Comparison

VelNotes vs Noteora

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

Head to head
About

VelNotes

Features
Read full description

Take handwritten notes, annotate PDFs, and turn lecture recordings into text on your iPhone and iPad. Start without creating an account. • Math mode: Write 2(3+4)= with your finger on iPhone or Apple Pencil on iPad, and we'll handle the rest. Tap the green line with your finger, then Solve: 14 lands beside the = in your own ink. Something misread? Edit what we picked up. • Beautify while writing: Lines you scrawl in a lecture turn clean and readable as you write. Pick one of 19 handwriting styles or a neater version of your own. • Cramped PDFs are no problem in VelNotes: Widen the page or add workspace beside it, so every note, solution, and sketch fits. ONE APP FOR IPHONE AND IPAD • On iPhone, write with your finger or type on Phone screen pages that fit without zooming • On iPad, write with Apple Pencil or turn on Finger Writing Mode • Planners on iPhone: start from 12 templates or make your own, with the dates already on the pages. Tap a line to type, a checkbox to check it off • Two notebooks side by side on iPad, each with its own toolbar • Video window on iPad: watch a lesson video beside your notes WRITE YOUR WAY • Write and highlight naturally; Snap to Straight Line and Hold for a straight line keep lines neat • Type text, draw shapes, and use a ruler, brushes, labels, and sticky notes, plus a laser pointer on iPad • Capture typed notes fast with Quick Text, then save them as a notebook • Move or resize selected handwriting, convert it to text, or scribble over strokes to erase • Choose paper styles, custom colors, daily and weekly layouts, 360 stickers, and colorful folders WORK WITH PDFS AND MEDIA • Import PDFs, including password-protected ones; PDFs over 300 pages import in parts • Write, draw, and place text, photos, scans, stickers, and shapes over PDF pages • Add GIFs, keep notebooks open in tabs, and choose A4, Letter, or custom page sizes • Add images from Photos, Camera, or the built-in document scanner • Export notebooks as PDF or images with multiple quality options RECORD AND TRANSCRIBE • Record lectures, meetings, and ideas; if the app closes mid-recording, your audio is kept • Create on-device transcripts in the spoken language you pick, when supported by the device, system, and language • Import local audio or video and turn speech into notebook text with Pro REPLAY AND CREATE • Replay how a page was written and drawn with Time Travel, and export it as a 9:16 or 16:9 video • Turn photos into cutout stickers locally with Sticker Studio PRIVATE BY DESIGN • Notebooks are stored on this device first • When iCloud Drive is available, notebook sync across your iPhone and iPad and an automatic private safety backup are on by default; restore an earlier copy, turn either off, or export your data at any time • VelNotes does not upload your notebooks or raw recordings to a VelNotes server FREE AND PRO Free includes up to 3 notebooks at a time, plus 3 planners on iPhone (synced and trashed ones count; delete one for good to start a new one), recordings of up to 15 minutes per session, and one free use of live transcription. Time Travel video export is free and unlimited for everyone. Weekly, monthly, and yearly Pro plans and a one-time lifetime purchase unlock the same features: unlimited notebooks (and planners on iPhone), local audio/video import for on-device transcription, longer recordings, and unlimited live transcription on supported devices. One Pro covers your iPhone and iPad with the same Apple Account. Transcription and handwriting recognition can contain errors and depend on device, operating-system, and language support. Math mode works with numbers only: no variables, unknowns, or equations to solve. The app interface is available in English, Turkish, German, Spanish, and French; other device languages use English. Privacy Policy: https://velnotes.com/privacy/en Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Noteora

This app allows you to type or handwrite notes, sketch diagrams, and annotate PDFs. It offers a natural writing experience with various pen tools and paper templates. Your notes are private and stored only on your device.

Highlights
  • Handwritten notes with natural pen strokes
  • Annotate and sign PDFs
  • Type text notes with rich formatting
  • Organize notes with folders and tags
  • Offline functionality and device-only storage
  • Export notes as PDFs
Features
Read full description

Noteora is a free note-taking app for everything you write. Type it, handwrite it or write right on top of a PDF, and every page looks exactly like the real thing. No account, no cloud: your notes never leave your device. Open a PDF or Word file, mark it up with Apple Pencil, add a table, sketch a diagram and export a pixel-perfect PDF in seconds. HANDWRITING THAT FEELS LIKE PAPER • Pressure- and tilt-aware pen, pencil and highlighter with smooth, natural strokes • Pen-only mode with palm rejection: rest your hand on the screen and write • Apple Pencil double-tap switches between the eraser and your last pen • A felt-tip highlighter that keeps one even thickness • Seven paper templates: blank, lined, narrow ruled, wide ruled, grid, dotted and Cornell notes • Portrait or landscape, with as many pages as you need • Add photos to handwritten pages and annotate them • Shape recognition: hold the pen to snap a perfect line, rectangle, square or circle • Object pen to select, move, rotate and resize anything on the page • Snapped shapes come with handles to resize them, and rectangles keep the angle you drew ANNOTATE ANY PDF Open a PDF from Files, Mail or Safari straight into Noteora. Handwrite over its pages or type on them, start a new note or add the pages to one you already have, at the beginning or at the end. Ideal for lecture slides, worksheets, research papers, contracts and forms you need to fill in and sign. Photos open the same way, as a one-page note you can write on. WORD-LEVEL TEXT NOTES • Real pages that reflow as you type, just like a word processor • Bold, italic, underline, strikethrough and four heading levels • Bullet lists, numbered lists, checklists, quotes, code blocks and links • Tables you can create, fill and export • Nine fonts, text and highlight colors, and all four alignments • Insert, drag, resize and rotate images; attach PDFs and files as cards • Import .docx documents with the same fonts, sizes, line spacing and page count PAGES YOU CONTROL Every note has a pages panel: duplicate, rename, reorder, copy and paste, or multi-select pages to share or delete. Copy pages from one note into another, several at a time. Switch between continuous scroll and a two-page book view, and pinch to zoom in on detail. Each note reopens on the exact page you left off. ORGANIZE EVERYTHING • Nested folders with a folder tree; drag a note onto a folder to move it • Pinned folders, favorites, tags and tag filters • Due dates and reminders on any note, so no deadline slips by • Fast full-text search across titles and content • Sort by date modified, date created, title or deadline • Duplicate any note in one tap • Trash keeps deleted notes for 30 days, so nothing is lost by accident PRIVATE BY DESIGN Lock any note or folder with its own PIN and an optional hint. Locked notes are encrypted on your device with a key derived from your PIN. Noteora works fully offline, needs no sign-up and never uploads your notes anywhere. EXPORT & SHARE Export typed or handwritten notes as pixel-perfect PDFs or plain text, and text notes as Word documents. Export the whole note or only the pages you pick, then share instantly through the native share sheet. • Vector PDF export: razor sharp at any zoom, far smaller files. Convert anything into pdf. MADE FOR iPHONE AND iPAD Light, dark and system themes, a full color palette, adjustable zoom and a guided tour that has you writing within a minute. Available in 12 languages. PERFECT FOR • Students: lecture notes, Cornell notes, homework, exam revision and annotated slides • Professionals: meeting minutes, reports, Word drafts and signed PDFs • Planners and journalers: daily pages, to-do lists, bullet journals and sketches Studying for finals, planning your week or keeping a private diary? Noteora gives typed and handwritten pages the same care. Download it free and take your first note in seconds. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

VelNotes4 screens
Noteora4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Noteora at none against VelNotes's 4. Noteora also leads on iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.6). On price, update cadence, ads and device support 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. VelNotes sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per 7 days. Noteora asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

VelNotes ships an update every 3 weeks, Noteora every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 9, 2026 and November 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 7 level
VelNotes versus Noteora: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterVelNotesNoteora
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (4 ratings) — better
Number of ratings—4 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.615.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size104 MB44 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperYUNUS ISLEGELPerfectAiStudio

In-app purchases

4 purchases

VelNotes

Subscriptions3
  • VelNotes Pro Weekly$1.997 Days
  • VelNotes Pro Monthly$4.991 Month
  • VelNotes Pro Yearly7 Days trial$14.991 Year
One-time1
  • VelNotes Pro Lifetime$39.99
None

Noteora

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is VelNotes free?
VelNotes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Noteora free?
Noteora is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do VelNotes or Noteora have ads?
Neither VelNotes nor Noteora shows ads.
Which is updated more often, VelNotes or Noteora?
VelNotes ships an update every 3 weeks, and Noteora every 2 weeks. Most recently, VelNotes was updated on November 9, 2026 and Noteora on November 10, 2026.

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