Comparison

AINotes vs Instink Handwritten Notes

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

Head to head
About

AINotes

This app offers a natural handwriting experience on an infinite canvas for note-taking and document annotation. Organize study, work, and creative projects with features like multiple layers, split-screen editing, and PDF annotation. It supports various file formats and offers iCloud sync for seamless device transfer.

Highlights
  • Infinite canvas for freeform ideation
  • Paper-like handwriting with Apple Pencil support
  • Annotate PDFs, DOCs, PPTs, and ebooks
  • Multiple layers for complex editing
  • Split-screen editing for side-by-side notes
  • OCR for text recognition from scanned documents
  • iCloud sync across iPhone and iPad
Features
Read full description

AINotes is a professional note-taking and document annotation app for iPad and iPhone, with smooth, paper-like handwriting. Use Apple Pencil, an infinite canvas, freeform layout, multiple layers, and split-screen editing to capture ideas naturally and keep your study, work, and creative projects organized. AINotes is currently free to use, with no subscription required for its core features. WRITE NATURALLY • Optimized for iPhone and every iPad size, with pressure sensitivity and tilt support on compatible Apple Pencil models • Write and draw with a fountain pen, ballpoint pen, brush pen, or pencil • Use a highlighter, shapes, magnifier, laser pointer, ruler, and other precision tools • Customize stroke colors, widths, and styles, then refine content with the precision eraser and lasso tools THINK WITHOUT LIMITS • Create structured paged notes or explore ideas freely on an infinite canvas • Zoom and pan smoothly to organize outlines, build mind maps, plan projects, and develop creative sketches • Freely move, resize, and rotate handwriting, text, images, and shapes • Use multiple layers to edit complex content independently, and view or edit multiple notes side by side READ & ANNOTATE MULTIPLE FORMATS • Import PDF, DOC, and PPT files; Pages, Numbers, and Keynote documents; and ebooks in EPUB, MOBI, and AZW3 formats • Read imported documents and ebooks, then add handwriting, highlights, shapes, text, and comments • Import screenshots, photos, worksheets, exam papers, and other images, then crop, resize, rotate, and arrange them freely • When you need to capture paper content, scan documents, recognize text with OCR, and use smart correction and filters for clearer results • Export finished work as a PDF, individual images, or a single long image STAY ORGANIZED, MAKE IT YOUR OWN • Organize classes, projects, meetings, and personal notes with folders • Search note titles and content to quickly find what you need • Personalize notes with beautiful covers and ruled, grid, dot grid, blank, Cornell note, and other paper templates • Write comfortably in low light with Dark Mode • Sync notes between iPhone and iPad with iCloud, and create local backups that you can restore when needed FREE TO USE • No subscription or payment is required to access the core features • Work offline and capture ideas wherever you are • Export and share in multiple formats while keeping control of your notes and backups BUILT FOR STUDY, WORK & CREATIVITY Use AINotes for classroom notes, reviewing mistakes, lesson planning, handout annotation, meeting notes, document review, ebook reading, study notes, project planning, digital journaling, creative sketches, and everyday inspiration. Start using AINotes today—write naturally, think without limits, and turn every idea into something clear and useful. For technical support or feedback, contact us: Email: feedback@prodsoft.net Privacy Policy: https://www.prodsoft.net/privacy_policy.html Terms of Use: https://www.prodsoft.net/terms_of_use.html

About

Instink Handwritten Notes

Features
Read full description

An idea shows up. By the time you've unlocked your phone, found your notes app and opened a new page, it's gone. Instink is a blank sheet on your Home Screen. Tap it and you're already writing — by hand, in your own handwriting. Tap Done and you're back where you were. One second. WHY PEOPLE KEEP IT • Ready in under half a second. No account, no sign-up, nothing to choose before you write. • Your handwriting, not a font. Finger or Apple Pencil, with ink that follows your hand. • Saved from the very first stroke. Put the phone away mid-sentence: the note is already safe. • Hands busy? Type, snap a photo or record your voice from the same sheet. • Phone locked? Ask Siri to add a note to Instink and dictate it. No unlocking. EVERY WAY IN Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets, Control Center, the Action button, Back Tap and Shortcuts. Use the one closest to your thumb. THEN, WHEN YOU HAVE A MINUTE • Sort new notes like cards: swipe right to send, left to keep, down to delete. Ten seconds. • Send any note to Notion, Notes, Google Keep, Obsidian, Mail or Messages — as text, with your handwriting attached. • Search your handwriting. Instink reads it on your device. • Wrote "dentist tomorrow at 10"? Instink offers to put it in your calendar. • Once a day an old note resurfaces — "a week ago today" — so good ideas don't get buried. • At night the sheet turns dark, so it won't blind you in bed. PRIVATE BY DESIGN No account. No ads. No tracking. Your notes stay on your device and never pass through a server of ours. Handwriting and voice are recognized on your iPhone. WHAT INSTINK IS NOT It's not a notebook with folders and pages. It's the pen for the notes system you already use. Questions or ideas: hello@instink.app — a real person reads every message.

Screenshots

AINotes4 screens
Instink Handwritten Notes4 screens

Verdict

The call

AINotes and Instink Handwritten Notes are too close to call on the numbers: across 5 compared parameters — price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
AINotes versus Instink Handwritten Notes: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAINotesInstink Handwritten Notes
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (6 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings6 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 10 days—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size213 MB4 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPRODSOFT PTE LTDpaolo aru

In-app purchases

None

AINotes

No in-app purchases

None

Instink Handwritten Notes

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is AINotes free?
AINotes is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Instink Handwritten Notes free?
Instink Handwritten Notes is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do AINotes or Instink Handwritten Notes have ads?
Neither AINotes nor Instink Handwritten Notes shows ads.

Other comparisons