Comparison

PaperCut vs Goodnotes

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

Head to head
About

PaperCut

Features
Read full description

Take pictures of your bills and upload them to the accounting portal of your choice. You will never forget any of you bills for your accounting again, they get stored securely and you account them, whenever you like. Accounting has never been easier!

About

Goodnotes

Capture ideas and unlock insights with powerful AI tools for note-taking, brainstorming, and document creation. Enhance productivity for professionals and students with features like AI transcription, summarization, and interactive study sets.

Highlights
  • AI-powered transcription and summarization
  • Infinite canvas for brainstorming and diagramming
  • Handwritten notes with searchable text
  • Interactive study sets with flashcards
  • Document creation with rich text blocks
  • Real-time collaboration on notes
  • Presentation mode with laser pointer
Features
Read full description

Goodnotes has always been the place to capture your ideas — from quick notes to big plans. Now, it goes further. With powerful AI and new ways to capture information, Goodnotes helps you connect the dots, unlock insights, and turn ideas into action. *Existing Goodnotes 5 users can continue to use Goodnotes 5 indefinitely or upgrade to the new Goodnotes. Either way, your notes are safe!* For professionals: Increase productivity at work ■ Whiteboard + Goodnotes AI: Brainstorm, mind-map, and diagram freely on an infinite canvas that grows with your ideas. Enhanced diagramming tools and real-time collaboration make it easy for teams to workshop & ideate together, while Goodnotes AI helps you capture and organize key takeaways instantly. ■ Goodnotes AI Audio & Meetings: Stay fully present in every conversation while Goodnotes does the work for you. AI-powered transcription and live summarization automatically capture discussions and turns them into clear meeting minutes. After the meeting, merge transcripts with your own handwritten or typed notes to create polished, shareable documents in seconds. ■ Text Documents + AI: Create documents that think with you. Enjoy a superior typing experience with rich inline blocks, build on ideas with external insights, and collaborate seamlessly with teammates. With AI-powered summarization, automated note generation, and transcript support, turn rough notes and meetings into finished content faster than ever. ■ Present your notes, slides, and content directly from Goodnotes when you connect your device via AirPlay or HDMI to an external screen. ■ Use Laser Pointer to guide your audience's attention during your presentation. ■ Export your handwritten and typed notes to email, print, or share them anywhere as PDFs. ■ Send a link to your notebooks to work on the same notes. ■ Import documents by emailing them to your custom Goodnotes email. For students: Ace your exams with ease ■ Record audio notes that are magically synced to your iPhone or iPad exact moment you write: perfect for lectures, seminars, and presentations. ■ Take handwritten notes that stay fully searchable: instantly find any word across every class notebook, even mid-lecture. ■ Study and practice straight from your notes with study Sets: flashcards built on active recall and spaced repetition. ■ Use AI to summarize, shorten, change the tone of your words, and turn messy handwritten or typed student notes into polished, structured study material. For planners and journalers: Let your creativity flow ■ Plan your week, month, or year on your iPhone/ iPad with built-in and importable planner templates, fully customizable to match how you plan. ■ Keep a daily journal alongside your planner. Combine handwriting, typed reflections, photos, and stickers on the same page. ■ Use Goodnotes AI to summarize a week's worth of journal entries on your iPhone or iPad into key themes and takeaways. ■ Customize the size and color of your paper templates to create the planner or journal you want. ■ Add, create, or import stickers, stamps, washi tapes, images, and more on your iPad. Digital notebooks: unlimited notebooks for the price of a single physical one ■ Combine handwriting and typed text on one page, alongside images, stickers, diagrams, and doodles. ■ Create digital notebooks, planners, and journals with customizable paper templates, including Blank Paper, Ruled Paper, Cornell Paper, Checklists, Planners, and more. ■ Navigate long documents with ease. PDF tables of contents are automatically imported, or create custom outlines yourself. ■ Back up all your handwritten and typed notes to Google Drive, Dropbox, or OneDrive, and use iCloud to sync across iPad, iPhone, and Mac — so your notes are always safe. ■ Edit your handwriting by resizing it, changing the text color, or moving it to another spot on the page. Privacy Policy: https://www.goodnotes.com/privacy-policy Terms and Conditions: https://www.goodnotes.com/terms-and-conditions

Screenshots

PaperCut1 screens
Goodnotes4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: PaperCut at none against Goodnotes's 10. PaperCut also leads on iOS requirement (14.7 vs 18.6). Goodnotes's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 7 months) and chart position (#99 vs unranked). On price, ads 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Goodnotes sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. PaperCut asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PaperCut ships an update every 7 months, Goodnotes weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and November 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
PaperCut versus Goodnotes: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPaperCutGoodnotes
PriceFreeFree
Rating—4.7 (469K ratings) — better
Positive reviews—33.8% of reviews
Number of ratings—469K — better
Update frequencyEvery 7 monthsWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
Monetization—Free with in-app purchases
Best chart rank—#99 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS14.7 — better18.6
Further details — not scored
Size16 MB781 MB
Age rating12+4+
Developermanubu gmbhGoodnotes Limited

Bugs and requests

PaperCut

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Goodnotes

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Text box issues - unable to edit, resize, or move properly
  • Handwriting recognition problems, especially with cursive
  • Unreliable scrolling and page navigation
  • Inconsistent behavior when using the zoom feature

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add bullet point and formatting options for typed text
  • Implement a full-screen writing mode
  • Improve the straight line and shape tools
  • Integrate audio recording and synchronization
  • Allow more customization of the toolbar and interface

In-app purchases

None

PaperCut

No in-app purchases

9 purchases

Goodnotes

Subscriptions4
  • AI Pass (Monthly)7 Days trial$9.991 Month
  • Essential (Yearly)7 Days trial$11.991 Year
  • Essential (Yearly)1 Year trial2 variants$11.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Goodnotes Pro (Yearly)7 Days trial$35.991 Year
One-time5
  • Goodnotes 6 Free TrialFree
  • Marketplace Content$1.99
  • Marketplace Content$9.99
Show 2 more
  • Goodnotes 6 One-Time Payment$28.99
  • Special Edition$35.99

Questions

Is PaperCut free?
PaperCut is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Goodnotes free?
Goodnotes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do PaperCut or Goodnotes have ads?
Neither PaperCut nor Goodnotes shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PaperCut or Goodnotes?
PaperCut ships an update every 7 months, and Goodnotes weekly. Most recently, PaperCut was updated on October 29, 2026 and Goodnotes on November 10, 2026.

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