Comparison

Nib vs CardsMind+

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

Head to head
About

Nib

Features
Read full description

■ Where thoughts unfold Nib is a warm handwritten diary for iPad and Apple Pencil. The feeling of writing with a fountain pen on paper — captured in digital form. For anyone who wants to record today, organize class notes, or let ideas flow freely on the page. ■ Features ▸ Natural handwriting - Fountain pen, pencil, highlighter, eraser, lasso — optimized for Apple Pencil - 21 colors to express yourself - Blank, lined, and grid backgrounds ▸ 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 — the original PDF stays intact ▸ Daily journal - End the day with a short note - Five moods (Heavy · Quiet · Even · Bloom · Radiant) to capture the feeling - Browse past days in the calendar ▸ Recording + auto-transcription - Record lectures or meetings while you write - Automatic transcription in Korean, English, Japanese, Chinese, and Spanish - Notes and audio live side-by-side on the same page ▸ Organize by subject - Create subjects with 31 icons or draw your own - Tag notes with subjects - Browse by subject in the Shelf ▸ Six languages supported - 한국어 · English · 日本語 · 简体中文 · 繁體中文 · Español - Switch language directly in the app ■ 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 ■ What's coming Nib is actively being improved. Dark mode and iCloud sync (across devices) are on the way. Feedback and suggestions welcome at stockhub.kr@gmail.com ■ About the developer Nib is crafted by an independent developer. stockhub.kr

About

CardsMind+

Features
Read full description

Turn PDFs, videos & web pages into mind maps - and actually remember them. CardMind+ combines mind mapping, document learning, and flashcard review into one seamless workflow: capture knowledge, make it yours, and lock it into long-term memory. IMPORT EVERYTHING YOU LEARN FROM - PDF, PPT, Word & EPUB: all your study materials, in one place - Web pages: save articles and turn online reading into structured mind maps - Videos: import lectures and tutorials, grab frames & clips while you watch, and compare them with your map side by side - TouchNotes: open your TouchNotes documents in one tap, from annotations to structured thinking EXTRACT. DON'T TRANSCRIBE. - One-tap extraction: pull text, charts, and video clips straight into knowledge cards (text selection, rectangle capture, and video capture supported) - Multimodal cards: mix text, images, and whiteboard handwriting on any card, capturing ideas the way they appear in your head EVERY IDEA STAYS CONNECTED TO ITS SOURCE - Tap any mind map node to jump back to the exact paragraph in the original document - or the exact frame in the video - A clean bookshelf organizes your mind maps, documents, and flashcards in a tree structure: find anything in seconds FROM UNDERSTANDING TO REMEMBERING - Turn mind map cards into flashcards with one tap - no re-typing - Review on a schedule based on the forgetting curve, so short-term memory becomes long-term knowledge Built for students, researchers, and lifelong learners. Download CardMind+ and build your second brain today.

Screenshots

Nib4 screens
CardsMind+4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Nib at none against CardsMind+'s 2. Nib also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs fortnightly). CardsMind+'s advantage is iOS requirement (15.3 vs 17.0). On price, 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. CardsMind+ sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Nib asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Nib ships an update every 2 days, CardsMind+ fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 8, 2026 and October 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 3 level
Nib versus CardsMind+: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNibCardsMind+
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 2 days — betterFortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.015.3 — better
Further details — not scored
Size35 MB306 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperYONGGYU KIM广东新空电子科技股份有限公司

In-app purchases

None

Nib

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

CardsMind+

One-time2
  • 1年VIP$2.99
  • 永久VIP$6.99

Questions

Is Nib free?
Nib is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is CardsMind+ free?
CardsMind+ is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Nib or CardsMind+ have ads?
Neither Nib nor CardsMind+ shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Nib or CardsMind+?
Nib ships an update every 2 days, and CardsMind+ fortnightly. Most recently, Nib was updated on October 8, 2026 and CardsMind+ on October 21, 2026.

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