Notes+ greets you with simplicity. No accounts to set up, no sign‑in screens, no hoops to jump through. Just download, open, and start writing. In a world where most free apps are really just marketing strategies in disguise, this feels refreshing. Of course, developers need to eat, so you can’t assume it will stay free forever. But right now, if you’re hunting for a free handwriting app, Notes+ is worth grabbing while it lasts.
In-app purchases
There’s a stationery shop tucked inside the app — planners, digital notebooks, fonts. It’s a nice way to support the developers. The only frustration is fonts: Notes+ supports custom fonts, but not the ones already installed on your iPad. Their library has about 200, which is decent, but why block the ones we already own?
The pleasant surprises
The user interface reminds me of Wellnote. You can customise pen tools on the toolbar, and the handwriting toolbar sits fixed at the top — though you can float it if you prefer. The app’s icon colour is customisable, but the user interface itself isn’t. The main toolbar doubles as your favourites toolbar, which is clever.
Audio recording floats in its own resizable window, giving you flexibility. And yes, the reed pen is here — slightly too thick for my taste, but still a welcome addition. Annotation pens are plentiful: single line, wavy, dashed, double line, double wavy, even triple lines. They’re perfect for marking up PDFs, if you like fancy underlining.
Falling inlove
The feature that made me fall head‑over‑heels for Notes+ is its reference materials. You can attach resources directly inside your notebooks, and they stay linked. No separate documents, no juggling files. It’s similar to LiquidText or MarginNote, just without the sophistication of linking your notes to documents. Add in some AI features tailored for learning, and suddenly the app feels like a study companion.
Switching between documents is smooth, resizing is easy, and the whole experience feels thoughtful. It’s the kind of feature that makes you want to forgive its flaws — even the ridiculous ones.
There’s also a web tool collection that floats around, listing your frequently used sites. No need to jump into Safari or Chrome. Timers, stopwatches, clocks — all with full‑screen options. Draft popups, calculators, customisable folders, and page layers with cute animations. Notes+ is full of small, pleasant surprises.
Notebook organisation is equally simple. You can store them locally or in iCloud Drive. Sync if you want, keep them offline if you don’t. Switching between notebooks without going back to the homepage is another underrated gem.
The flaws
But simplicity comes at a cost. Notes+ lacks backups. There’s no option to save or restore notebooks, and collaboration is non-existent.
Creating new notebooks is clunky. No page sizes, no colours, limited line-spacing tied to templates. Custom templates are restricted to the first page of PDFs, and covers don’t exist. For notebook creation, this app falls short.
Pens are limited too. No fountain pen, just calligraphy and ballpoint. And the thinnest option is still thick. The lasso tool is one of the worst I’ve seen — non‑selective, resizing only works on handwriting, selections don’t move across pages, and screenshots are only for external sharing. Editing your notes as an afterthought is painful.
Adding pages is tedious, with no gestures to speed things up.
OS pricing
Notes+ runs on iPadOS and iOS, and even offers an M1 version for Apple’s newer devices, which makes it accessible across the main Apple ecosystem. The app itself is completely free, which is becoming harder to come by, in the handwriting space. There are optional AI purchases tucked inside, but they don’t get in the way of the basic experience. That means you can dive in, explore, and use the app without feeling pressured to subscribe or pay upfront.
Conclusion
Notes+ is impressive for a free app. It’s not perfect — far from it — but it packs a punch. It’s proof that thoughtful design can still be accessible.
Would you trust a free handwriting app like Notes+ for your daily workflow, or would you rather stick to the paid giants? Let me know below. And if you want structured learning beyond these reviews, we’ve got full courses available on different apps.