Inkflow vs ZoomNotes

Inkflow

• Brainstorming and planning by hand on an iPad
• Sketching layouts and wireframes that need rearranging
• Classrooms, where the vendor offers volume pricing

ZoomNotes

• iPad users who want fine zoom control for dense notes or sketches
• Building or annotating hyperlinked digital planners
• People who prefer a low one-time price to a subscription

Inkflow

• It is available for iPad and iPhone only; the vendor lists no Android, Windows or web version.
• The free edition has black ink only, 5 fonts and a 20-page limit per book; color, extra tools and unlimited pages need Inkflow Plus.
• The user guide describes manual backup through iTunes File Sharing and does not mention syncing books between devices.
• The App Store listing notes that the free app contains advertising.

ZoomNotes

• The iPhone and iPad app and the Mac app are separate purchases, at $7.99 and $6.99 on the US stores.
• ZoomNotes Lite has a single pen type; extra pens, sub-pages, images, sound, bookmarks and handwriting recognition are in-app purchases.
• It is offered for iPad, iPhone and Mac only; no Android, Windows or web version is listed.
• iCloud sync is elective: each document has to be set to share individually in its properties.

Inkflow

Fountain-pen vector ink

Strokes are stored as vector ink modeled on a fountain pen, so writing stays sharp at any zoom level. It works with a finger or a stylus.

Select, move and resize

Anything on the page can be lassoed, dragged somewhere else or scaled up and down, so lists and sketches can be rearranged after they are written.

Text, photos and paper backgrounds

Text boxes and photos can be placed anywhere and resized along with the ink. Paper options are plain, grid, ruled lines and a music score.

Inkport

Part of Inkflow Plus: the device camera converts handwriting and sketches on paper into vector ink that can be moved and edited like anything drawn in the app.

Apple Pencil mode and palm rejection

With an Apple Pencil connected, a Pencil-only mode ignores marks from the palm and fingers while fingers still zoom and pan. Settings also offer palm rejection and a wrist guard.

Export and sharing

A book exports as a PDF and a page as a high-resolution JPEG, for email, printing or another app. Plus adds PNG export with a transparent background.

ZoomNotes

Unlimited zoom and whiteboard mode

Pages zoom in and out without fixed limits, including rotated views, and a whiteboard page style gives an unbounded surface for mind maps, tree diagrams and flow diagrams.

Eight pens and handwriting recognition

Gel, nib, italic, pencil, watercolour and other pens with any line thickness. Handwritten notes can be searched by keyword and selected handwriting converted to text.

PDF and Office annotation

Write over PDFs and, via Google Drive, over Word, Excel and PowerPoint files. A second document can be opened side by side in split screen.

Sub-pages, layers and links

Pages can hold pages within them, including whole PDFs. Layers control what is visible, and links join pages and documents to build indexes or planners.

Digital planners

Create a planner for any year or import a PDF planner. Planner pages can show events and reminders from the Calendar and Reminders apps.

Sound recording and presentations

Recordings are linked to the strokes drawn while they were captured. Bookmarks animate through a document for AirPlay, an external screen or export to video.

Inkflow

• Inkflow$0

  The Basic edition: fountain pen in black ink, select, move and resize, full-resolution zoom, text, photos and paper backgrounds. Unlimited books, up to 20 pages each.

• Inkflow Plus$12.99

  one-time in-app purchase (US App Store)

  Adds Inkport, a full color palette, pencil and paint brush tools, cut, copy and paste for ink, page management, unlimited pages, all device fonts and custom paper.

ZoomNotes

• ZoomNotes Lite$0

  One pen type, unlimited zoom, PDF markup, split screen, planners and layers. Other features cost $0.99 to $2.99 each, or $7.99 for all of them.

• ZoomNotes Desktop$6.99

  one-time purchase on the Mac App Store (US)

  The Mac app, compatible with documents from the iPhone and iPad versions. Requires macOS 10.13 or later.

• ZoomNotes$7.99

  one-time purchase on the US App Store

  The full iPhone and iPad app, equivalent to the Lite version with every in-app purchase. Family Sharing covers up to six family members.

Inkflow

• Education

  50% off Inkflow Plus in packs of 20 or more

  Schools and businesses can buy Inkflow Plus at half price in packs of 20 or more through Apple's volume purchase program, using the standalone $12.99 Inkflow Plus app.

ZoomNotes

No public discounts listed.