Comparison

Amazing Notes vs Papyrus

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

Head to head
About

Amazing Notes

Features
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Amazing Notes turns your iPad into the best place to take class notes by hand, mark up lecture PDFs, and record audio โ€” all on the same page. Made for students: - Handwrite notes naturally with Apple Pencil - Import lecture slides and PDFs, then annotate them page by page - Record audio while you write, with time markers tied to the page - Add typed text and images anywhere on the canvas - Organize your courses with folders, notebooks, sections and tags - Templates for blank, lined, grid, dotted, Cornell and planner pages - Search typed text, PDF text and scanned images to find anything fast - Export notebooks and pages to PDF, or a single page as an image Built to stay out of your way: - Opens instantly and works fully offline - No account, no sign-up โ€” just open and start writing - iPad layout designed for lectures, study sessions and revision Free to use with up to 3 notebooks. Upgrade to Pro for unlimited notebooks. Terms of Use (Apple Standard EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Papyrus

Features
Read full description

Is your current note app slow? Meet a truly lightweight note app. - It's free โ€” with no stingy limit on the number of notes. - Trimmed of every bit of bloat, yet complete with the features you actually need. - Open as many notes as you like with no slowdown, and PDFs load blazingly fast. - Import and edit notes from another popular note app. - Import by the folder โ€” the hierarchy is preserved. [GoodNotes Import] Import .goodnotes files. Strokes, images, shapes, and masks are reproduced almost perfectly. [Handwriting] A custom vector drawing engine delivers extremely lightweight, high-precision ink. Five tools are built in: Pen, Highlighter, Eraser, Lasso, and Mask. Anything selected with the Lasso can be copied, moved, deleted, or duplicated. Mask is a study aid โ€” cover what you want to memorize with the pen, then tap to peek underneath. Straight-line snapping and shape recognition (rectangles, circles, lines, and more) are also supported. [PDF Import & Annotation] Import a PDF and write directly on its pages. Switch between four page layouts: continuous scroll, single page, horizontal, and two-page spread. [File Organization] Organize your notes with a Finder-like file browser, creating folders freely. Switch between list and grid views, and move files and folders by drag and drop. A Trash lets you restore notes you deleted by mistake. [Tabs & Split View (iPad)] Open multiple notes at once in tabs. On iPad, split the screen to view and edit two notes side by side (Split View). [Page Sidebar] Swipe in from the left edge to reveal page thumbnails. Press and hold a thumbnail to reorder pages, and select multiple pages to delete, copy, and paste. [Images] Paste images from Photos, Files, or the clipboard. [Export] Export notes and PDFs as a "PDF for submission/printing," a "fast annotation PDF" (PDF annotations only), or a "Papyrus Archive" (.papyrus). [Apple Pencil] - iPad: draw with Apple Pencil only; pan and zoom with your finger. - iPhone: draw with your finger while the compact ink palette is open; otherwise pan and zoom. - With Apple Pencil Pro, use the squeeze gesture to bring up the hover palette. About Papyrus Sync (Subscription) iCloud sync and sharing are available through the "Papyrus Sync" subscription (monthly or yearly, auto-renewing). All core features โ€” note-taking, PDF annotation, and more โ€” are completely free. - Payment will be charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. - The subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. - Your account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period. - You can manage your subscription or turn off auto-renewal in your Apple Account settings after purchase. - Prices are shown in the app and may vary by region. Terms of Use (EULA): https://coremedica.jp/pages/legal/terms-of-use Privacy Policy: https://coremedica.jp/pages/legal/privacy-policy

Screenshots

Papyrus4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Papyrus at every 4 days against Amazing Notes's every 2 months. Amazing Notes's advantage is iOS requirement (18.0 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. Amazing Notes sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $15.00 per year and Papyrus sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Amazing Notes ships an update every 2 months, Papyrus every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 6, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences ยท 4 level
Amazing Notes versus Papyrus: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAmazing NotesPapyrus
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 4 days โ€” better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPadiPhone, iPad โ€” better
Requires iOS18.0 โ€” better26.0
Further details โ€” not scored
Size17 MB11 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNardi Haxhijawaraku kobayashi

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Amazing Notes

Subscriptions1
  • Amazing Notes Pro Annual$15.001 Year
2 purchases

Papyrus

Subscriptions2
  • Papyrus Sync Monthly$0.991 Month
  • Papyrus Sync Yearly$9.991 Year

Questions

Is Amazing Notes free?
Amazing Notes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Papyrus free?
Papyrus is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Amazing Notes or Papyrus have ads?
Neither Amazing Notes nor Papyrus shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Amazing Notes or Papyrus?
Amazing Notes ships an update every 2 months, and Papyrus every 4 days. Most recently, Amazing Notes was updated on October 6, 2026 and Papyrus on October 13, 2026.

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