Thinkblot vs a paper notebook
A paper notebook needs no battery, no screen and nothing to learn, and nothing on it ever goes anywhere. If you write to think and never need the page again, keep the paper.
Pick Thinkblot if your notebook is also where plans start. It keeps the pen and the page, then adds what paper can't: a line that becomes a reminder or calendar time when you tap it, sums that answer themselves, tasks that carry forward, and the same notebook on your iPhone and iPad through your own iCloud.
Last checked: 27 October 2026
Thinkblot and a paper notebook, row by row.
| Thinkblot | Paper notebook | |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms | iPhone (including iPhone Duo), iPad with Apple Pencil, Mac, and Apple Vision Pro (the iPad app). iOS and iPadOS 27.1 or later. | Any desk, any bag. No device. |
| Handwriting recognition | Read on your device. Fixing a misread word changes the text, never your ink. | None. You read it. |
| 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 on the page. |
| 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. | You copy unfinished tasks forward by hand. |
| Maths | Write a sum and an equals sign, and the answer is written for you. Write “total” under a column and it adds itself. | You do it, or reach for a calculator. |
| 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. | In your bag, and nowhere else. |
| Sync | Your own iCloud, through Apple's private CloudKit database, on the same Apple Account. | None. One copy, wherever the notebook is. |
| Export | PDF or Markdown. | A photo or a scan. |
| Pricing model | Not out yet. Join the waitlist. | Paid once per notebook. |
On a phone, scroll the table sideways.
Where each one is better.
- No battery, no charging, no screen.
- Nothing to set up and nothing to learn.
- Nothing on it can be read by anything but eyes.
- The feel of real paper and ink.
- A tapped line becomes a reminder, a drafted message, a payment or calendar time.
- Unticked tasks carry forward on their own.
- The same notebooks on your iPhone and iPad, through your own iCloud.
- Set a notebook to Paper, and nothing on it is read or marked at all.
Thinkblot vs Paper, asked.
- Does Thinkblot feel like paper?
- It's built to. Pages turn like a book, in blank, ruled, dotted, squared or staff paper, with a fountain pen, a monoline and a brush pen. Your handwriting stays exactly yours.
- Can I keep some notebooks completely private?
- Yes. Set a notebook to Paper, and nothing on its pages is read or marked. There's also no Thinkblot account or server for any notebook.
- What if I lose my iPhone?
- Your notebooks are kept in your own iCloud as well as on the device. Sign in to the same Apple Account with iCloud on, and they come back.
- Can I print or keep a copy outside the app?
- Yes. Export a notebook as PDF or Markdown.
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 waitlistThis page compares Thinkblot with paper notebooks in general, not with any one brand, so it makes no product claims that need a source.
Thinkblot facts come from the Thinkblot support page. Last checked: 27 October 2026.