Apple Notes vs Drafts
We give Apple Notes a 3.8 GPA and Drafts a 3.6, out of 4.0. Apple Notes grades higher on platforms. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan, features and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Drafts
Quick-capture notes app for Apple devices with text actions
Free plan · from $1.99/mo
How we grade them
| 3.8GPAApple NotesExcellent | 3.6GPADraftsExcellent | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AFree on the App Store, with no in-app purchases. The only money that might come up is iCloud storage: 5 GB is free, and iCloud+ starts at $0.99 a month for 50 GB. | ADrafts Pro is $19.99 a year or $1.99 a month, where paid plans in this category typically start at $5.99 a month. One subscription covers all your Apple devices, and both options work with Family Sharing. |
| Free plan and trial | AEvery feature is free on iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and Apple Vision Pro, plus the browser at iCloud.com. Sync runs on the 5 GB of iCloud storage that comes with an Apple Account. | AUnlimited drafts, editing and iCloud sync are free, and so is running any action that ships with the app or comes from the Drafts Directory. Most people could stay here. Pro is for making your own actions, workspaces, themes and Mail Drop. |
| Features | AText, checklists, tables, scans, sketches and audio recordings with live transcripts, all in one note. Search reads handwriting and the text inside scanned documents. Add tags, Smart Folders, links between notes, shared folders and locked notes. | AIt does capture fully: an inbox, tags, flags, dictation, transcription of audio and video files, and text arriving by Siri, widgets or the share sheet. Actions pass it on to Dropbox, Todoist, Notion, Gmail and more. Underneath sit Shortcuts, URL schemes, AppleScript and JavaScript. |
| Ease of use | A4.8 from about 650,000 App Store ratings. Commenters who tried Obsidian, Notion or Evernote say they settled on it because it's simple and already there. | A4.8 from about 10,800 App Store ratings. Open it and type, since a new page is already waiting. The scripting side is as deep as you care to go, and you can ignore it. |
| Platforms and integrations | BiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and Apple Vision Pro, plus a web version at iCloud.com for everything else. No Android or Windows app, though, and sharing only works with people who use iCloud. | CiPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch only. A Web Capture page can add a draft from any browser, but it can't show or edit what you've got. Its actions do reach plenty of other services, from Dropbox to OneNote. |
| Best for | free notes if you only use Apple devices | catching text fast and sending it somewhere else |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Apple Notes and Drafts. How we grade
Where they differ
- Apple Notes is free. Drafts starts at $1.99 per month, or $19.99 per year.
- Only Apple Notes lists a web app.
- Apple Notes also covers linked notes.
- Drafts also covers dictation, Markdown and workflow automation.
In commonFree planiOSmacOSTranscriptionNotes
At a glance
| Apple Notes | Drafts | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free plan |
| Starts at | Free | $1.99 per month, or $19.99 per year |
| Free plan | The app is listed as free on the App Store, with no in-app purchases. Syncing runs through iCloud, which includes 5 GB of free storage with an Apple Account. | Free to use with unlimited creating, editing and syncing of drafts, and running actions installed with the app or from the Drafts Directory. |
| Free trial | None listed | 7-day free trial on the annual Drafts Pro subscription |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| iOS | ||
| Made by | Apple | Agile Tortoise, Inc. |
| Price read from | apps.apple.com | docs.getdrafts.com |
| Checked | Oct 5, 2026 | Oct 9, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Apple Notes
- People who use only Apple devices
- Quick capture with Quick Note, Siri or dictation on Apple Watch
- Scanning receipts and documents into searchable notes
- Families and friends sharing notes and folders over iCloud
Drafts
- Jotting text down quickly on iPhone, iPad, Mac or Apple Watch
- People who route notes into other apps such as task managers
- Automation fans who script their own text workflows
Worth knowing
Apple Notes
- Apps are listed only for Apple devices; on anything else, notes are reached in a web browser at iCloud.com.
- Notes on iCloud.com works only with notes stored in iCloud, not with notes kept in other accounts such as Google or Yahoo.
- Sync relies on iCloud, which includes 5 GB of free storage; iCloud+ plans with more storage start at $0.99 per month for 50 GB.
- Sharing is limited to people who use iCloud, and Apple says certain features are available only in select languages and regions.
Drafts
- Apps exist only for iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch. The Web Capture page can create drafts in any browser but cannot review or edit them.
- Creating and editing actions, workspaces, themes, Mail Drop and the AI chat console all require the Drafts Pro subscription.
- Sync runs through iCloud and needs the same iCloud account, with iCloud Drive active, on every device.
- A subscription bought on iOS cannot be restored on the Mac App Store or the reverse; it carries over only through a shared iCloud account.
Key features
Apple Notes
- Rich notes
- A note can combine text styles, checklists, tables, photos, PDFs, maps and web links. Section headers collapse to hide the text under them.
- Audio recording and transcripts
- Audio sessions are recorded inside a note with a live transcript, and transcripts are searchable to find a particular moment.
- Document scanner and handwriting
- A built-in scanner captures paper documents. Sketches and handwriting are added with a finger, or with Apple Pencil on a compatible iPad, including on inline PDFs.
- Folders, tags and Smart Folders
- Notes sit in folders and subfolders or carry typed or handwritten tags. Smart Folders collect notes by rules such as date created, checklists or attachments.
- Search and links between notes
- Search covers typed text, handwriting and the text inside scanned documents and photos. Notes can link to one another, with >> as a typing shortcut.
- Shared and locked notes
- Notes and folders can be shared with other iCloud users, with changes shown in real time and an Activity view. A note can be locked with the device passcode or a custom password.
Drafts
- Capture first, file later
- The app opens to a new page with the keyboard ready. Entries go to an inbox and can be tagged, flagged or archived afterwards.
- Actions
- Actions copy, share or send text to other apps and services. Running installed actions is free; creating and editing them needs Drafts Pro.
- Dictation and transcription
- A custom dictation interface built on Apple's speech recognition, plus transcription of existing audio and video files into text.
- Workspaces
- Saved views of the drafts list that restore a preferred tag filter, query and sort order. Workspaces are a Drafts Pro feature.
- Capture from outside the app
- Text can arrive through Siri, widgets, the share extension, a personal Mail Drop email address (Pro) and a Web Capture page for any browser.
- Automation hooks
- Supports Shortcuts, URL schemes, AppleScript and JavaScript scripting in actions, and Pro adds an AI chat console that can query and edit drafts.
Plans
Apple Notes
Free$0
Every feature of the app on iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and Apple Vision Pro, plus browser access at iCloud.com.
Drafts
Free$0
Unlimited drafts, editing and iCloud sync, plus the actions that ship with the app or come from the Drafts Directory.
Drafts Pro$19.99
per year; $1.99 billed monthly
Create and edit actions, themes and custom icons, workspaces, the AI chat console, Mail Drop and enhanced widgets on all Apple devices.
Drafts Pro Patron$29.99
billing period not shown on the App Store listing
A supporter tier with the same features as Drafts Pro, for people who want to pay more toward development.
Ways to pay less
Apple Notes
No public discounts listed.
Drafts
- Annual discount
Annual billing costs about 16% less
Drafts Pro is $19.99 a year or $1.99 a month, so twelve monthly payments come to $23.88 against $19.99 for the annual option.
- Other savings
Family Sharing on both subscriptions
The monthly and annual Drafts Pro subscriptions support Apple Family Sharing, so one subscription can unlock Pro features for the family group.
