Comparison

Notepad vs MyScript Notes

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

Head to head
About

Notepad

Capture thoughts, create to-do lists, and organize ideas with a versatile digital notebook. Supports handwriting, text notes, and secure cloud syncing. Personalize your experience with custom themes and icons.

Highlights
  • Create to-do lists with checkboxes
  • Unlimited text notes
  • Handwritten notes with Apple Pencil
  • Organize notes into folders
  • Pin and sort notes
  • iCloud backup and sync
  • Advanced search functionality
Features
Read full description

Jot down notes and organize your ideas with Notepad—the classic notepad writing app designed for keeping track of everything that matters. [ TO-DO LISTS ] • Create beautiful task lists with interactive checkboxes to track your daily tasks and goals. • Drag and drop to reorder items—organize your to-dos exactly how you want them. • Enjoy the satisfying experience of checking off completed tasks as you get things done. • Perfect for shopping lists, daily chores, project tasks, and everything in between. [ NOTES ] • Create unlimited text notes with rich formatting—quickly and easily. • Tap anywhere to start typing—it's simple, fast, and always saved automatically. • Works perfectly in both light and dark mode. [ RICH TEXT FORMATTING ] • Style your notes with bold, italic, underline, and strikethrough. • Choose from 7 text colors and 7 highlight colors to make important details stand out. • Pick from 18 handpicked font families—each with proper bold and italic variants. • A convenient formatting toolbar sits right above the keyboard for fast access. • Switch fonts anytime—your existing formatting is preserved. [ HANDWRITTEN NOTES WITH APPLE PENCIL ] • Capture your thoughts naturally with fluid, responsive handwriting that feels like pen on paper. • Create beautiful handwritten notes, diagrams, and drawings with realistic ink flow and pressure sensitivity. • Choose from fountain pens, pencils, and highlighters with customizable colors for a personalized writing experience. • Enjoy our adaptive paper grid that works perfectly in any orientation or device. [ FOLDERS - ORGANIZE YOUR NOTES ] • Organize notes into folders and subfolders with a clean, nested structure. • Assign a unique color to each folder, making it simple to categorize and find notes at a glance. • Drag-and-drop to reorder, and move multiple notes easily. [ PIN & SORT NOTES ] • Pin important notes to the top and sort by date, custom order, or alphabetical order. [ BACKUP WITH ICLOUD ] • Keep notes safe with automatic backups and iCloud sync across your devices. [ PERSONALIZE YOUR NOTEPAD ] • Give your notepad a personal touch with unique app icons, custom colors, stylish fonts, and a sleek dark mode for night owls. [ FIND NOTES FAST ] • Use advanced search tools and text highlighting to track down exactly what you're looking for. [ KEEP YOUR NOTES SAFE ] • Lock your notes with FaceID or TouchID for extra privacy. [ SHARE & PRINT ] • Send your notes to other apps like Mail or WhatsApp, or print them directly from Notepad. [ PREMIUM FEATURES FOR POWER USERS ] • Go ad-free, unlock exclusive themes, and get advanced sorting options with Premium. Notepad combines the nostalgic feel of a simple notebook with the functionality of today's tech. Use Notepad for everything from brainstorming ideas and setting personal reminders to creating shopping lists, to-do lists, grocery lists, chores lists, appointment notes, class notes, daily goals, password hints, birthday reminders, packing lists, travel itineraries, and more. Write, organize, and stay on top of everything that matters—download Notepad now and stay productive your way! Terms of Use & Privacy Policy: https://www.oldnotepad.com/terms.

About

MyScript Notes

Transform handwritten notes into editable text with advanced AI. Brainstorm on an infinite canvas, annotate PDFs, and create structured documents. Supports 66 languages and works across devices.

Highlights
  • AI handwriting recognition
  • Infinite canvas for brainstorming
  • PDF annotation
  • Handwriting to typed text conversion
  • Math equation recognition
  • Multi-language support
Features
Read full description

Create stunning notes and professional documents effortlessly by hand, brainstorm ideas on an infinite canvas, and annotate PDFs seamlessly. Powered by the world's leading AI handwriting recognition technology, MyScript Notes offers a dynamic platform where handwriting, text, drawings, diagrams, and images seamlessly coexist on an expandable canvas. Enhance your note-taking experience with intuitive pen gestures, effortlessly converting handwriting and shapes into typed text and precise forms. MyScript Notes understands every word you write in your choice of 66 languages, and works on mobile platforms — so you can access and search your notes from any compatible device. Enjoy 4 powerful experiences in one app: • Create unlimited notebooks and fixed-size pages for your daily notes. • Take freeform notes on boards — the world's most advanced endless canvas. • Handwrite responsive documents, adding math calculations and diagrams. • Import existing files as PDFs, ready to annotate. Start with a 7-day free trial to get the full experience — then choose to upgrade to keep all features, or continue with a free limited version. ———————— DIGITAL HANDWRITING • Write¹, type or dictate in the same page, sentence or even word. • Accurately convert handwriting and math to typed text, and drawn diagrams to perfect shapes. Diagrams stay editable when pasted into PowerPoint! • Write emoji and symbols with your pen. • Highlight ideas live with a glowing laser pointer — no marks left behind. • Draw straight lines with the ruler — drag, rotate and snap it into place to draw at any angle. EDIT WITH YOUR PEN • Use intuitive gestures to edit and format content without breaking your flow. • Use the marker to highlight or color, the lasso to select, and the eraser to delete entire strokes or precisely defined content. WRITE, TYPE AND DRAW FREELY ON A BOARD • Enjoy an infinite canvas, ideal for brainstorming, mind mapping and freeform note-taking. • Pan around and zoom in or out for a fresh perspective. • Use the lasso to select, move, copy, delete or resize content — and to convert handwriting to typed text. SWITCH TO A DOCUMENT FOR A RESPONSIVE EXPERIENCE • Create and edit structured notes — your handwriting will automatically reflow as needed. • Make edits, adjust layout, rotate your device or split your screen without worrying about readability. ENRICH YOUR NOTES • Personalize content using a range of pen types and page backgrounds. • Add photos, sketches and smart objects like math and diagrams. • Handwrite math equations and matrices across several lines, solve simple calculations and copy math as LaTeX or image. ———————— MyScript Notes respects your privacy and never stores content on our servers without your explicit consent. For help or feature requests, create a ticket at https://myscri.pt/support Check out MyScript Notes' webpage for more information about cross-platform: https://www.myscript.com/notes ———————— ¹You can use any compatible active or passive pen, including Apple Pencil, to write in MyScript Notes. Check minimum and recommended requirements for MyScript Notes: https://myscri.pt/notes-devices

Screenshots

Notepad4 screens
MyScript Notes4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: MyScript Notes at none against Notepad's shown. Notepad's advantage is review sentiment (84% vs 66%). On price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence there is nothing between them.

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. Notepad sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and MyScript Notes sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Notepad against 4.7 for MyScript Notes. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 28K and 39K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 84% of Notepad's written reviews are positive against 66% of MyScript Notes's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Notepad ships an update every 8 days, MyScript Notes every 10 days. Both last shipped on October 13, 2026.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Notepad versus MyScript Notes: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNotepadMyScript Notes
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (28K ratings) — better4.7 (39K ratings)
Positive reviews84.3% of reviews — better66.1% of reviews
Number of ratings28K39K — better
Update frequencyEvery 8 days — betterEvery 10 days
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.017.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size75 MB266 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developer1381802 Ontario Inc.MyScript

Customer experience

Notepad

All ratings28,397 ratings
Positive96.6%
Neutral1.8%
Negative1.5%
Written reviews972 reviews
Positive84.3%
Neutral4.4%
Negative11.3%

MyScript Notes

All ratings38,634 ratings
Positive94.2%
Neutral2.6%
Negative3.2%
Written reviews2,192 reviews
Positive66.1%
Neutral12.5%
Negative21.4%

User reviews

Notepad

From 28K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Simple and easy to use
  • 📝 Useful for notes, lists, and reminders
  • 🎨 Customizable font and color options
  • 💾 Reliable for storing important information
  • 🔍 Helpful search functionality

Room to improve

  • 💰 Premium subscription required to remove ads
  • 🐛 Occasional data loss or note disappearance
  • 📤 Lack of sharing or exporting options
  • 🔒 No password protection for individual notes

MyScript Notes

From 39K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Excellent handwriting recognition
  • 👍 Intuitive and responsive interface
  • 💡 Useful gestures and shortcuts
  • 🚀 Fast conversion of handwriting to text
  • 👍 Ability to organize notes in notebooks and collections

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes and freezes
  • 🐛 Issues with syncing and data loss
  • 🐛 Inconsistent behavior with formatting and editing
  • 💡 Lack of keyboard support and text editing features
  • 💡 Limited customization options for paper styles and fonts

Bugs and requests

Notepad

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Notes randomly disappearing
  • Ads covering up the note-taking area

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add drawing/highlighting tools
  • Integrate with calendar and contacts
  • Ability to sort and organize notes
  • Option to password protect specific notes

MyScript Notes

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • App crashes when importing large documents
  • Handwriting recognition fails for certain symbols and abbreviations
  • Formatting issues when converting handwritten notes to text
  • Sync issues leading to data loss across devices
  • Inability to move or rearrange pages within notebooks

Requested features

6 requests
  • Add support for keyboard input and text editing
  • Improve syncing and backup functionality
  • Introduce more customization options for paper styles and fonts
  • Enhance diagram and equation handling capabilities
  • Implement better collaboration and sharing features
Show 1 more
  • Add support for dark mode and night-friendly themes

In-app purchases

7 purchases

Notepad

Subscriptions4
  • Monthly Premium Membership$1.991 Month
  • Monthly Premium Subscription$2.991 Month
  • Yearly Premium Subscription$14.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Yearly Premium Subscription$17.991 Year
One-time3
  • Lifetime Premium Membership$19.99
  • Lifetime Premium Membership$29.99
  • Lifetime Premium Membership$39.99
9 purchases

MyScript Notes

Subscriptions2
  • MyScript Notes – Full Access$1.991 Month
  • MyScript Notes – Full Access$7.991 Year
One-time7
  • PDF Pack2 variants$4.99
  • Connect Pack$4.99
  • Essentials Pack$4.99
Show 4 more
  • Full version$9.99
  • Nebo Pro$9.99
  • Full version$14.99
  • MyScript Notes – Full Access$29.99

Questions

Is Notepad free?
Notepad is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is MyScript Notes free?
MyScript Notes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Notepad or MyScript Notes?
Notepad is rated higher. Notepad averages 4.8 out of 5 from 28K ratings, while MyScript Notes averages 4.7 from 39K ratings.
Do Notepad or MyScript Notes have ads?
Notepad shows ads; MyScript Notes does not.
Which is updated more often, Notepad or MyScript Notes?
Notepad ships an update every 8 days, and MyScript Notes every 10 days. Most recently, Notepad was updated on October 13, 2026 and MyScript Notes on October 13, 2026.

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