NiblyNotes vs CastSlate
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side โ with what reviewers say about each.
NiblyNotes
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NiblyNotes is the digital exercise book for everyday school life โ made in Germany with teachers. Every tool a lesson needs in one app: no subscription, no ads, no tracking. English and German. FREE AND AD-FREE NiblyNotes stays free for at least 5 years. In the supporter area you can buy us a coffee if you like โ it unlocks nothing. WRITING AND DRAWING - Pen, fountain pen, pencil, highlighter and laser pointer, many colours and widths, plus two of your own - Lasso to move, scale, rotate and copy, even from book to book - Object eraser for whole strokes, Apple Pencil double-tap switches to it - Shape recognition for line, circle, rectangle, triangle and rhombus; rest the pen briefly and it straightens at once - Lines and arrows whose endpoints stay movable PAPER RULINGS Blank, ruled, 5 mm squares, dot grid, music staves with lyric lines, French Sรฉyรจs ruling, isometric and dimetric paper to ISO 5456-3 โ per page, with a margin left or right. RULER, SET SQUARE AND COMPASS Strokes snap to the edge, tools move and rotate with two fingers, the ruler attaches to the set square. The zoom adjusts so that 5 mm squares and 9 mm lines are exactly that size โ check it with a real ruler. TEXT, TABLES AND STICKERS Text boxes with font, size, colour, word-by-word formatting, Scribble, web addresses recognised. Tables to write into with the pen. Stickers cover up answers and reveal them with a tap; next time you open the book they cover again. IMAGES, AUDIO AND VIDEO Photos from library or camera with a photo editor, audio files right on the page, videos embedded cookie-free. SPLIT PAGE A reading pane on the left with a PDF or a second book, the writable page on the right, the divider moves freely. SCANNER AND IMPORT Scan worksheets and blackboards with the iPad camera โ multiple pages, black/white or colour, croppable. PDF, Word and PowerPoint become book pages. BOOKS AND PAGES Folders, duplicate books, take pages from other books. Insert, delete or clear pages โ all recoverable. Page overview as a sidebar, outline that jumps to a topic. ZOOM WRITING An enlarged writing strip at the bottom โ write big, it lands small in the book. CURTAIN, PRESENTATION, FULL SCREEN The curtain reveals a page step by step, on the external display too. When mirroring, presentation mode shows only the page, full screen leaves just a mini toolbar. PRINT, AIRDROP, SAVE AirPrint, AirDrop, save locally as PDF or NiblyNotes file. Teachers can hide the handwritten answer key on export. SCHOOL CLOUDS AND BACKUP BayernCloud Schule, Nextcloud and NetMan for Schools are built in: upload and share, open files straight into a book, daily backup. Local backups password-protected on request. CLASSROOM MODE Put worksheets, single objects or images into the class inbox by QR code and collect submissions โ locally over the school Wi-Fi. For devices without NiblyNotes there is a compatibility mode you can switch on: files in the browser. If the Wi-Fi blocks the connection, the inbox runs encrypted via a web server. Can also be linked to BayernCloud Schule. VIEW STUDENTS' WORK Students release pages, the teacher writes notes into them, the class sees the corrections. Encrypted, own school server possible. SHARED BOOKS Work on one book together via iCloud โ directly between Apple Accounts, no third-party server. FOR SCHOOL IT Configurable by MDM: preset cloud addresses, fix the language, hide the supporter area. PRIVACY Book contents are stored locally. Cloud connections are optional. Trademarks: Apple, Apple Pencil, iPad, iCloud, AirDrop, AirPrint (Apple Inc.), Word, PowerPoint (Microsoft), Nextcloud (Nextcloud GmbH), NetMan for Schools (H+H Software GmbH). BayernCloud Schule: Free State of Bavaria.
CastSlate
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CastSlate โ Your Digital Classroom & Smartboard Assistant CastSlate is the ultimate digital whiteboard and lesson management platform, meticulously crafted for teachers, tutors, and students. Whether you are presenting on an interactive smartboard in front of a class or preparing study materials on your tablet at home, CastSlate brings your lessons to life. Empower Your Teaching with Key Features: * Dynamic Export Modes Daily Notes: The perfect canvas for your everyday lectures, concept explanations, and continuous handouts. Exam Mode: Instantly generate ready-to-print, professional exam papers featuring centered official headers, page numbers, and student info fields. * Interactive Geometry Toolkit (Premium) Leave clunky physical tools behind. Construct precise angles and perfect circles with an on-screen, fully rotatable digital ruler, set square, protractor, and compass. * AI-Powered Smart Tools Transform rough hand-drawn sketches into perfect geometric shapes instantly with Auto Shape. Make pinpoint corrections without disrupting your flow using the Vector Eraser. * Seamless Question Cropping Import tests or worksheets directly from your device's gallery, crop specific questions in seconds, and solve them live on an infinite digital canvas. * Pixel-Perfect PDF Generation Export your entire whiteboard session into high-resolution, print-ready PDFs with a single tap. With auto-adjusting typography and smart layouts, your study materials will always look professionally published. * Live Wireless Syncing Connect multiple devices effortlessly using a secure PIN code. Mirror your tablet to the classroom smartboard and teach untethered from anywhere in the room. Bring cutting-edge technology to your classroom and make learning more interactive. Wherever you teach, CastSlate goes with you!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: NiblyNotes at none against CastSlate's shown. On price, update cadence, 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
Both are free to download. NiblyNotes sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and CastSlate sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
NiblyNotes ships an update every 10 days, CastSlate every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | NiblyNotes | CastSlate |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Every 10 days | Every 9 days โ better |
| Ads | No โ better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Devices | iPad | iPhone, iPad โ better |
| Requires iOS | 18.6 | 17.6 โ better |
| Further details โ not scored | ||
| Size | 20 MB | 78 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | PC-Future GmbH | MUSTAFA AKSU |
In-app purchases
NiblyNotes
- Little Supporter$0.99
- Middle Supporter$3.99
- Big Supporter$8.99
CastSlate
- CastSlate Premium$9.99









