# Whitespace vs Noteful

The clearest difference is rating: Noteful at 4.8 against Whitespace's 2.8. Noteful also leads on review sentiment (87% vs 56%) and ratings volume (24K vs 10). Whitespace's advantage is iOS requirement (10.0 vs 16.4). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Whitespace sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Noteful sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Noteful holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 2.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Noteful has 24K ratings behind it against 10, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 56% of Whitespace's written reviews are positive against 87% of Noteful's.

Whitespace ships an update every 2 months, Noteful fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Whitespace | Noteful |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [2.8 (10 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/whitespace-writer-and-editor/id687007919/reviews) | **[4.8 (24K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/noteful-notes-and-pdf-markup/id1587904334/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 10 | **24K** |
| Positive reviews | 56.0% of reviews | **87.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Fortnightly** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Size | 7 MB | 157 MB |
| Requires iOS | **10.0** | 16.4 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Dynotes Mobile Technology LTD.](https://appshunter.io/developer/349039724) | [Noteful Technologies Ltd](https://appshunter.io/developer/1587904336) |

## What reviewers say

### Whitespace

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/whitespace-writer-and-editor/id687007919)

This app combines note-taking simplicity with text editor power, allowing you to structure and format diverse items like articles or lists. Organize your thoughts and projects within customizable spaces, with features for writing, organizing, and editing your content.

**Highlights:** Unlimited items and spaces, Markdown syntax highlighting, Attach photos and videos, Full text search, Color-coded spaces, Backup and restore (Pro), Passcode lock

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Upgrade for Backup, Restore and Remove Ads | $1.99 | one-time |


### Noteful

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/noteful-notes-and-pdf-markup/id1587904334)

This app revolutionizes paperless note-taking on iPad, allowing for handwritten notes, document annotation, and knowledge organization. It offers a fluid writing experience, PDF markup, powerful tagging, and audio recording synced with notes.

**Highlights:** Handwritten notes with Apple Pencil, PDF and document annotation, Organize notes with tags, Layers for annotations, Audio recording synced with notes, Import PDFs and MS Office documents

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Family Sharing, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Noteful Pro, Lifetime | $6.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Smooth writing experience
- 👍 Intuitive and easy to use
- 💡 Layers feature
- 👍 Affordable one-time purchase
- 🚀 Efficient and lightweight

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Occasional crashes or freezes
- 🔍 No handwriting recognition or search
- 🔍 Limited text editing options
- 🔍 Lack of advanced features like math conversion
- 🔍 Exporting PDFs loses some formatting

**Reported bugs**

- Syncing issues across devices
- Lasso tool not working properly with PDFs
- Eraser tool not functioning as expected

**Requested features**

- Handwriting recognition and search
- More text editing options (bullet lists, etc.)
- Improved PDF handling and annotations
- Custom templates and sticker support
- Expanded cloud storage options (Dropbox, OneDrive, etc.)


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Whitespace free?

Whitespace is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Noteful free?

Noteful is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Whitespace or Noteful?

Noteful is rated higher. Whitespace averages 2.8 out of 5 from 10 ratings, while Noteful averages 4.8 from 24K ratings.

### Do Whitespace or Noteful have ads?

Neither Whitespace nor Noteful shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Whitespace or Noteful?

Whitespace ships an update every 2 months, and Noteful fortnightly. Most recently, Whitespace was updated on November 1, 2026 and Noteful on November 7, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*