# Transom Note vs Paper

The clearest difference is ratings volume: Paper at 1.7K against Transom Note's 82. Paper also leads on update cadence (monthly vs every 3 months). On price, rating, review sentiment and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Transom Note sells 1 one-off in-app purchase 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 — 4.6 for Transom Note against 4.7 for Paper. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Paper has 1.7K ratings behind it against 82, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 70% of Transom Note's written reviews are positive against 72% of Paper's.

Transom Note ships an update every 3 months, Paper monthly. The most recent releases landed on June 8, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Transom Note | Paper |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.6 (82 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/transom-note-taker-for-writers/id927983947/reviews) | **[4.7 (1.7K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/paper-writing-app-notes/id1476984841/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 82 | **1.7K** |
| Positive reviews | 69.8% of reviews | **72.5% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | **Monthly** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 36 MB | 39 MB |
| Requires iOS | **12.1** | 13.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [VoidMedia](https://appshunter.io/developer/667728532) | [Mihhail Lapushkin](https://appshunter.io/developer/1143513743) |

## What reviewers say

### Transom Note

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/transom-note-taker-for-writers/id927983947)

Capture, tag, and organize your writing ideas effortlessly. This app helps writers keep track of every thought, project, and tag, making it easy to retrieve them when inspiration strikes. Export your notes in various formats for seamless integration into your writing workflow.

**Highlights:** Capture and tag ideas, Organize thoughts by project, Search by tag or project, Archive or delete notes, Export notes as PDF, CSV, or rich-text

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Prompt Credit | $0.99 | one-time |


### Paper

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/paper-writing-app-notes/id1476984841)

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.

**Highlights:** 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

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

**In-app purchases (6)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Pro Features — Discounted | $14.99 | per month |
| Pro Features | $29.99 | per month |
| Pro Features — Discounted | $49.99 | per year |
| Pro Features | $99.99 | per year |
| Pro Features — Discounted | $99.99 | one-time |
| Pro Features | $199.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 💗 Fantastic app
- 🎀 Great tool for writers
- 👍 Clean writing app
- 🤩 Awesome app
- 👍 Cute animations

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Glitchy and unreliable
- 💰 Paywalled features
- 🐛 Lost files and documents
- 🐛 Cursor issues
- 🐛 Buggy and unstable

**Reported bugs**

- Files randomly disappearing
- Cursor issues causing freezes
- Syncing and iCloud integration problems

**Requested features**

- 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


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Transom Note free?

Transom Note is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Paper free?

Paper is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Transom Note or Paper?

Paper is rated higher. Transom Note averages 4.6 out of 5 from 82 ratings, while Paper averages 4.7 from 1.7K ratings.

### Do Transom Note or Paper have ads?

Neither Transom Note nor Paper shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Transom Note or Paper?

Transom Note ships an update every 3 months, and Paper monthly. Most recently, Transom Note was updated on June 8, 2026 and Paper on September 23, 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.*