UnivNote vs NoteON
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
UnivNote
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UnivNote — Smooth PDF Note App UnivNote makes the fundamentals — writing, reading, and organizing on PDFs — fast and reliable, instead of leading with AI. Write on textbooks, slides, papers, and books with iPad and Apple Pencil — open your notes on iPhone and Mac. Recent updates added layers, shapes, memorization tests, exam countdowns, and study time tracking while improving speed, heat, and battery on stroke-heavy pages. ▶ What Makes UnivNote Different · A simple writing tool without AI clutter Responsive pen, fast lasso, easy copy and paste, and a stable PDF reader come first. · Layers — keep the original and your notes apart Keep handwriting, answers, and corrections on 5 layers per note. One tap hides or shows the answer layer everywhere; lock layers to protect originals, move lassoed ink between them. Unused, they tuck behind one button. · Study tools for memorization and review Cover answers with the masking highlighter, tap to reveal. Hide or show all masks, self-grade right/wrong tests, move down the mask list — flow never breaks. Each subject folder shows an exam countdown and logs study time. · Shapes you can re-edit anytime 30+ shapes — lines, arrows, polygons, cylinders, cones, spheres. Drag handles after inserting to tune an ellipse's flatness or a cylinder's shell thickness — great for math and science. · Fast writing with lower heat Input stays responsive as strokes pile up; eraser, paste, undo, and lasso stay smooth. Heat and battery keep improving under load — Split View, screen recording. · Built for lectures and class notes Laser pointer, reading mode, gesture shortcuts, recording, handwriting-synced playback. Recordings survive crashes and continue in the background. · Extend PDF margins on all four sides Add the mm you want per side for problem solving and notes. · Word-aware highlighting on PDF text Long-press and highlights snap to words; text stays black, never washed out. ▶ Main Features · Pen, highlighter, eraser, fountain pen — widths, colors, line styles · Layers — 5 per note, hide, lock, rename, move via lasso · Shape insertion — 30+ flat and 3D shapes, re-edit with handles · Masking highlighter — masks, right/wrong tests, mask list · Exam countdowns + auto study time per subject · Lasso selection — move, resize, rotate, copy, cut, duplicate, delete · Eraser capture delete — wipe all ink inside a closed area · Paste images — photos, screenshots, crop · Share sheet import — PDFs and photos from any app · Audio synced to handwriting — tap a stroke to jump there, up to 3x · Backlinks — all links pointing to this note · Text boxes with text style presets · Favorite pens + per-note tool memory · No-Pencil mode — finger writing, two-finger scroll · Page manager — add, delete, duplicate, rotate, multi-select · Sidebar table of contents — detects and edits PDF Outline · Unified search — PDF text, text boxes, note titles · Reading mode, laser pointer, gesture shortcuts · Design templates — study, planner, journal, creator · Folder library — nested folders, colors, favorites · iCloud sync — notes stay on device when off · WebDAV — import and full backup upload · 27 languages — 한국어/English/日本語/简体中文/繁體中文/Español/Deutsch/Français/Italiano/Português/Nederlands/Svenska/Dansk/Norsk/Suomi/Polski/Čeština/Magyar/Română/Ελληνικά/Русский/Українська/Türkçe/Tiếng Việt/ไทย/Bahasa Indonesia/Bahasa Melayu ▶ Pricing · Free for up to 20 notes · Unlimited Notes is a one-time lifetime purchase · No subscription · No ads · Family Sharing supported · Early Supporters automatically get Unlimited Notes ▶ Privacy · No note data is sent externally · Notes stay on your device or your own iCloud ▶ Recommended Setup · iPad + Apple Pencil recommended; iPhone and Mac supported · iPadOS 18 or later, optimized for 13" and 11" iPad Pro / iPad Air
NoteON
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NoteON NoteON is a simple note-taking app that lets you capture text from photos and organize your notes neatly by folders and dates. Key Features 1. AI Photo Text Recognition Take a photo or upload an image, and AI will automatically recognize the text and add it to your notes. 2. Organize with Folders Create folders for work, study, ideas, and more. Keep everything organized with customizable colors. 3. Calendar View View your notes by date and easily track your records over time with a built-in calendar. 4. Favorites Bookmark important notes for quick and easy access anytime. 5. Sync Across App & Web Use your recovery code to sync your notes seamlessly across your phone, tablet, and the web. 6. Share & Export Share your notes or export them as PDF or TXT files whenever you need. Capture important moments, convert text from photos into editable notes, and stay organized with NoteON. Simple. Fast. Smart.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: NoteON at none against UnivNote's 1. NoteON also leads on iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.0). UnivNote's advantage is update cadence (daily vs weekly). 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
Both are free to download. UnivNote sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. NoteON asks for nothing beyond the download.
UnivNote ships an update daily, NoteON weekly. The most recent releases landed on September 13, 2026 and September 4, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | UnivNote | NoteON |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Daily — better | Weekly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 45 MB | 105 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Jeonghwan Ryu | inho Choi |
In-app purchases
UnivNote
- Unlimited Notes$5.99
NoteON
No in-app purchases









