# Notepad vs Noteful

The clearest difference is ads: Noteful at none against Notepad's shown. Noteful also leads on iOS requirement (16.4 vs 18.0). On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Notepad sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and Noteful sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. 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 4.8 for Noteful. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 29K and 24K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 84% of Notepad's written reviews are positive against 87% of Noteful's.

Notepad ships an update every 8 days, Noteful fortnightly. Both last shipped on October 16, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | Notepad | Noteful |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.8 (29K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/notepad-easy-notes-and-memos/id725368535/reviews) | [4.8 (24K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/noteful-notes-and-pdf-markup/id1587904334/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **29K** | 24K |
| Positive reviews | 84.3% of reviews | **87.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | **Every 8 days** | Fortnightly |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Size | 74 MB | 157 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | **16.4** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [1381802 Ontario Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/318613521) | [Noteful Technologies Ltd](https://appshunter.io/developer/1587904336) |

## What reviewers say

### Notepad

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/notepad-easy-notes-and-memos/id725368535)

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

**In-app purchases (7)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly Premium Membership | $1.99 | per month |
| Monthly Premium Subscription | $2.99 | per month |
| Yearly Premium Subscription | $14.99 | per year |
| Yearly Premium Subscription | $19.99 | per year |
| Lifetime Premium Membership | $19.99 | one-time |
| Lifetime Premium Membership | $29.99 | one-time |
| Lifetime Premium Membership | $49.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

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

**What reviewers complain about**

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

**Reported bugs**

- Notes randomly disappearing
- Ads covering up the note-taking area

**Requested features**

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


### 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 Notepad free?

Notepad 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, Notepad or Noteful?

Notepad and Noteful are both rated 4.8 out of 5 on the App Store, from 29K and 24K ratings respectively.

### Do Notepad or Noteful have ads?

Notepad shows ads; Noteful does not.

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

Notepad ships an update every 8 days, and Noteful fortnightly. Most recently, Notepad was updated on October 16, 2026 and Noteful on October 16, 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.*