CollaNote: Note, Journal & PDF vs Agenda

100 stars ⭐️s I’m not really a journaler or a serious note taker. I scribble on posts-its and index cards so I thought it would be a good idea to get into notetaking on my iPad because I can find it easier than i can a random index card. I tried to look for an inexpensive note taking app to start off this new endeavor of keeping notes and maybe start to journal. I tried the Notes app that comes with the iPad and it lacks some pictures. And I didn’t wanna spend a lot of money on something that I might not use. Somehow I stumbled onto this app and WOW!!! It has all the bells and whistles: I can import PDFs, make my own PDFs, I can draw and adjust pens/pencils, stickers, shapes there are templates, I can collaborate, have different folders ! The potential is incredible. And all for the low price of free!!! And even the app privacy seems to be good. How? And it appears this is a one-person show! What? Anyway, I highly recommend this. Go ahead and download and use the template here or look for free bullet journal templates, or planner templates, and imported them to this app and you’ll hit the ground running. I just think this app is incredible and you will think so too. Huge thanks to the developer for your commitment and your generosity! Cheers!

- girl_with_brown_eyes

Best Notes App EVER This is truly the best app out there for taking notes and planning. There is so much customization to fit everyone’s needs and to make it feel like your writing in an actual note book. Not only is this app amazing it has a great community around it as well. People are almost always very kind and helpful and on the community notes, people love to share their drawings and express themselves. One thing that truly amazes me is that there are no in-app purchases. Everything offered is completely free. It’s great seeing other students/people wanting to help other students/people succeed without trying to, essentially, steal their money for a mediocre app at best. When you can simply download the app and have everything, if not more, than something you would pay for. And on top of that you are a part of and supporting a great community. If you’re looking for a notes app, this is it. Of course there are still a few flaws but this app is growing and becoming better with every update. You can noticeably see the changes being made to improve the app (which is really cool in my opinion). But seriously there is no notes app out there that is better than this one.

- FierceandLittle!

Great app, could have better UI This is an amazing app. I love that it has so many feature and that it uses PencilKit (the low latency is amazing). Other paid apps have not adopted PencilKit for that amazing latency. My only gripe is that the UI seems less polished than some of the other paid app. For example, the folders look less professional, especially on the edit screen. Also the icons for pens, highlighters, etc. don’t look that good. Also the turquoise color scheme for the icons does not look great. Of course, this is just my opinion, and it is amazing that the dev made this app free and is actively working on it as well. It is extremely-feature rich Once the UI is more polished, it would compete with even paid note-taking apps, and I would choose CollaNote over them. Thanks for your work, Dev! Edit: I wanted to update my review after developer response. I don’t think the UI is ugly. I simply don’t think it looks as great nor polished as apps like Goodnote and Notability. Creating a very good looking UI extremely difficult, something I am not capable of, and for a single dev to do what you have done is nothing short of amazing. This is an amazing app. Hence me giving it five stars. And yes, the UI is a matter of taste.

- JamesK543

This app impressed me more out of the box than anything I have tried in a while. The changes from what loosely similar apps do seem at first incremental but are powerful in a way that opens up very plausible workflows. The key thing is turning a static collection of notes into something that can flow with your calendar - it took me a little while to grasp the intent, but when it clicked and I realized it is not just a notes app replacement I could imagine lots of immediate uses. It is well worth taking the time to find and learn all the features - there is quite a bit hiding under the slick surface (maybe I am slow, but it was the second day before I found the settings button on the right hand slide-in panel) and I already see several reviews complaining about the absence of things that are actually there in the program. You can’t insert images yet but I see from their blog it is likely in the pipeline along with other things, and I happily paid for premium. Thanks to the developers!

- Gprof

I’ve never been able to use traditional paper planners well. While I’ve always seen how they could, in theory, be useful, I’ve tried many times to incorporate them into how I do things, and they always end up abandoned. This app offers some adjustments in just the right areas for me - it has enough structure to help keep me organized, but enough flexibility to rearrange things more easily than trying to constantly rewrite a paper planner. The ability to toggle things “on” and “off” the main list, as well as the ability to link notes to the Apple calendar app are a huge pluses as well for me in keeping the most important things handy at any given time. I also like that other things can be kept a little more tucked away, but still accessible as needed. Long story short, I’m a HUGE fan of this app, and have used it pretty much daily now for about three years. It’s perfect for my needs.

- NoelJG

This will be a “I have never written a review before until now” type of review, which is true as I have never taken the time to review an app I’ve purchase/downloaded in the past. After using Agenda for the past week, I decided to make an exception. Agenda is a solid performing useful piece of software. I use it for my work and personal life. For work, I created a work log so I can start my day out with knowing what I have done and what I need to do. I connect my notes to a calendar event so I can track what items came out of the meeting and tasks which need completing. At the end of the day I review what was completed and note what still needs to be done. Rinse and repeat. I do the same for my personal life. I can do this with other apps too. Agenda is different because of the ease of use and all the great features included. Excellent job guys. Keep it up.

- joyhawk63