Comparison

Noteleaf vs Papyrus

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

Head to head
About

Noteleaf

Features
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Noteleaf is a handwriting notebook that feels like real looseleaf paper. Write freely with Apple Pencil, rearrange pages, choose from templates, and make it your own. โ–  Key Features Looseleaf Feel Pages can be reordered freely, just like real looseleaf paper. Move, insert, or remove pages to organize your notes the way you want. Handwriting with Apple Pencil Write naturally with Apple Pencil. Supports Scribble. Turn on Apple Pencil-Only Mode in Settings to prevent accidental palm touches. Ruler Tool Draw perfectly straight lines at any angle using the on-screen ruler โ€” no physical ruler needed. 10 Page Templates Choose from blank, lined, wide-ruled, grid, dot grid, Cornell, and more. Mix templates freely within a single notebook. 16 Leather Cover Colors Personalize each notebook with a color that suits you โ€” 16 rich leather-style covers to choose from. PDF Export Export any notebook as a PDF to share or archive your notes. Notebook Sharing Share notebooks with others in the app's native format. โ–  One-Time Purchase Noteleaf is free to download. One in-app purchase unlocks: ใƒป Unlimited notebooks (free tier: 1 notebook) ใƒป PDF export ใƒป Notebook sharing All handwriting features are available for free. No subscription. No account required.

About

Papyrus

Features
Read full description

Is your current note app slow? Meet a truly lightweight note app. - It's free โ€” with no stingy limit on the number of notes. - Trimmed of every bit of bloat, yet complete with the features you actually need. - Open as many notes as you like with no slowdown, and PDFs load blazingly fast. - Import and edit notes from another popular note app. - Import by the folder โ€” the hierarchy is preserved. [GoodNotes Import] Import .goodnotes files. Strokes, images, shapes, and masks are reproduced almost perfectly. [Handwriting] A custom vector drawing engine delivers extremely lightweight, high-precision ink. Five tools are built in: Pen, Highlighter, Eraser, Lasso, and Mask. Anything selected with the Lasso can be copied, moved, deleted, or duplicated. Mask is a study aid โ€” cover what you want to memorize with the pen, then tap to peek underneath. Straight-line snapping and shape recognition (rectangles, circles, lines, and more) are also supported. [PDF Import & Annotation] Import a PDF and write directly on its pages. Switch between four page layouts: continuous scroll, single page, horizontal, and two-page spread. [File Organization] Organize your notes with a Finder-like file browser, creating folders freely. Switch between list and grid views, and move files and folders by drag and drop. A Trash lets you restore notes you deleted by mistake. [Tabs & Split View (iPad)] Open multiple notes at once in tabs. On iPad, split the screen to view and edit two notes side by side (Split View). [Page Sidebar] Swipe in from the left edge to reveal page thumbnails. Press and hold a thumbnail to reorder pages, and select multiple pages to delete, copy, and paste. [Images] Paste images from Photos, Files, or the clipboard. [Export] Export notes and PDFs as a "PDF for submission/printing," a "fast annotation PDF" (PDF annotations only), or a "Papyrus Archive" (.papyrus). [Apple Pencil] - iPad: draw with Apple Pencil only; pan and zoom with your finger. - iPhone: draw with your finger while the compact ink palette is open; otherwise pan and zoom. - With Apple Pencil Pro, use the squeeze gesture to bring up the hover palette. About Papyrus Sync (Subscription) iCloud sync and sharing are available through the "Papyrus Sync" subscription (monthly or yearly, auto-renewing). All core features โ€” note-taking, PDF annotation, and more โ€” are completely free. - Payment will be charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. - The subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. - Your account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period. - You can manage your subscription or turn off auto-renewal in your Apple Account settings after purchase. - Prices are shown in the app and may vary by region. Terms of Use (EULA): https://coremedica.jp/pages/legal/terms-of-use Privacy Policy: https://coremedica.jp/pages/legal/privacy-policy

Screenshots

Noteleaf4 screens
Papyrus4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: Noteleaf at 17.0 against Papyrus's 26.0. On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

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

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Both are free to download. Noteleaf sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Papyrus sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Noteleaf ships an update every 6 days, Papyrus every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 5, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference ยท 5 level
Noteleaf versus Papyrus: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNoteleafPapyrus
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 6 daysEvery 4 days โ€” better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.0 โ€” better26.0
Further details โ€” not scored
Size15 MB11 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developermasafumi matsumotowaraku kobayashi

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Noteleaf

One-time1
  • Premium Unlock$9.99
2 purchases

Papyrus

Subscriptions2
  • Papyrus Sync Monthly$0.991 Month
  • Papyrus Sync Yearly$9.991 Year

Questions

Is Noteleaf free?
Noteleaf is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Papyrus free?
Papyrus is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Noteleaf or Papyrus have ads?
Neither Noteleaf nor Papyrus shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Noteleaf or Papyrus?
Noteleaf ships an update every 6 days, and Papyrus every 4 days. Most recently, Noteleaf was updated on October 5, 2026 and Papyrus on October 13, 2026.

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