Thinkblot vs CollaNote
Pick CollaNote if you want to work on notes with other people in real time, with no limit on participants and public rooms. It solves handwritten maths step by step, records audio synced to notes, and has 150+ paper templates and flashcards. Lifetime Premium is $13.90.
Pick Thinkblot if you write plans and to-dos by hand and want a tapped line to become a reminder, a message or time on your calendar. Thinkblot reads your handwriting on your device, with no account and no Thinkblot server.
Last checked: 27 October 2026
Thinkblot and CollaNote, row by row.
| Thinkblot | CollaNote | |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms | iPhone (including iPhone Duo), iPad with Apple Pencil, Mac, and Apple Vision Pro (the iPad app). iOS and iPadOS 27.1 or later. | iPhone, iPad, Mac with Apple silicon, and Apple Vision Pro. |
| Handwriting recognition | Read on your device. Fixing a misread word changes the text, never your ink. | AI Pen converts handwriting to text, with Apple Pencil Pro. Handwriting search isn't stated. |
| What happens to a line you write | It stays ink. When Thinkblot can help, a small blot appears at the end of the line. Tap it, and the line becomes a reminder, a drafted message, a payment or time on your calendar. | It stays handwriting. With Apple Pencil Pro, AI Pen can convert it to text. |
| Tasks and reminders | A box in front of a line makes it a task. Tick the box on paper and it's done in Reminders too. Unticked tasks carry forward. | — |
| Maths | Write a sum and an equals sign, and the answer is written for you. Write “total” under a column and it adds itself. | A handwriting calculator that solves step by step, and an exam-style calculator mode. |
| Privacy, account and where data lives | No account and no Thinkblot server. Notebooks live on your devices and in your own iCloud. Private Cloud Compute is optional and asks first. | Its App Store label lists contact info, not linked to you. Document chat runs offline or online. |
| Sync | Your own iCloud, through Apple's private CloudKit database, on the same Apple Account. | iCloud, with real-time collaboration for unlimited participants. |
| Export | PDF or Markdown. | — |
| Pricing model | Not out yet. Join the waitlist. | Free. Lifetime Premium $13.90, with sale prices from $6.95. |
On a phone, scroll the table sideways.
What CollaNote users write about.
We read 126 App Store reviews of CollaNote rated 1 to 3 stars, posted since January 2025, and sorted each by what it complained about. These were the most common. Quotes are paraphrased, and no reviewer is named.
- 44Basics behind the paywall
Long-time free users suddenly capped at 10 pages per note; adding a page mid-note needs premium.
- 33Crashes and new bugs after updates
Shuts down several times a day since iPadOS 26, reopening all windows each time.
- 22Notes lost
Sync conflict dialog with tiny previews; picked wrong one and lost a day of notes.
- 12Slow, hot or heavy on storage
iPad heats up and drains battery; notes take ages to load from iCloud.
- 10Pen feel, lag and tools
Pen sometimes drops parts of letters; works fine in Apple Notes.
Where Thinkblot is built differently.
Notebooks live on your device and in your own iCloud. There's no Thinkblot server for them to be lost on, and a new device brings them back from iCloud.
Export any notebook as PDF or Markdown, and the notebooks themselves sit in your own iCloud.
One app for iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Vision Pro, with the same notebooks on each through your own iCloud.
Low-star reviews are a slice of any app's users, not a verdict. CollaNote also has many happy ones.
Where each one is better.
- Real-time collaboration with unlimited participants, and public rooms.
- Step-by-step maths solving from handwriting.
- 150+ paper templates, a planner library and flashcards.
- Audio synced to notes, played at 0.25x to 3x.
- A tapped line becomes a reminder, a drafted message, a payment or calendar time.
- Ticking a box on the page ticks it in Reminders.
- Unticked tasks carry forward to the next page.
- Handwriting is read on your device, with no account.
Thinkblot vs CollaNote, asked.
- Is Thinkblot a CollaNote alternative?
- For handwritten plans, lists and journals, yes. For working on notes with other people in real time, CollaNote is built for that.
- Can CollaNote solve handwritten maths?
- Yes. CollaNote lists a handwriting calculator that solves step by step. Thinkblot writes the answer after an equals sign, and adds a column when you write “total” under it.
- Can CollaNote turn a handwritten line into a reminder?
- CollaNote's pages don't describe that. In Thinkblot, you tap the blot at the end of a line and it becomes a reminder, a message or calendar time.
- Do I need an account for Thinkblot?
- No. There's no Thinkblot account and no Thinkblot server. Your notebooks live on your devices and in your own iCloud.
How do
you think?
Thinkblot is coming soon to iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Vision Pro. One email the day it's out. That's all.
Join the waitlistClaims about CollaNote come only from its own pages, as they read on 27 October 2026. Prices are in US dollars and may change.
Thinkblot facts come from the Thinkblot support page. Last checked: 27 October 2026.