with a color that suits you โ€” 16 rich leather-style covers to choose from. PDF Export Export any notebook as a PDF to share or archive your notes. Notebook Sharing Share notebooks with others in the app's native format. โ–  One-Time Purchase Noteleaf is free to download. One in-app purchase unlocks: ใƒป Unlimited notebooks (free tier: 1 notebook) ใƒป PDF export ใƒป Notebook sharing All handwriting features are available for free. No subscription. No account required.

Screenshots

BindNotes4 screens
Noteleaf4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Noteleaf at every 6 days against BindNotes's every 3 weeks. Noteleaf also leads on iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Both are free to download. BindNotes sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Noteleaf sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

BindNotes ships an update every 3 weeks, Noteleaf every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on September 30, 2026 and October 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences ยท 4 level
BindNotes versus Noteleaf: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBindNotesNoteleaf
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 6 days โ€” better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS26.017.0 โ€” better
Further details โ€” not scored
Size9 MB15 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperEvgenii Eremeevmasafumi matsumoto

In-app purchases

1 purchases

BindNotes

One-time1
  • BindNotes Pro$2.99
1 purchases

Noteleaf

One-time1
  • Premium Unlock$9.99

Questions

Is BindNotes free?
BindNotes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Noteleaf free?
Noteleaf is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do BindNotes or Noteleaf have ads?
Neither BindNotes nor Noteleaf shows ads.
Which is updated more often, BindNotes or Noteleaf?
BindNotes ships an update every 3 weeks, and Noteleaf every 6 days. Most recently, BindNotes was updated on September 30, 2026 and Noteleaf on October 5, 2026.

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