Comparison

NoteSam vs ScribblePad

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

Head to head
About

NoteSam

Features
Read full description

NoteSam — Handwritten Notes for iPad Built by a mathematician who needed a handwriting notebook that actually kept up with the Apple Pencil. Couldn't find one. Wrote it. Private by design. Your notes live on your device. Sync goes only where you point it — iCloud, Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, WebDAV, S3, SFTP. No third-party tracking SDKs, no ad networks, no behavioral profiling. WRITING • Native PencilKit engine tuned for low-latency Apple Pencil • Vector strokes — infinite zoom, no pixelation • Pressure + tilt sensitivity • Palm rejection that just works READING & ANNOTATION • PDF import — annotate textbooks, contracts, lecture notes • EPUB reader with text-anchored highlights that survive font-size changes • Voice memos attached to the page ORGANIZATION • Unlimited folders and notebooks • Template marketplace — grid, dot, music, planner, more • OCR search across handwritten notes PRIVACY End-to-end encryption (AES-256-GCM + Argon2id). Your cloud provider sees ciphertext only. Product analytics is limited to anonymous conversion events (sign-up, purchase). Your handwriting, your PDFs, your voice memos — those never leave your device unless you sync them yourself. OFFLINE-FIRST Everything works without a network connection. Sync is additive. Free tier: unlimited notebooks, PDF + EPUB import, all core drawing tools. Pro unlocks the template marketplace and multi-provider sync. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Custom Terms: https://notesam.app/terms Privacy Policy: https://notesam.app/privacy

About

ScribblePad

A private, free note-taking and PDF annotation app for Apple devices. It offers natural handwriting, organization tools, and optional cloud backup to your own storage. Enjoy a distraction-free experience with no accounts or tracking.

Highlights
  • Natural handwriting with Apple Pencil
  • PDF annotation and markup
  • Organize notes with subjects and notebooks
  • On-device handwriting search (OCR)
  • Audio recording synced to notes
  • Optional Google Drive/iCloud backup
  • Offline functionality
Features
Read full description

The free, private note app for iPhone, iPad & Mac. No subscription, no account, no tracking — just fast handwriting, PDF markup, and backup to YOUR own cloud. Write naturally with Apple Pencil, organize notes into colorful subjects, and keep everything synced to your own Google Drive or iCloud. Nothing lives on our servers — your notes stay yours. WRITING & TOOLS • Smooth, low-latency ink (PencilKit) — pen, pencil, highlighter, eraser, lasso • Pinch to zoom, palm rejection, and ruler • Add text boxes, shapes, images, and stickers on top of your ink ORGANIZE • Subjects → notebooks → pages, drag to reorder • Templates: blank, ruled, grid, dotted + your own custom pages • Search your handwriting instantly with on-device OCR PDF & IMPORT/EXPORT • Import and annotate PDFs • Export as PDF, PNG, or the native .scribble format • Share notes with other ScribblePad users AUDIO • Record audio synced to your strokes — replay your notes in time PRIVATE BACKUP & SYNC (OPTIONAL) • Back up to your own Google Drive (the app only sees files it creates) or iCloud • Works fully offline — the cloud is yours, not ours No sign-up. No ads. No data collection. Just a beautiful place to think.

Screenshots

NoteSam3 screens
ScribblePad4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: ScribblePad at none against NoteSam's 2. ScribblePad also leads on ads (none vs shown). On price, update cadence, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. NoteSam sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. ScribblePad asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

NoteSam ships an update every 5 days, ScribblePad every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on September 10, 2026 and September 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 7 level
NoteSam versus ScribblePad: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNoteSamScribblePad
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Number of ratings—2 — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 daysEvery 4 days — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Mac — better
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size15 MB5 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperCryptosam LLCSagar Seth

In-app purchases

2 purchases

NoteSam

Subscriptions2
  • NoteSam Pro Monthly$2.991 Month
  • NoteSam Pro Yearly7 Days trial$19.991 Year
None

ScribblePad

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is NoteSam free?
NoteSam is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is ScribblePad free?
ScribblePad is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do NoteSam or ScribblePad have ads?
NoteSam shows ads; ScribblePad does not.
Which is updated more often, NoteSam or ScribblePad?
NoteSam ships an update every 5 days, and ScribblePad every 4 days. Most recently, NoteSam was updated on September 10, 2026 and ScribblePad on September 7, 2026.

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