Is Thinkblot a Milanote alternative?

If you follow a thread in handwriting and want a canvas beside your pages, yes. For shared boards for creative teams, Milanote does more.

Does Milanote read handwriting?

Milanote's pages don't describe handwriting recognition. Sketches sit on boards as drawings. Thinkblot reads what you write on the device.

Does Thinkblot have a canvas?

Yes. In a Curiosity notebook, your pages and finds sit side by side on a canvas. Draw a line between two and they stay joined.

Is Thinkblot on Windows?

No. Thinkblot is for iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Vision Pro.

Compare

All comparisons

Thinkblot vs Milanote

Pick Milanote if you plan creative projects on boards with notes, images, video and sketches, start from templates, and invite others to edit or comment. It works on the web, Mac, Windows, iPhone, iPad and Android, and has a free plan.

Pick Thinkblot if you think in handwriting. Its Curiosity notebook lays your pages and finds out on a canvas you join by hand, reads the links you drag in, and plays videos where you put them. A tapped line can also become a reminder or calendar time.

Last checked: 27 October 2026 · Compared with Thinkblot's Curiosity notebook

Side by side

Thinkblot and Milanote, row by row.

A dash (—) means Milanote's own pages didn't say, so we left it blank.
	Thinkblot	Milanote
Platforms	iPhone (including iPhone Duo), iPad with Apple Pencil, Mac, and Apple Vision Pro (the iPad app). iOS and iPadOS 27.1 or later.	Web, Mac, Windows, iPhone, iPad and Android (per Capterra).
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.	Sketches sit on a board beside notes, images and video.
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.	—
Sync	Your own iCloud, through Apple's private CloudKit database, on the same Apple Account.	Milanote's cloud. Invite people to edit, comment or view.
Export	PDF or Markdown.	—
Pricing model	Not out yet. Join the waitlist.	Free with limited uploads. Pro about $9.99 per user a month billed yearly, or $12.50 monthly (per Capterra).
Canvas	The Curiosity canvas: your pages and finds laid out side by side, joined by hand.	Moodboards with notes, images, video and sketches.
Links and video	Links read themselves, with a short summary. Videos play where you put them.	Video and files on boards.
Templates	Not yet.	Board templates.

On a phone, scroll the table sideways.

What people report

What Milanote users write about.

We read 62 App Store reviews of Milanote 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.

22
Crashes and new bugs after updatesFreezes five times an hour right after paying for the year.
13
Clutter and unwanted redesigns2025 update made the app behave like a web page.
12
Basics behind the paywall100-card/image cap across all boards, then $12/month.
11
Weaker apps on other devicesDesktop is great; phone app cannot draw, drag-and-drop or create boards well.
7
Missing featuresNo offline mode; tables cannot be edited.

Where Thinkblot is built differently.

Weaker apps on other devices · 11 reviews

One app for iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Vision Pro, with the same notebooks on each through your own iCloud.

Accounts and being logged out · 6 reviews

There's no Thinkblot account to sign in to, so there's nothing to be logged out of.

Notes lost · 3 reviews

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.

Low-star reviews are a slice of any app's users, not a verdict. Milanote also has many happy ones.

Who should pick which

Where each one is better.

Milanote is better for

Boards built for creative projects, with templates.
Inviting others to edit, comment or view.
Windows, Android and the web.
A free plan.

Thinkblot is better for

Handwritten pages that turn, read on your device.
Links that read themselves, with a short summary.
Questions marked, and noticed when a later page answers them.
A tapped line becomes a reminder, a drafted message, a payment or calendar time.

Questions

Thinkblot vs Milanote, asked.

Is Thinkblot a Milanote alternative?: If you follow a thread in handwriting and want a canvas beside your pages, yes. For shared boards for creative teams, Milanote does more.
Does Milanote read handwriting?: Milanote's pages don't describe handwriting recognition. Sketches sit on boards as drawings. Thinkblot reads what you write on the device.
Does Thinkblot have a canvas?: Yes. In a Curiosity notebook, your pages and finds sit side by side on a canvas. Draw a line between two and they stay joined.
Is Thinkblot on Windows?: No. Thinkblot is for iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Vision Pro.

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 waitlist

Sources

Claims about Milanote come only from its own pages, as they read on 27 October 2026. Prices are in US dollars and may change.

Milanote

Thinkblot facts come from the Thinkblot support page. Last checked: 27 October 2026.