Notes Writer vs ZoomNotes

Notes Writer

• Students who record lectures and annotate course PDFs on an iPad
• Writers and researchers drafting in Word, Markdown or LaTeX beside their notes
• People who want a one-time Pro unlock in place of a subscription

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

Notes Writer

• The site publishes no prices. The US App Store lists Notes Writer Unlock All and AI at $3.99 and $14.99 without a billing period.
• On a Mac it runs as the iPad app and needs Apple silicon; no Android, Windows or web version is offered.
• The AI Assistant is optional, needs an internet connection, and its included usage depends on the plan.
• A separate paid app, Notes Writer Pro: Beyond PDFs, is listed at $14.99 on the US App Store with its own AI Assistant add-on at $3.99.

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.

Notes Writer

Handwriting with Apple Pencil

Pens, pencils, fountain pens, markers and watercolor tools with an eraser, lasso and ruler, plus shapes, typed text and images alongside handwriting.

PDF annotation

Highlights, ink, comments, signatures and audio on PDFs, with form filling, page organization, text redaction in supported PDFs and measurement of distance and area to scale.

Document editors

Creates and edits DOCX, RTF, Markdown, LaTeX and plain text documents. LaTeX compiles to a typeset PDF with a preview beside the source.

Voice notes with transcripts

Records lectures, interviews or meetings, generates transcripts that can be searched, and attaches recordings to PDF notes and whiteboards.

Study Projects

A tree-like Binder organizes subjects, sources and drafts, a Corkboard plans sections, and selected parts compile into a finished document or ebook.

Math Notebooks and charts

Math Notebooks mix explanations and calculations with Python cells and plot output, and Chart documents turn a data table into column, line, pie or scatter charts.

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.

Notes Writer

• Free$0

  The free download. The site describes Pro, Lifetime Pro and AI-inclusive options as optional upgrades without listing the free limits.

• Weekly$1.99

  per week, as labelled on the US App Store

  An in-app subscription listed only as Weekly; the listing does not say which upgrade it covers.

• Notes Writer Unlock All and AI$3.99 - $14.99

  per item on the US App Store; billing basis not shown

  Listed twice, at $3.99 and $14.99, with no period for either. The site says included AI usage depends on the plan.

• Lifetime Pro Full Unlock$14.99

  one-time in-app purchase on the US App Store

  One-time Pro unlock. The site presents Lifetime Pro and the AI-inclusive options as separate choices.

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.

Notes Writer

• Lifetime license

  Lifetime Pro as a one-time purchase

  The site lists a Lifetime Pro option among its in-app upgrades, and the US App Store shows Lifetime Pro Full Unlock at $14.99.

ZoomNotes

No public discounts listed.