Nib vs Better Notes
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Nib
Read full descriptionHide 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 hello@stockhub.kr ■ About the developer Nib is crafted by an independent developer. stockhub.kr
Better Notes
Read full descriptionHide full description
Better Notes is a focused idea studio for handwriting, sketching, typed notes and PDF annotation. It combines the freedom of paper with the organisation and editing tools of a modern native app. WRITE NATURALLY Capture smooth, pressure-aware ink with fountain pen, ballpoint, fineliner, pencil, calligraphy, brush, reed pen, marker and highlighter tools. Adjust colour, width and stabilisation, then erase by stroke or precisely through ink. BUILD PAGES YOUR WAY Choose blank, ruled, dotted, grid, Cornell and margin paper. Mix A4, A5, Letter and Legal pages in portrait or landscape—even inside the same notebook. Add, duplicate, bookmark and reorder your thinking page by page. MORE THAN HANDWRITING Add editable styled text, shapes and images. Move, rotate, recolour and organise content across independent layers with visibility, locking and opacity controls. ANNOTATE PDFs Import a PDF, write directly over it and keep its links intact. Export finished work as PDF, PNG, JPEG, Markdown or plain text whenever you need to share or continue elsewhere. RECORD THE MOMENT Attach audio to a page during a lecture, meeting or brainstorming session. Rename recordings and jump back to the page where each recording began. FIND AND ORGANISE IDEAS Create spaces and nested folders, add tags, mark favourites, revisit recent notes and recover items from Trash. Search notebook titles, tags and typed page content from one fast local library. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Better Notes works locally and offline. Your notebooks and recordings stay on your device unless you choose to export or share them. There is no required account, advertising or behavioural tracking. BUILT FOR APPLE DEVICES Enjoy a responsive light interface designed for touch, Apple Pencil, pointer and keyboard. Better Notes supports keyboard shortcuts, accessibility labels and Reduce Motion. Make space for your next thought—and keep every stroke editable.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Better Notes at none against Nib's shown. On price, in-app purchases, 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
| Parameter | Nib | Better Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Every 3 days | — |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, Vision Pro — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 39 MB | 11 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | YONGGYU KIM | Luke Mclaughlin |
In-app purchases
Nib
No in-app purchases
Better Notes
No in-app purchases









