Comparison

Acto|Handwritten Planner vs Noteday

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

Head to head
About

Acto|Handwritten Planner

Features
Read full description

Acto is a handwritten planner built for iPad. Open it like a paper notebook, write your goals, plan your week by hand, and find what you wrote later — across every page(premium). WHAT IS ACTO? A digital planner where every page is yours to draw on. Five sections work together: a Cover you sign yourself, a Projects index, one Detail page per project, a weekly two-page spread that updates with your calendar, and free Notes pages you can add anywhere. DESIGNED FOR APPLE PENCIL ・Pressure, tilt, and hover support ・Markup tool picker appears the moment your Pencil touches the page ・Palm rejection follows your iPadOS system setting ・Pencil 2 double-tap and Pencil Pro squeeze respect your system shortcut ・Undo, redo, lasso select, and clear page from the toolbar YOUR PLANNER, FOR YEARS The Cover and weekly spreads read your device's date, so the same planner carries from 2026 into 2027 and beyond. No yearly re-purchase, no migration, no "2026 edition" expiring on you. SEARCH YOUR HANDWRITING (PREMIUM) On-device OCR reads Japanese and English handwriting after you leave a page, then lets you search by word, date range, or section. Even rough notes become findable. Recognition runs locally with Apple's Vision framework — your handwriting never leaves your device. ICLOUD SYNC Sign in to iCloud and your planner appears on every iPad with the same Apple ID. Your data stays in your own iCloud — only you can see it. FOUR LIQUID GLASS THEMES (PREMIUM) Sand, Fog, Graphite, and Linen. Free users start with one theme; Premium unlocks all four to match your week or your room. EXPORT WHEN YOU NEED TO PDF export collects every page in order. Single pages export as PNG. Share via Files, Mail, AirDrop, or any Share Sheet target. PLANS ・Free: 3 projects, 10 pages, one theme, PDF / PNG export, every handwriting tool. ・Premium (¥600/month or ¥4,800/year): unlimited pages, all themes, Monthly View, OCR search, every sticker. ・Content Store: stickers WHO IS ACTO FOR? ・People who plan and journal by hand and want their iPad to feel like paper ・Founders, freelancers, and students tracking several projects in parallel ・Apple Pencil users who want a structured planner alongside the note-taking apps they already use ・Bullet journal practitioners who want digital search and sync on top of paper-style layouts PRIVACY Handwriting recognition runs on-device. iCloud sync uses your own iCloud account — only you can access your notes. Acto does not collect, sell, or analyze your notes. REQUIREMENTS iPad running iPadOS 18 or later. Apple Pencil recommended (1st generation, 2nd generation, USB-C, or Pencil Pro). LANGUAGES Japanese, English. TERMS OF USE (EULA) https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Noteday

Features
Read full description

Noteday is the notebook that feels like paper and thinks like a study partner. Write with buttery, low-latency Apple Pencil ink at up to 120Hz — pressure, tilt, and shapes that snap into place. Then let Noteday AI turn what you wrote into summaries, flashcards, quizzes, and even images, right on the page. WRITE THAT FEELS LIKE PAPER • Ultra-responsive 120Hz ink with real pressure • Straight-line snap and instant shape recognition • Partial eraser, lasso select, and a laser pointer for presenting • Zoom-write box and a ruler for precise work PAGES BUILT FOR REAL LIFE • Add text, images, stickers, sticky notes, and tables to any page • Organize with folders and search your typed content • Reorder, duplicate, and manage pages with ease • Record audio right alongside your notes • Set local reminders so nothing slips TEMPLATES MADE TO BE USED • Free hero planners, to-do lists, Cornell notes, and more built in • A growing marketplace of à-la-carte packs — productivity, student, finance, fitness, medical, music, travel and more • Buy once, own forever — apply any template as a page in any notebook COVERS WORTH COLLECTING • Museum-art covers from Hokusai, Van Gogh, Klimt, Monet, William Morris, and İznik masters • Full Gold, Full Silver, and Rose Gold metal covers with a live, moving gleam • Personalize with your name, monogram, and font • Import your own PDF or PNG as a cover NOTEDAY AI THAT STUDIES WITH YOU • Ask your notes and get answers with page references • Summarize, outline, make flashcards, build quizzes, and rewrite • Turn a description into an image placed straight onto your page • Start with 25 welcome credits, top up with credit packs anytime EXPORT & SHARE • Export any notebook as PDF or image to share anywhere NOTEDAY PRO Go unlimited with Noteday Pro: • Unlimited notebooks (free plan includes 2) • No ads • Premium stickers • 1,000 AI credits every month Noteday Pro is $2.99/month or $19.99/year with a 7-day free trial. • Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. • Subscriptions renew automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. • Your account is charged for renewal within 24 hours before the end of the current period. • Manage or cancel anytime in your Apple Account settings. • Any unused portion of a free trial is forfeited when you buy a subscription. • Templates, covers, and credit packs are one-time purchases you own forever. Privacy Policy: https://getnoteday.com/privacy Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Questions? getnoteday.com/support

Screenshots

Acto|Handwritten Planner4 screens
Noteday4 screens

Verdict

The call

Acto|Handwritten Planner and Noteday are too close to call on the numbers: across 6 compared parameters — price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.

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. Acto|Handwritten Planner sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month and Noteday sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Acto|Handwritten Planner ships an update every 4 days, Noteday every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
Acto|Handwritten Planner versus Noteday: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterActo|Handwritten PlannerNoteday
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterEvery 8 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.017.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size5 MB31 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMatsu LLC.Gambit Global LTD

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Acto|Handwritten Planner

Subscriptions2
  • Acto Premium - monthly$3.991 Month
  • Acto Premium - yearly$29.991 Year
One-time2
  • Basic Stickers$1.99
  • Monthly View$1.99
10 purchases

Noteday

One-time10
  • Project Plan$0.99
  • Contraction Timer$0.99
  • Baby Feeding Log$0.99
Show 7 more
  • Milestone Tracker$0.99
  • Exam Study Planner$0.99
  • Class Schedule$0.99
  • Pregnancy Appointments$0.99
  • Pregnancy Journal$0.99
  • Invoice Log$0.99
  • Client / CRM$0.99

Questions

Is Acto|Handwritten Planner free?
Acto|Handwritten Planner is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Noteday free?
Noteday is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Acto|Handwritten Planner or Noteday have ads?
Neither Acto|Handwritten Planner nor Noteday shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Acto|Handwritten Planner or Noteday?
Acto|Handwritten Planner ships an update every 4 days, and Noteday every 8 days. Most recently, Acto|Handwritten Planner was updated on October 17, 2026 and Noteday on October 25, 2026.

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