Comparison

BindNotes vs PaperFlow

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
Read full description

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

PaperFlow

Features
Read full description

Write by hand and link like you type. A word you wrote becomes a link, your handwritten pages sit in the same graph as the notes you type, and one search reads both. CIRCLE A WORD. IT BECOMES A LINK. Lasso a word on the page, tap "Link to a note" and pick the note. That note lists the page under "Mentioned in". A link like [[Calculus II - notebook#page=12]] opens your handwriting on page 12. HANDWRITTEN AND TYPED, ONE GRAPH Every notebook you write is a node beside the notes you type, with links and backlinks both ways. Tap a node to see what it connects to. TYPE A WORD. FIND THE PAGE YOU WROTE. One search covers your handwriting, the notes you type and the text inside your PDFs. Your handwriting is read on your device, and it stays handwriting: it turns into text only when you ask. THE SYNTAX YOU ALREADY TYPE Wikilinks with autocomplete, note embeds, callouts, YAML properties, a templates folder, a daily note, LaTeX, Mermaid flowcharts and code blocks. Tabs, split panes, floating windows, a command palette and a quick switcher. PLAIN FILES, ON YOUR DEVICE Your notes are files: .md for what you type, .ink for what you write. The vault shows up in the Files app, every notebook exports to PDF or PNG, and the whole vault exports as a zip. Everything works offline, and two devices writing on the same page don't erase each other. A PEN WORTH WRITING WITH Press and the line thickens; tilt the pencil and it shades. Squeeze or double-tap Apple Pencil to switch tools, hover shows where the tip will land, and Pencil Pro's barrel roll turns the nib. Your palm leaves no mark. A different paper on every page. PDFS AND GOODNOTES NOTEBOOKS COME IN Import a PDF and write on top of it. Goodnotes notebooks open as PaperFlow notebooks. WHAT'S FREE, WHAT'S PLUS The notebook is free forever, with no page limit: writing, linking, search, the graph, import and export. That list doesn't shrink. PaperFlow Plus adds sync across your devices with a copy in the cloud, AI that suggests links up to a monthly allowance, and MCP access so your own AI assistant can read and write the vault once you allow it. 7 days free for new subscribers. PAPERFLOW PLUS Monthly or annual subscription with a free trial, renewed automatically until you cancel in your device Settings. The price is shown in the app before you confirm. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://paperflow.dev/privacy/en Support: https://paperflow.dev/support

Screenshots

BindNotes4 screens
PaperFlow3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: PaperFlow at every 3 days against BindNotes's every 3 weeks. PaperFlow also leads on iOS requirement (15.0 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 PaperFlow sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

BindNotes ships an update every 3 weeks, PaperFlow every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on September 30, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences ยท 4 level
BindNotes versus PaperFlow: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBindNotesPaperFlow
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 3 days โ€” better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod โ€” better
Requires iOS26.015.0 โ€” better
Further details โ€” not scored
Size9 MB85 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperEvgenii EremeevFreedom It

In-app purchases

1 purchases

BindNotes

One-time1
  • BindNotes Pro$2.99
3 purchases

PaperFlow

Subscriptions2
  • PaperFlow Plus (Monthly)7 Days trial$9.991 Month
  • PaperFlow Plus (Annual)7 Days trial$59.991 Year
One-time1
  • Founder Plan (lifetime)$99.90

Questions

Is BindNotes free?
BindNotes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is PaperFlow free?
PaperFlow is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do BindNotes or PaperFlow have ads?
Neither BindNotes nor PaperFlow shows ads.
Which is updated more often, BindNotes or PaperFlow?
BindNotes ships an update every 3 weeks, and PaperFlow every 3 days. Most recently, BindNotes was updated on September 30, 2026 and PaperFlow on October 16, 2026.

Other comparisons