Comparison

LiquidText vs StretchPaper

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

Head to head
About

LiquidText

This app provides a dynamic workspace for reviewing and organizing information from documents and webpages. It allows users to extract key facts, connect ideas across different sources, and annotate content for research, writing, or study.

Highlights
  • Import documents and webpages
  • Extract and organize excerpts
  • Connect ideas with ink links
  • Compare document sections
  • Annotate PDFs, Word, and PowerPoint
  • Search across all documents
Features
Read full description

*** Named “Most Innovative iPad App of the Year” by Apple App Store *** LiquidText offers a fast, natural way to review, gather, and organize information across all your documents and webpages—then apply the results to writing reports, meeting prep, or simply studying. Pull out key facts and connect them together, squeeze a document to compare sections, draw a line to connect ideas in different documents, comment on multiple pages at once, build upon your thoughts, and much more. ► WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING: * "If you want to experience the power of going beyond paper, you can download LiquidText" – Cult of Mac * One of Macworld’s Top 24 Apps for iPad Pro * One of Time Magazine's Ten Best apps for iPad Pro * * "There's a better way to organize your research, and the app is it." – iMore, Serenity Caldwell * “All you need for deep research projects.” – Macworld, Jackie Dove * "The world changed with...LiquidText" – Law360, Paul Kiesel * "LiquidText may just be *the* app for reviewing and annotating PDFs using Apple's tablet and stylus." – CIO Magazine, James Martin * “One of the most powerful, original iPad apps I've tried in years” – Federico Viticci, MacStories.net ► LIQUIDTEXT’S COMPLETE FEATURE SET INCLUDES: (Features with * require a paid upgrade.) Import • Create a workspace and import all the documents and web pages you need • Compatible with PDF, Word, and PowerPoint document types • Import from Dropbox, iCloud Drive, Box, email, and more • Import content from webpage or send to LiquidText directly from Safari • Instant OCR to select text in scanned documents; do a full document-OCR to search as well!* • Import documents & metadata directly from reference managers (supports Zotero and Mendeley)* Interact • Pull excerpts from all the documents in your project into the Workspace area • Add your own notes (typed or written) to the Workspace area • Freely draw on your notes, or on the workspace itself* • Organize excerpts and notes into groups • Connect anything - draw live “ink links” that span pages, documents, notes, and more* • Create mind-maps by drawing “ink links” connecting your excerpts/notes to one another * • Get context - tap notes and excerpts to find original source Compare • Pinch a document to compare different distant pages side by side • Collapse text to see annotated parts side-by-side • Collapse text to view search results(s) side-by-side • Import unlimited number of documents into a project, view up to 3 at once* Annotate • Freely draw* or highlight on your document, notes, or the workspace itself • Add margin notes/comments to text, images, notes, and excerpts • Comment on two or more selections simultaneously • Replace document with a newer version (and annotations are brought to new doc)* Search • Search for keywords across all your LiquidText documents • Find keywords in title or text of your documents* • Bulk highlight, tag, or link to your search results* Realtime Collaboration • Invite colleagues into your shared projects and work together in near realtime* • Leave comments and notifications for your collaborators* • Privacy controls: set whether each workspace & document in your project is shared or private* Easy Export • Export your project as a PDF (includes your Workspace and documents) • Export your project as a Word file (converts your notes/excerpts into a linear document) • Send a full LiquidText file for those with the app. • Send files by email or to Dropbox, iCloud Drive, Zotero, and more* Sync & Backup* • Real-time, cross-platform sync • Continuous cloud backup • Multi-device display: • Use your desktop or tablet as additional display for your other device • Use your tablet for freehand inking while viewing and keyboarding on your desktop See our terms of use at https://www.liquidtext.net/terms-of-use Learn more at LiquidText.net | Better Than Paper

About

StretchPaper

Unleash your creativity on an expansive, virtually endless digital canvas. This app allows for detailed note-taking, intricate diagramming, and artistic expression without space constraints. Export your work in various formats, customize your tools, and enjoy a seamless drawing experience.

Highlights
  • Infinite canvas
  • Note-taking
  • Diagramming
  • Artistic drawing
  • Export as images/PDFs
  • Vector manipulation
  • Custom pen definitions
Features
Read full description

Take notes and draw on an infinite* canvas! Stretchpaper is a new way to take notes, make diagrams, and show your artistic talent. With an infinite canvas, you'll never run out of room. Stretchpaper is both fun and useful! Export your drawings as images or mega-pdfs, manipulate vectors, define your own pens, and more. Works great on the iPad, but works best with the Apple Pencil and iPad Pro! * not actually infinite, but close enough!

Screenshots

LiquidText4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: LiquidText at Free against StretchPaper's $2.99. LiquidText also leads on rating (4.6 vs 3.8) and ratings volume (6.4K vs 64). StretchPaper's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 13) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 17.6). On review sentiment, update cadence and ads 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

LiquidText is free to download; StretchPaper costs $2.99 up front. LiquidText sells 13 in-app purchases, starting at $5.49 per month. StretchPaper asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

LiquidText holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 3.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: LiquidText has 6.4K ratings behind it against 64, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 50% and 50% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

LiquidText ships an update every 2 weeks, StretchPaper every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
LiquidText versus StretchPaper: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLiquidTextStretchPaper
PriceFree — better$2.99
Rating4.6 (6.4K ratings) — better3.8 (64 ratings)
Positive reviews49.6% of reviews50.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings6.4K — better64
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac — betteriPad
Requires iOS17.611.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size317 MB12 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperLiquidText, Inc.Infinite State Machine Inc.

Customer experience

LiquidText

All ratings6,377 ratings
Positive91.3%
Neutral3.0%
Negative5.8%
Written reviews1,465 reviews
Positive49.6%
Neutral13.7%
Negative36.7%

StretchPaper

All ratings64 ratings
Positive67.2%
Neutral7.8%
Negative25.0%
Written reviews72 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral15.3%
Negative34.7%

User reviews

LiquidText

From 6.4K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Powerful annotation and organization features
  • 📚 Excellent for academic and research work
  • 💡 Innovative concept and workflow
  • 🤖 Responsive and helpful customer support
  • 🖼️ Smooth integration with Apple Pencil

Room to improve

  • 💰 Expensive, especially for the subscription model
  • 🐛 Buggy and unstable at times
  • 🤯 Steep learning curve and unintuitive interface
  • 🔗 Lack of seamless cross-device sync and integration
  • 🔍 Navigation and file management issues

StretchPaper

From 64 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 💡 Infinite canvas/zoom
  • 👍 Simple and easy to use
  • 💡 Good for mind maps/brainstorming
  • 💡 Useful for Apple Pencil
  • 💡 Great for freehand flowcharts

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes frequently
  • 🐛 Lost work/data loss
  • 🐛 Poor palm rejection
  • 🐛 Finger drawing issues
  • 🐛 Export/share crashes

Bugs and requests

LiquidText

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Frequent crashes and data loss issues
  • Inconsistent behavior with Apple Pencil
  • Text selection and highlighting problems
  • Sync issues between iPad and Mac versions
  • Unexpected changes to existing annotations

Requested features

5 requests
  • Dark mode option
  • Improved palm rejection and writing experience
  • Better export and sharing options
  • Thumbnail/outline view for easier navigation
  • Ability to rotate and resize text/image annotations

StretchPaper

Reported bugs

24 issues
  • Crashes and lost all work
  • App crashes when trying to share/export
  • Paste function not working
  • Undo doesn't go back far enough
  • Delete then undo bug
Show 19 more
  • Palm rejection issues
  • Finger drawing interferes with pen
  • Content disappears
  • Strokes disappearing
  • Grid is hard to see
  • App crashes without saving
  • Force closes when sharing to PDF
  • Glitchy export
  • App shuts down and glitches appear
  • Marks moving after undo/redo or app reopen
  • Notes shift slightly after reopening
  • Cannot load bigger workspaces
  • Takes forever to load smaller workspaces
  • Developer not responding to support requests
  • Export/share brings up nsurl error
  • Lines jump on screen
  • Color selection buggy
  • Cannot inactivate finger writing
  • Canvas size limit

Requested features

22 requests
  • Add 2-finger tap to undo
  • Add 3-finger tap to redo
  • Disable finger drawing/touch input
  • Add ruler/scale feature
  • Add shape detection
Show 17 more
  • Add text layer/typed text
  • Add import vector image
  • Add folder system
  • Add cloud backup (iCloud/Dropbox)
  • Add copy/paste functionality for images/elements
  • Add layers
  • Add color palette
  • Add ability to rename files
  • Add straight edge tool
  • Add zoom lock feature
  • Add quick undo gesture
  • Add sync to iCloud
  • Add ability to resize canvas to initial state
  • Add Spline tools
  • Add standard type tool
  • Add export to other formats
  • Add more zoom levels

In-app purchases

13 purchases

LiquidText

Subscriptions10
  • LiquidText Live, Monthly, Stu7 Days trial$5.491 Month
  • LiquidText Live, Monthly, StPr7 Days trial$5.491 Month
  • LiquidText Unlimited, Mo, Stu7 Days trial$10.901 Month
Show 7 more
  • LiquidText Live, Monthly7 Days trial$10.901 Month
  • LiquidText Live, Monthly, Upg7 Days trial$10.901 Month
  • LiquidText Unlimited, Yr, Stu7 Days trial$19.001 Month
  • LiquidText Live, Yearly, Stu7 Days trial$54.901 Year
  • LiquidText Live, Yearly7 Days trial$99.991 Year
  • LiquidText Live, Yearly, Upg7 Days trial$99.991 Year
  • LiquidText Unlimited, Yr7 Days trial$189.991 Year
One-time3
  • LT Pro - For Students$19.99
  • LiquidText Pro$29.99
  • LiquidText Pro II$89.99
None

StretchPaper

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is LiquidText free?
LiquidText is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is StretchPaper free?
StretchPaper costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, LiquidText or StretchPaper?
LiquidText is rated higher. LiquidText averages 4.6 out of 5 from 6.4K ratings, while StretchPaper averages 3.8 from 64 ratings.
Do LiquidText or StretchPaper have ads?
Neither LiquidText nor StretchPaper shows ads.
Which is updated more often, LiquidText or StretchPaper?
LiquidText ships an update every 2 weeks, and StretchPaper every 3 weeks. Most recently, LiquidText was updated on September 25, 2026 and StretchPaper on September 22, 2026.

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