Comparison

Nib 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

Nib

Features
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โ–  Where thoughts unfold Nib is a warm handwritten diary for iPad and Apple Pencil. The feeling of writing with a fountain pen on paper โ€” captured in digital form. For anyone who wants to record today, organize class notes, or let ideas flow freely on the page. โ–  Features โ–ธ Natural handwriting - Fountain pen, pencil, highlighter, eraser, lasso โ€” optimized for Apple Pencil - 21 colors to express yourself - Blank, lined, and grid backgrounds โ–ธ Write directly on PDFs - Import textbooks, handouts, papers and annotate right away - Import from iCloud Drive, Files app, or anywhere - Select page ranges to import only what you need - Your annotations save separately โ€” the original PDF stays intact โ–ธ Daily journal - End the day with a short note - Five moods (Heavy ยท Quiet ยท Even ยท Bloom ยท Radiant) to capture the feeling - Browse past days in the calendar โ–ธ Recording + auto-transcription - Record lectures or meetings while you write - Automatic transcription in Korean, English, and Japanese - Notes and audio live side-by-side on the same page โ–ธ Organize by subject - Create subjects with 31 icons or draw your own - Tag notes with subjects - Browse by subject in the Shelf โ–ธ Three languages supported - ํ•œ๊ตญ์–ด ยท English ยท ๆ—ฅๆœฌ่ชž - Switch language directly in the app โ–  Made for - People who want a handwritten journal on iPad - Students annotating PDF textbooks - Anyone recording lectures while taking notes - Those looking for a beautifully-designed diary app - Digital note-takers who miss the feel of paper โ–  What's coming Nib is actively being improved. Dark mode, iCloud sync (across devices), and more transcription languages are on the way. Feedback and suggestions welcome at stockhub.kr@gmail.com โ–  About the developer Nib is crafted by an independent developer. stockhub.kr

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

Nib4 screens
Papyrus4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Nib at none against Papyrus's 2. Nib also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs every 4 days) and iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). On price, ads 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. Papyrus sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Nib asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Nib ships an update every 2 days, Papyrus every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on September 21, 2026 and August 28, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences ยท 3 level
Nib versus Papyrus: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNibPapyrus
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 2 days โ€” betterEvery 4 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo โ€” betterYes
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.0 โ€” better26.0
Further details โ€” not scored
Size35 MB11 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperYONGGYU KIMwaraku kobayashi

In-app purchases

None

Nib

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Papyrus

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

Questions

Is Nib free?
Nib is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Papyrus free?
Papyrus is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Nib or Papyrus have ads?
Neither Nib nor Papyrus shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Nib or Papyrus?
Nib ships an update every 2 days, and Papyrus every 4 days. Most recently, Nib was updated on September 21, 2026 and Papyrus on August 28, 2026.

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