Is there a good app for take handwritten notes?
Too Expensive: 45 apps already serve this, and 21 data points mined from real user reviews across 4 sources show where they fall short. The job is solved but priced beyond a segment. Undercut with a cheaper tier.
Data refreshed August 3, 2026 · scores recompute weekly as new reviews are mined, so re-check before you build.
What users complain about
The most common complaints behind apps that try to take handwritten notes, mined and clustered from real reviews:
| Complaint area | Type | Mentions | What a user said |
|---|---|---|---|
| note printing | missing-feature | 2 | you can't print the notes |
| photo capture in notes | missing-feature | 1 | solo estaría perfecta si tuviera incluida el tomar fotos |
| cannot take notes while recording | missing-feature | 1 | you will think you can take notes while it records, but no |
| offline note editing | missing-feature | 1 | no net no text write |
| no built-in written notes/word bank | missing-feature | 1 | I need to write everything down in my Apple Numbers spreadsheet as i go |
| no search for handwritten notes on iPad | missing-feature | 1 | Please enable search on handwritten notes I take from iPad |
| designated notes section | missing-feature | 1 | would be cool to see like some form of a designated notes section |
| usage limit locks handwritten notes to read-only | price | 1 | I hit a "usage" limit when taking basic hand written notes... My app is now in read only mode |
| not built for typed notes | missing-feature | 1 | Not built for typed notes. |
| widget can't create notes directly | missing-feature | 1 | Desde la ventana del widget no se puede crear una nota |
| no standalone notes feature | missing-feature | 1 | I would love if a notes feature could be added to the app |
| iPad version takes too many steps to make a note | ux | 1 | the iPad version is awful... I don't wanna have to go through numerous steps |
Apps that already serve this
| App | Rating | Ratings | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notes | 4.8 | 620,757 | Free |
| Notes - Professional | 4.4 | 40 | $2.99 |
| Voicenotes AI Notes & Meetings | 4.8 | 6,590 | Free |
| SuperNote Notes Recorder+Photo | 4.9 | 4,461 | $19.99 |
| AudioNote™ | 4.2 | 118 | $12.99 |
| Easy Notes - Note Taking Apps | 4.7 | 411,496 | Free |
| Handwritten email | 4.3 | 58 | $0.99 |
| Notebooks: Write and Organize | 4.7 | 1,051 | $17.99 |
Should you build it?
The job is solved but priced beyond a segment. Undercut with a cheaper tier. Opportunity here scores 53 out of 100 — a function of demand, how crowded the field is, and how badly the existing apps perform. Use the live map to compare it against adjacent tasks.
Who has tried building this
| Project | Status | Stars | Stack |
|---|---|---|---|
| flxzt/rnote | active | 11,340 | Rust |
| bhngupta/Notes-to-Notes | stale | 5 | CSS |
Open-source projects that attempted this task — active ones show today's bar; abandoned ones are a signal to validate why earlier attempts died.
Embed this verdict
Building for this market? Put the live badge on your landing page or README — it links back here and stays current with the weekly data refresh.
HTML
<a href="https://speculora.com/gap/take-handwritten-notes-234"><img src="https://speculora.com/badge/234.svg" alt="Speculora: Take handwritten notes — Too Expensive" height="28"></a>Markdown
[](https://speculora.com/gap/take-handwritten-notes-234)Related software gaps
- Track package deliveries — Prime Gap, opportunity 100/100
- Track steps — Prime Gap, opportunity 99/100
- Cancel unused streaming services — Prime Gap, opportunity 99/100
- Import recipes from websites — Prime Gap, opportunity 99/100
- Save and organize recipes — Prime Gap, opportunity 98/100
- Track sleep quality — Prime Gap, opportunity 98/100