# Neo Notes vs Carbo › Pencil Notes & Drawing

The clearest difference is rating: Carbo › Pencil Notes & Drawing at 4.3 against Neo Notes's 2.4. Carbo › Pencil Notes & Drawing also leads on review sentiment (55% vs 41%). Neo Notes's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and iOS requirement (9.1 vs 18.0). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Carbo › Pencil Notes & Drawing sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Neo Notes asks for nothing beyond the download.

Carbo › Pencil Notes & Drawing holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 2.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 42 and 51 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 41% of Neo Notes's written reviews are positive against 55% of Carbo › Pencil Notes & Drawing's.

Neo Notes ships an update every 2 months, Carbo › Pencil Notes & Drawing every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 20, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Neo Notes | Carbo › Pencil Notes & Drawing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [2.4 (42 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/neo-notes/id916072725/reviews) | **[4.3 (51 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/carbo-pencil-notes-and-drawing/id956811074/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 42 | **51** |
| Positive reviews | 41.1% of reviews | **54.8% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 2 months** | Every 4 months |
| Monetization | **Free** | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 179 MB | 36 MB |
| Requires iOS | **9.1** | 18.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Mac |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [NeoLAB Convergence Inc](https://appshunter.io/developer/916072724) | [Creaceed SRL](https://appshunter.io/developer/291683889) |

## What reviewers say

### Neo Notes

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/neo-notes/id916072725)

This app digitizes your handwritten notes, allowing you to store, edit, and share them easily. It offers transcription to digital text, voice recording synced with notes, and cloud backup options. Enhance productivity and learning by keeping your handwriting accessible anywhere.

**Highlights:** Digitize handwriting instantly, Edit and format notes, Transcribe handwriting to text, Record audio synced with notes, Cloud backup and sync, Share notes in various formats, Tag and search handwritten data

**In-app purchases:** none


### Carbo › Pencil Notes & Drawing

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/carbo-pencil-notes-and-drawing/id956811074)

Capture and organize handwritten notes and sketches digitally. This app preserves the expressiveness of your original drawings with innovative visualization technology. Tag, annotate, and store your creations in the cloud for easy retrieval and sharing.

**Highlights:** Hybrid visualization technology, Image-based input options, Natural sketching with Apple Pencil support, Editable notes and drawings, Tagging and annotation for search, Cloud storage integration, Customizable export styles

**Features:** Family Sharing

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Pro Plan (Monthly) | $3.99 | per month |
| Pro Plan (Yearly) | $9.99 | per year |
| Pro Pack 2 | $23.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Great for sketching ideas
- 👍 Pleasantly surprised by subscription plan
- 👍 Laser-focused on B&W scanning
- 👍 Excellent for capturing notes
- 👍 Manipulate scans easily

**What reviewers complain about**

- 👎 Lacking features for daily use
- 👎 Difficult for diagrams and notes
- 👎 Rudimentary editing tools
- 👎 Lacks color
- 👎 Crippled by lack of export options

**Reported bugs**

- Keeps crashing on iPad
- Update bricks app (crashes on launch)
- Carbo keeps crashing
- Sync problem with Evernote
- Exporting pages (archiving) doesn't work

**Requested features**

- Adding colors
- More pencil sizes
- Ability to handle multi-page docs
- Viable export options (PDF, etc.)
- Ability to bundle pages into PDF


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Neo Notes free?

Neo Notes is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Carbo › Pencil Notes & Drawing free?

Carbo › Pencil Notes & Drawing is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Neo Notes or Carbo › Pencil Notes & Drawing?

Carbo › Pencil Notes & Drawing is rated higher. Neo Notes averages 2.4 out of 5 from 42 ratings, while Carbo › Pencil Notes & Drawing averages 4.3 from 51 ratings.

### Do Neo Notes or Carbo › Pencil Notes & Drawing have ads?

Neither Neo Notes nor Carbo › Pencil Notes & Drawing shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Neo Notes or Carbo › Pencil Notes & Drawing?

Neo Notes ships an update every 2 months, and Carbo › Pencil Notes & Drawing every 4 months. Most recently, Neo Notes was updated on October 24, 2026 and Carbo › Pencil Notes & Drawing on October 20, 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.*