Squid vs Stylus Labs Write

Squid

• Students and teachers writing by hand on Android tablets or Chromebooks
• Marking up, grading or signing PDFs with a pen
• People who want notes kept on the device with no account

Stylus Labs Write

• People who take handwritten notes on both a tablet and a desktop computer
• Stylus users on Linux or Windows who want an open file format
• Editing handwriting after the fact: inserting space, moving and reflowing lines

Squid

• Squid is an Android app only. It also runs on Chromebooks that have the Play Store; no iPhone, iPad, desktop or web version is offered.
• PDF import, the highlighter, true eraser, shapes, typed text, premium backgrounds and cloud backup are all paid features.
• Google Play gives in-app prices only as a range of $1.00 to $14.99 per item, without saying which is monthly, yearly or one-time.
• Purchases are tied to the app store account used to buy them and apply only on the same platform and app store.

Stylus Labs Write

• Typed text is not supported: the FAQ says Write can display text in an SVG document but cannot edit it.
• There is no built-in sync; the FAQ suggests syncing the document folder with a third-party tool, or saving to cloud folders in the iOS Files app.
• Google Play updates are suspended, and that listing was last updated in December 2021; the current Android build is an APK from the vendor's site.
• The free iOS app watermarks every page until the $8.99 full version is bought.

Squid

Vector ink engine

Strokes stay sharp at any zoom level and can be selected, moved, resized, recolored and reweighted later. A stroke eraser removes whole letters or words at once.

Active pen support

On devices with an active pen, such as Samsung devices with S Pen, the pen writes and a finger erases, with pressure sensitivity and quick actions on the pen's side button.

Paper types and sizes

Pages are infinite by default or sized as letter, legal or A4. Blank, ruled and graph paper are free; math, engineering, music, sports and planning backgrounds need Squid Premium.

PDF markup

A premium feature that imports a PDF as a note to annotate, fill in or sign, then exports the result as a new PDF. It is also sold on its own as an in-app purchase.

Presentation mode

Casts a note to a TV or projector so a tablet works as a virtual whiteboard, or shows imported slides that can be written on during a talk.

Export and cloud backup

Notes export to PDF, PNG, JPEG or Squid Note format. Squid Premium adds backup at set intervals and bulk PDF export to Google Drive, Dropbox or Box.

Stylus Labs Write

Tools that follow lines of handwriting

Insert Space adds blank lines or room between words and reflows the paragraph, including multicolumn layouts. Ruled erase and select work on whole lines of writing in one pass.

Bookmarks and handwritten links

A bookmark dropped beside text appears in a bookmark view for navigation. Handwritten links can point to bookmarks, web sites or other documents.

Undo/redo dial

A dial moves backward and forward through an unlimited undo history with one continuous motion instead of repeated taps.

SVG documents

The native format is SVG, which any modern web browser can display. Documents are plain files that can also be saved as HTML or exported to PDF.

Shared whiteboarding

Several people can work on a document in real time through a whiteboard server. The vendor publishes the server and recommends running it on your own network.

Split view, clippings and pens

Two documents, or two parts of one, can be open side by side. Frequently used content is saved as clippings, and pens, page size, color and ruling can be customized.

Squid

• Squid$0

  Base features with no account: vector ink, blank, ruled and graph paper, stroke eraser, image import, folders and export to PDF, PNG or JPEG.

• Squid Premium and in-app purchases$1.00 - $14.99

  per item on Google Play (US); billing basis not shown

  Covers the monthly or yearly Squid Premium subscription and the one-time PDF Import and Tool Pack purchases. The listing does not price each item.

• Education bulk licenseCustom

  Discounted bulk Squid Premium licenses for Google Workspace for Education accounts, quoted on request and assigned in the Google Admin console.

Stylus Labs Write

• Write for desktop and Android$0

  Windows, macOS, Linux and Android builds downloaded from the vendor's site. The source code is on GitHub under the AGPL-3.0 license.

• Stylus Labs Write (iOS)$0

  The free iPhone and iPad app, which the download page calls the trial version. It puts a watermark on each page.

• Full version (iOS)$8.99

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

  Removes the watermark from the free iPhone and iPad app.

• Stylus Labs Write Pro$8.99

  one-time purchase (US App Store)

  The iPhone and iPad app sold as a paid download instead of an in-app upgrade. Family Sharing covers up to six people.

Squid

• Education

  Discounted bulk licensing for schools

  Squid's help center offers discounted bulk licensing of Squid Premium for Google Workspace for Education accounts, by quote, with a trial available on request.

• Annual discount

  Discounted yearly subscription

  Squid Premium is sold monthly or yearly, and the help center describes the yearly option as the discounted price. It does not state the amounts.

• Other savings

  6 months of Squid Premium on eligible Chromebooks

  Eligible Chromebooks get 6 months of Squid Premium free through the Chromebook Perks page, redeemed against the monthly subscription option on Google Play.

Stylus Labs Write

No public discounts listed.