Notepad vs Paper
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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
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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.
Paper
This app offers a clean and configurable writing environment for various creative projects. It supports Markdown and plain text, syncs with iCloud, and integrates with other tools. Users can publish drafts to popular blogging platforms and export documents in multiple formats.
- Gorgeous writing space
- Silky-smooth typing
- Deep personalization (Pro)
- Markdown or Plain Text support
- iCloud sync
- Publish to Medium, WordPress, Ghost
- Export to PDF, HTML, DOCX, ePub
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“This is a super-clean writing space with a lot of configurability that stays out of sight when you don’t need it.” App Store Review 2020 # STORY Read it here → paper.pro/story # HIGHLIGHTS · Gorgeous writing space · Silky-smooth typing · Deep personalization (Pro) · Markdown or Plain Text · Syncs with iCloud · Integrates with TextExpander · Publishes drafts to Medium, WordPress, Ghost, or Micro.blog · Exports to PDF, HTML, RTF, DOCX, ePub, image, or clipboard · Works seamlessly across your iPhone, iPad, and Mac # PRO FEATURES Basic adjustments like text size are free in Paper. More advanced personalization can be purchased with Pro Features. You will not be buying anything blindly, though. The trial period for Pro Features is untimed, so you can take your time to decide if they are a worthy investment. While trialing Pro Features, you might occasionally see a popup. Simply press Reset in the popup to get rid of it completely. Pro Features are either a subscription or a one-time purchase. Both the subscription and the one-time purchase unlock Pro Features on all your iPhones and iPads that share the same Apple ID. This subscription (or one-time purchase) applies only to iPhones and iPads. Macs require a separate subscription (or one-time purchase). The one-time purchase is hidden by default. To enable it, go to the Settings app → Apps → Paper → Purchases → toggle "Show Lifetime Option". If you want to upgrade from a Monthly subscription to a Yearly one (or to a Lifetime license), go to Paper’s page in the App Store and press the rounded button with the price next to the Yearly subscription option (or next to the Lifetime in-app purchase). # BUSINESSES, SCHOOLS & ORGANIZATIONS Businesses, schools, and organizations can use one of the following methods to purchase the Pro version of the app: · Apple Business Manager · Apple School Manager · Volume Purchasing The Pro version of the app can be accessed from this link → paper.pro/get # MARKDOWN FORMATTING SYNTAX # Heading 1 ## Heading 2 ### Heading 3 #### Heading 4 ##### Heading 5 ###### Heading 6 **Bold** __Bold__ *Italic* _Italic_ ~Underline~ ~~Strikethrough~~ ==Highlight== ::Highlight:: `Inline Code` ``` Code Block ``` [Link Text](http://paper.pro)  - Bulleted List - Bulleted List - Nested Bulleted List * Bulleted List * Bulleted List * Nested Bulleted List 1. Numbered List 2. Numbered List 3. Numbered List 1. Nested Numbered List - [ ] Task List - [x] Task List > Blockquote >> Nested Blockquote >>> 2x Nested Blockquote Text that needs a footnote[^Footnote description] ++ Inline comment ++ /* Inline comment */ %% Comment block | Col 1 | Col 2 | | ------ | ------ | | Cell 1 | Cell 2 | | Cell 3 | Cell 4 | --- ← Horizontal Rule \_ ← Markdown Escape ° ← HTML Escape # FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ## How do I share my document? · On the main screen with documents: Tap and hold the document. Select "Share" from the menu. · In the document editor: Tap the title of the document in the top bar, then tap the round "Share" button in the popup. ## How do I print my document? · On the main screen with documents: Tap and hold the document. Select "Print" from the menu. · In the document editor: Tap the title of the document in the top bar. Select "Print" from the menu. ## Can I draw in the app? No. Paper is purely a plain-text editor. ## Can I add pictures? You can only link to public images on the Web. ## Can I password-protect my notes? No. ## Paper changes the font when I switch between alphabetic and non-alphabetic keyboards. How do I prevent it? · Change the keyboard to a non-alphabetic one (Japanese, Chinese, Korean, etc.). · Tap the "Settings" button in the top right corner. · Under the "Font" submenu, toggle "Keep for ABC Keyboards". ## Need more help? You can reach me via the in-app chat → "Settings" button in the corner → "Chat with the Maker" # TERMS OF USE paper.pro/terms-of-use
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Paper at none against Notepad's shown. Paper also leads on iOS requirement (15 vs 18.0). Notepad's advantage is update cadence (every 8 days vs monthly) and ratings volume (29K vs 1.7K). On price, rating, in-app purchases and monetization model 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
Both are free to download. Notepad sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and Paper sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $14.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Notepad against 4.7 for Paper. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Notepad has 29K ratings behind it against 1.7K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 84% of Notepad's written reviews are positive against 72% of Paper's.
Notepad ships an update every 8 days, Paper monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Notepad | Paper |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (29K ratings) — better | 4.7 (1.7K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 84.3% of reviews — better | 72.2% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 29K — better | 1.7K |
| Update frequency | Every 8 days — better | Monthly |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 15 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 74 MB | 85 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | 1381802 Ontario Inc. | Mihhail Lapushkin |
Customer experience
Notepad
Paper
User reviews
Notepad
From 29K App Store ratingsWhat 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
Paper
From 1.7K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 💗 Fantastic app
- 🎀 Great tool for writers
- 👍 Clean writing app
- 🤩 Awesome app
- 👍 Cute animations
Room to improve
- 🐛 Glitchy and unreliable
- 💰 Paywalled features
- 🐛 Lost files and documents
- 🐛 Cursor issues
- 🐛 Buggy and unstable
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
Paper
Reported bugs
3 issues- Files randomly disappearing
- Cursor issues causing freezes
- Syncing and iCloud integration problems
Requested features
5 requests- Add image support
- Improve file management and recovery
- Expand font and customization options
- Implement team/collaborative writing features
- Add text formatting options like italics and bold
In-app purchases
Notepad
- Monthly Premium Membership$1.991 Month
- Monthly Premium Subscription$2.991 Month
- Yearly Premium Subscription$14.991 Year
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- Yearly Premium Subscription$17.991 Year
- Lifetime Premium Membership$19.99
- Lifetime Premium Membership$29.99
- Lifetime Premium Membership$39.99
Paper
- Pro Features — Discounted$14.991 Month
- Pro Features$29.991 Month
- Pro Features — Discounted$49.991 Year
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- Pro Features$99.991 Year
- Pro Features — Discounted$99.99
- Pro Features$199.99









