Comparison

Inkelle vs PDF Studio

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

Head to head
About

Inkelle

Features
Read full description

Inkelle is a handwriting notes app built for iPad and Apple Pencil, combining the freedom of natural handwriting with powerful organization and search. NATURAL HANDWRITING • Smooth PencilKit ink with custom brush presets, pressure sensitivity, and colors • Finger/stylus toggle, zoomed writing mode, automatic shape recognition • Multi-page documents, thumbnail sidebar, page outline, and presentation mode ORGANIZE AND SEARCH • Notebooks, tags, and smart folders for flexible organization • On-device handwriting OCR + Spotlight global search • Trash and version history — recover deletions and roll back changes IMPORT AND ANNOTATE • Import PDFs and annotate them in your own handwriting • Insert photos from your library or camera, add text boxes and stickers • Template backgrounds, export to PDF or image, system share sheet AUDIO AND CALENDAR • Attach voice recordings to your notes to capture ideas on the go • Detect dates in your notes and create calendar events with one tap AI STUDY KIT (OPTIONAL) • Summaries, Q&A, math solving, and auto-generated flashcards (SM-2 spaced repetition) • AI is powered by DeepSeek with your own API key; the app always asks for explicit consent before any text is sent. AI is fully optional — when off, all notes stay on your device and in your iCloud. ICLOUD SYNC • Private sync across your devices via iCloud/CloudKit, stored in your own private container • Home Screen widget for quick access to recent notes Inkelle respects your privacy: OCR runs on-device, there are no analytics or tracking SDKs, and your AI key is stored only in the local keychain. Inkelle Pro unlocks unlimited notebooks with an annual subscription or a one-time lifetime purchase. The free version includes 10 notebooks, and viewing, editing, and exporting your existing notes is never restricted. Privacy & Terms • Privacy Policy: https://inkelle.pages.dev/privacy.html • Terms of Use (Apple standard EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

PDF Studio

Features
Read full description

Every PDF tool you need — 100% on your device. PDF Studio reads, edits, scans, converts, signs and protects PDFs with no account, no cloud upload and no tracking. Your files never leave your iPhone, iPad or Mac. And it's a one-time purchase — no subscription. SCAN & CREATE • Scan documents with automatic edge detection • Turn photos or typed text into clean PDFs • Make scans searchable with on-device OCR EDIT & ORGANIZE • Merge, split, reorder, rotate and delete pages • Compress to a target file size • Crop, add margins, page numbers and watermarks CONVERT • PDF to Word, plain text or images — and back FILL, SIGN & PROTECT • Fill forms and sign by hand or with a saved signature • Build fillable forms and extract form data to CSV • Password-protect, unlock and permanently redact • Certify & seal a document and verify it later — fully offline ON-DEVICE AI • Summarize, chat with and translate a PDF — nothing is uploaded MEASURE & MORE • Distance, area and angle with scale • Beautiful on iPhone, iPad and Mac, with iCloud sync for your own library WHY PDF STUDIO • Private by design — everything runs on your device • Pay once, own it forever — no subscription required • No ads, no account, no data collection PDF Studio Pro unlocks every tool with a single purchase or an optional subscription. Terms of Use (EULA): https://birsoftware.com/terms.html

Screenshots

Inkelle4 screens
PDF Studio4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Inkelle at every 4 days against PDF Studio's weekly. On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price Ā· Rating Ā· Positive reviews Ā· Number of ratings Ā· Update frequency Ā· Ads Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Monetization Ā· Best chart rank Ā· Devices Ā· Requires iOS

CostPrice Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Ads Ā· Monetization

Both are free to download. Inkelle sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per year and PDF Studio sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Inkelle ships an update every 4 days, PDF Studio weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and November 13, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference Ā· 5 level
Inkelle versus PDF Studio: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterInkellePDF Studio
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterWeekly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Mac — better
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size12 MB20 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developerꙗ ꞗBirkan Aksoy

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Inkelle

Subscriptions1
  • Inkelle Pro — Annual7 Days trial$5.991 Year
One-time1
  • Inkelle Pro — Lifetime$17.99
2 purchases

PDF Studio

Subscriptions1
  • PDF Studio Pro$9.991 Year
One-time1
  • PDF Studio Pro (Lifetime)$24.99

Questions

Is Inkelle free?
Inkelle is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is PDF Studio free?
PDF Studio is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Inkelle or PDF Studio have ads?
Neither Inkelle nor PDF Studio shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Inkelle or PDF Studio?
Inkelle ships an update every 4 days, and PDF Studio weekly. Most recently, Inkelle was updated on October 31, 2026 and PDF Studio on November 13, 2026.

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