Pencil Box vs CollaNote
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Pencil Box
Unleash your creativity with a versatile drawing tool. Select from various brushes, pens, and shapes, customize their properties, and utilize layers for complex designs. Import and export your artwork seamlessly.
- Multiple drawing tools (airbrush, pen, pencil, line, shapes)
- Adjustable tool color, size, and transparency
- Layer support with transparency and visibility control
- Import drawings from Mail and iTunes
- Export drawings via iTunes
- Sync tool preferences with iCloud
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Pencil Box is a useful drawing tool that allows you to display your artistic talent. You can: - choose your preferred tool - airbrush - pen - pencil - line - rectangle - ellipse - eraser - control tool color, size, and transparency - add layers and control layer transparency and visiblity - import and export drawings via iTunes - import drawings from mail - sync tool preferences between devices using iCloud Pencil Box is an active development. New features are always in the works.
CollaNote
This powerful note-taking app offers a rich set of tools for writing, PDF markup, and digital planning. Enhance your notes with over 25 pens, handwriting stabilization, and AI assistance. Collaborate in real-time and organize your work with unlimited papers and notebooks.
- 25+ pens and brushes
- Handwriting stabilizer
- PDF import and markup
- Flashcard creation
- Real-time collaboration
- AI-powered tools
- Unlimited papers and notebooks
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CollaNote: Powerful note-taking app packed with a wide range of tools. Note-taking, PDF markup, digital planning, and flashcards - all in one place! BUILT FOR APPLE PENCIL WITH AN ENHANCED WRITING EXPERIENCE: - 25+ different pens and brushes to transform your notes into artwork. - Handwriting stabilizer for beautiful, smooth writing. - Enjoy a calming ASMR note-taking experience. - Infinite Arc Menu available for both Apple Pencil Pro and Apple Pencil Gen 2. IMPORT, MARK-UP, AND EXPORT PDF: - Import and mark up PDFs, PPTs, DOCs, and Images effortlessly. - In-built scanner to digitize your physical documents. - Export notes to PDF and share with ease. POWERFUL TOOLS: - Translation tool to learn new languages, supporting over 90 languages. - Create flashcards with audio and images, or use our extensive library. - Beautiful Planners for tracking tasks, deadlines, and schedules. - Record and sync audio directly within your notes. UNLIMITED PAPERS AND NOTEBOOKS: - Unlimited paper with versatile grids/lines and 150+ colorful templates. - Keep all your notes organized and easily accessible from anywhere. - Automatically back up to iCloud and sync across iOS devices. - Smart Dark Mode for optimal visibility in any lighting. - Password protection for ultimate note security. AI POWERED: - Built-in AI Calculator for complex calculations. - AI drawing tools for perfect shapes. - Get intelligent writing and note-taking assistance. - Generate unique stickers with AI. ENGAGING CREATIVE COMMUNITY: - Join the Public Room to connect with creators worldwide. - Real-time collaboration function (unlimited participants). CollaNote's journey began with a student at Hamburg University, who now leads a dedicated team of individuals devoted to delivering the finest digital paper experience. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to our users for their unwavering support since the early days of CollaNote. Download CollaNote now to discover even more surprises!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: CollaNote at 74% against Pencil Box's 0%. CollaNote also leads on ratings volume (15K vs 1) and update cadence (every 6 days vs fortnightly). Pencil Box's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 4) and rating (5.0 vs 4.7). On price, ads, monetization model and device support 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. CollaNote sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Pencil Box asks for nothing beyond the download.
Pencil Box holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: CollaNote has 15K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 0% of Pencil Box's written reviews are positive against 74% of CollaNote's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Pencil Box ships an update fortnightly, CollaNote every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 11, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Pencil Box | CollaNote |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better | 4.7 (15K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 0.0% of reviews | 73.6% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 15K — better |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | Every 6 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 10.0 — better | 18.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 15 MB | 229 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Fays Lane Labs | Zauberberg Lab Company Limited |
Customer experience
Pencil Box
CollaNote
Bugs and requests
Pencil Box
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
CollaNote
Reported bugs
6 issues- Pen and eraser issues after updates
- Freezing and crashing when deleting or moving notes
- Inconsistent behavior of favorite pen settings
- Incompatibility with older devices
- Login screen freezes
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- Random deletion of notes and files
Requested features
12 requests- Add landscape mode support
- Improve text editing and formatting
- Enhance organization with nested folders
- Implement better backup and sync options
- Add more pen/pencil customization
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- Improve collaboration and sharing features
- Introduce a zoom window and auto-advance function
- Add more paper style options
- Implement undo/redo functionality
- Allow resizing and manipulating of selected content
- Provide a dark mode option
- Add advanced analytics and dashboard
In-app purchases
Pencil Box
No in-app purchases
CollaNote
- Lifetime Premium Loyal Users$6.95
- Premium: Time Limited Sale$6.95
- Lifetime Premium Welcome Offer$9.69
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- Lifetime Premium$13.90
