Comparison

Smart Note Notepad vs Pencil

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

Head to head
About

Smart Note Notepad

Create visually appealing notes and memos using professionally designed coloring paper styles. This app offers a simple gallery interface for easy management and editing of your digital creations.

Highlights
  • Gallery interface
  • Customizable paper styles
  • Pinch to zoom
  • Edit cells
  • Draw memos
Features
Read full description

with simple and awesome gallery interface. make beautiful notes and memos with professionally designed coloring paper styles. thank you for your support ! relax and wonderful digital experience on iPhone and iPad ! How to use. pinch And stretch fingers to zoom, press hold or swipe to edit cells in collection, The Creativity Never Ends ! appreciate your encouragement with good comments.

About

Pencil

This app allows users to handwrite, sketch, and annotate PDFs on their iPad and iPhone. It supports Apple Pencil and other styluses for note-taking, drawing, and even watercolor painting. Features include audio recording within notes and AI assistance for summarizing and translation.

Highlights
  • Handwrite and sketch with stylus or finger
  • Annotate and mark up PDFs
  • Record audio directly in notes
  • Create formatted text notes
  • Watercolor painting workspace
  • Scan and import documents
  • AI assistance for summaries and translation
Features
Read full description

Pencil brings handwriting, sketching, PDF annotation and watercolor painting to iPad and iPhone. Designed especially for Apple Pencil on iPad, it also works with other compatible styluses and your finger. Take notes in class, mark up a document, plan your week or paint an idea while it is still fresh. • Write and sketch your way. Use Apple Pencil on iPad, or write and draw with a compatible stylus or your finger on iPad and iPhone. Start a PDF note from a paper template, choose your ink colors and add typed text, images and shapes. Use lined or grid backgrounds to give your notes structure. • Make your PDFs useful. Highlight passages, add comments, write in the margins and insert your signature. Search inside a document, bookmark important pages and rearrange, duplicate or rotate pages as your work develops. • Keep the conversation with your notes. Record audio directly in a PDF note and play it back alongside the page. Revisit a lecture, meeting or explanation without separating the recording from your written notes. • Type when words come first. Create formatted Text Notes with fonts, colors, lists, checklists, tables and images. Turn a quick thought into a clear set of notes, a plan or a longer draft, then export it as a PDF to share. • Explore watercolor painting. Open a dedicated painting workspace, choose your paper and experiment with brushes, mixed colors and washes. Paint from a reference photo, try guided practice lessons and export your painting as an image or PDF. • Bring paper into your notebook. Scan documents with the camera, import files through the Files app and add photos to your work. Keep notes, PDFs and paintings organized in folders, ready to return to when you need them. • Get help from AI. Ask questions about your documents, summarize a passage, explain an unfamiliar concept or translate selected text. Use AI Chat to work through an idea alongside your notes. Privacy Policy: https://www.noteswriter.com/Kairoos_Privacy_Policy.html Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Smart Note Notepad4 screens
Pencil4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Pencil at 4.0 against Smart Note Notepad's 1.0. Pencil also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (weekly vs every 5 months). Smart Note Notepad's advantage is iOS requirement (14.1 vs 26.0). On price, in-app purchases, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Smart Note Notepad sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Pencil sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Pencil holds the better App Store score, 4.0 against 1.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 4 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 10% of Smart Note Notepad's written reviews are positive against 25% of Pencil's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Smart Note Notepad ships an update every 5 months, Pencil weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Smart Note Notepad versus Pencil: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSmart Note NotepadPencil
PriceFreeFree
Rating1.0 (1 ratings)4.0 (4 ratings) — better
Positive reviews10.4% of reviews25.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings14 — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsWeekly — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS14.1 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size22 MB511 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJIN HWAN KIMKairoos Solutions SL

Customer experience

Smart Note Notepad

All ratings1 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%
Written reviews77 reviews
Positive10.4%
Neutral7.8%
Negative81.8%

Pencil

All ratings4 ratings
Positive75.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative25.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive25.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative75.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Smart Note Notepad

One-time1
  • upgrade to pro$3.99
4 purchases

Pencil

Subscriptions3
  • Weekly$1.997 Days
  • Unlock All and AI Assistant3 Days trial$3.991 Month
  • Pencil Annual3 Days trial$14.991 Year
One-time1
  • Pencil Lifetime$14.99

Questions

Is Smart Note Notepad free?
Smart Note Notepad is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Pencil free?
Pencil is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Smart Note Notepad or Pencil?
Pencil is rated higher. Smart Note Notepad averages 1.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while Pencil averages 4.0 from 4 ratings.
Do Smart Note Notepad or Pencil have ads?
Smart Note Notepad shows ads; Pencil does not.
Which is updated more often, Smart Note Notepad or Pencil?
Smart Note Notepad ships an update every 5 months, and Pencil weekly. Most recently, Smart Note Notepad was updated on October 16, 2026 and Pencil on October 30, 2026.

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