Freenotes review: price, free version and privacy

Our verdict

Freenotes suits iPad students who want AI summaries and self-testing tools inside their handwritten notes, at a low yearly or lifetime price. Students who want an app with no ads or tracking should choose another notebook app.

What Freenotes is

Freenotes combines handwritten notes and PDF annotation with a long list of AI tools. The description includes AI summaries of recordings and documents, a chat that answers questions about an imported PDF, a homework helper that answers from a photo, OCR search through handwriting, flashcards built from your pages and an "Active Recall Tape" that hides parts of a page. It also offers paper templates such as Cornell, an infinite canvas and picture-in-picture note-taking while a video plays.

Who it suits

• IPad students who want AI study tools with handwritten notes
• Students who use active recall on their own notes

Strengths

• AI summaries, PDF chat and flashcards built from your own pages, according to the description.
• Active Recall Tape hides parts of a page so you can test yourself.
• Cornell, grid and dotted paper templates, an infinite canvas and OCR search through handwriting.
• Picture-in-picture note-taking with screenshot capture, and iCloud and Google Drive sync.
• Runs on iOS 15.5 or later, rated 4.7 from about 64,600 ratings, updated in October 2026.

Limits

• The App Store age rating says the app contains advertising.
• Identifiers are declared for tracking.
• The listing does not say which features are free or how Plus differs from Pro.
• The homework helper hands out answers, which is not the same as studying.

What the free version does

The listing does not say which features are free. The age rating notes advertising, and a separate Remove Ads purchase is on the price list.

Price

On the US App Store in November 2026, Plus is listed at $1.99 (weekly), $9.99 (yearly) and $29.99 (lifetime), and Pro at $6.99 (weekly) and $39.99 (yearly). Remove Ads costs $29.99.

Privacy

The privacy label says identifiers may be used to track you. Identifiers and diagnostics are collected without being linked to your identity.

What the screenshots show

The screenshots show a handwritten "Humerus Anatomy" page with a labeled diagram and highlighted lists, and a geology PDF annotated in several ink colors with a pen toolbar.