Comparison

PhotoNotes 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

PhotoNotes

Features
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PhotoNotes: Light Notes helps you capture everyday notes from photos, text, voice, reminders, and documents without cluttering your camera roll. Save a receipt, sticky note, whiteboard, label, document, errand, or idea. Add a title, text, tags, voice, location, and a reminder, then keep the compressed photo inside PhotoNotes instead of mixing it with your regular photos. OCR can turn visible words in a photo into searchable text. Voice notes can be recorded or imported, with speech recognition for searchable transcripts. You can also create simple text notes, mark notes as done, pin important items, filter what needs action, and export text, photo, audio, or an image-based PDF. PhotoNotes is designed for quick, practical notes that stay easy to find later. Key features: - Create notes from camera, scanner, photo import, voice, or text - Store compressed photos separately from the camera roll - Use OCR to make photo text searchable - Record or import voice notes with searchable transcripts - Search by title, body, tags, OCR text, and voice transcript - Add local reminders and mark notes done - Pin important notes and filter what matters - Export text, photo, audio, or an image-based PDF - Choose recognition language for OCR and voice - No account required PhotoNotes stores note content locally on your iPhone. Camera, photo library, microphone, location, speech recognition, and notification access are requested only when you use the related feature. PhotoNotes is free and built to improve over time. Feedback, bug reports, and practical suggestions are welcome at support@photonotes.cloud.

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

PhotoNotes4 screens
Papyrus4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: PhotoNotes at none against Papyrus's 2. PhotoNotes also leads on iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). On price, ads and device support 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. Papyrus sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. PhotoNotes asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scorecard2 real differences ยท 4 level
PhotoNotes versus Papyrus: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPhotoNotesPapyrus
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyโ€”Every 4 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo โ€” betterYes
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad โ€” better
Requires iOS17.0 โ€” better26.0
Further details โ€” not scored
Size4 MB11 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperIATECH SRLSwaraku kobayashi

In-app purchases

None

PhotoNotes

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Papyrus

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

Questions

Is PhotoNotes free?
PhotoNotes is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Papyrus free?
Papyrus is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do PhotoNotes or Papyrus have ads?
Neither PhotoNotes nor Papyrus shows ads.

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