Thinkblot vs Concepts
Pick Concepts if you design or draw on an infinite vector canvas with layers, scale and measurement, and want it on Windows, Android and Chromebook as well as iPhone and iPad. Essentials is a one-time $39.99 per platform.
Pick Thinkblot if you want a notebook rather than a design canvas: pages that turn, handwriting read on your device, and a tapped line that becomes a reminder or time on your calendar. Its Sketchbook leaves drawings unread.
Last checked: 27 October 2026
Thinkblot and Concepts, row by row.
| Thinkblot | Concepts | |
|---|---|---|
| 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, Android, Windows and Chromebook. |
| Handwriting recognition | Read on your device. Fixing a misread word changes the text, never your ink. | — |
| 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 a drawing on the canvas. |
| 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. | — |
| 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 email, linked, for marketing. |
| Sync | Your own iCloud, through Apple's private CloudKit database, on the same Apple Account. | iCloud Drive. The developer says files don't yet match on every platform. |
| Export | PDF or Markdown. | PDF import and export, with a subscription or the PDF Essentials add-on. |
| Pricing model | Not out yet. Join the waitlist. | Free core canvas. Essentials $39.99 one-time per platform, or $4.99/month or $29.99/year. Business $10/month per seat. |
On a phone, scroll the table sideways.
Where each one is better.
- An infinite vector canvas with layers, scale and measurement.
- Windows, Android and Chromebook as well as iPhone and iPad.
- A free canvas to start, and a one-time Essentials purchase.
- Pages that turn like a book, in blank, ruled, dotted, squared or staff paper.
- A tapped line becomes a reminder, a drafted message, a payment or calendar time.
- Search every notebook by drawing the shape you remember.
- Mac and Apple Vision Pro, as well as iPhone and iPad.
Thinkblot vs Concepts, asked.
- Is Thinkblot a Concepts alternative?
- Not for design work. Concepts is a vector canvas for drawing and design. Thinkblot is a notebook for writing, with a Sketchbook for drawing beside it.
- Does Concepts read handwriting?
- Concepts' pages don't mention handwriting search or conversion. Thinkblot reads handwriting on your device, so a line can become a reminder or calendar time.
- Can I find a drawing in Thinkblot?
- Yes. Draw the shape you remember, and Thinkblot finds every drawing like it, across your notebooks.
- 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 Concepts 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.