Better Notes: Handwriting
Luke Mclaughlin Productivity iPhoneiPadiPod touchMac
Better Notes: Handwriting is a free Productivity app for iPhone and iPad by Luke Mclaughlin. Requires iOS 18.0. Updated August 18, 2026.
- Price
- Free
- on the App Store
- Size
- 11 MB
- Age 4+
- Updated
- Aug 18
- 2026 · v1.0.0
Screenshots
About Better Notes: Handwriting
Better Notes is a focused idea studio for handwriting, sketching, typed notes and PDF annotation. It combines the freedom of paper with the organisation and editing tools of a modern native app. WRITE NATURALLY Capture smooth, pressure-aware ink with fountain pen, ballpoint, fineliner, pencil, calligraphy, brush, reed pen, marker and highlighter tools. Adjust colour, width and stabilisation, then erase by stroke or precisely through ink. BUILD PAGES YOUR WAY Choose blank, ruled, dotted, grid, Cornell and margin paper. Mix A4, A5, Letter and Legal pages in portrait or landscape—even inside the same notebook. Add, duplicate, bookmark and reorder your thinking page by page. MORE THAN HANDWRITING Add editable styled text, shapes and images. Move, rotate, recolour and organise content across independent layers with visibility, locking and opacity controls. ANNOTATE PDFs Import a PDF, write directly over it and keep its links intact. Export finished work as PDF, PNG, JPEG, Markdown or plain text whenever you need to share or continue elsewhere. RECORD THE MOMENT Attach audio to a page during a lecture, meeting or brainstorming session. Rename recordings and jump back to the page where each recording began. FIND AND ORGANISE IDEAS Create spaces and nested folders, add tags, mark favourites, revisit recent notes and recover items from Trash. Search notebook titles, tags and typed page content from one fast local library. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Better Notes works locally and offline. Your notebooks and recordings stay on your device unless you choose to export or share them. There is no required account, advertising or behavioural tracking. BUILT FOR APPLE DEVICES Enjoy a responsive light interface designed for touch, Apple Pencil, pointer and keyboard. Better Notes supports keyboard shortcuts, accessibility labels and Reduce Motion. Make space for your next thought—and keep every stroke editable.
App privacy
The developer, Luke Mclaughlin, reported these privacy practices to Apple.
Data Not Collected
The developer does not collect any data from this app.
Alternatives to Better Notes: Handwriting
Looking for apps like Better Notes: Handwriting? Here are 6 similar apps on the App Store. The highest rated is ScribblePad: Notes & PDF (5.0/5), and all 6 are free to download.
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OrigNotes
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StarNote: Handwritten Notes
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| App | Rating | Price | Last updated | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Better Notes: Handwriting | – | Free | August 18, 2026 | |
| OpenNotes: Notes & PDF Markup | 4.5 / 5 (30) | Free | Oct 15, 2026 | Compare |
| ScribblePad: Notes & PDF | 5.0 / 5 (3) | Free | Sep 7, 2026 | Compare |
| UltraNotes - Note Taking & PDF | 4.6 / 5 (185) | Free | Oct 15, 2026 | Compare |
| Notes for iPad - Pencil Notes | 4.7 / 5 (342) | Free | May 7, 2026 | Compare |
| OrigNotes | 4.7 / 5 (361) | Free | Oct 14, 2026 | Compare |
| StarNote: Handwritten Notes | 4.6 / 5 (115) | Free | Sep 10, 2026 | Compare |