Kilonotes

Kilonotes is a handwriting note-taking app for students that brings written notes, lectures, and PDFs into study materials. It offers pressure-sensitive writing, palm rejection, and low-latency ink, with handwriting-to-text conversion that recognizes math equations. Users can import and annotate PDFs, then search handwriting across notebooks. Kilonotes AI can explain notes, make practice questions and flashcards, summarize documents, and create mind maps. The app also records audio, transcribes it, and produces summaries and key points. Core note-taking works offline; AI tools wait until the device reconnects. The maker says notes are not used to train AI models and are not retained after an AI session. Its free plan allows five notebooks and basic AI, with trial uses of AI features before AI credits are required. Premium includes unlimited notebooks, full AI, custom fonts, exclusive page styles, and other advanced features. The plans page does not show paid prices; App Store listings show $9.99 for Annual Plan, $4.99 for Quarterly Plan, and $1.99 for Monthly Subscription. Kilonotes is listed for iOS and Android, with Android 12 or later supported.

Kilonotes combines handwriting, PDF annotation, search, and AI study tools, with core notes available offline. Its free plan has a five-notebook limit, and users should check current paid-plan pricing before choosing an upgrade.

Kilonotes suits students who want to organize handwritten notes, PDFs, and recordings for study. It may also fit people who need offline note-taking and handwriting search.

Kilonotes is a handwriting-led study app for students who work with lecture notes and PDFs. It is a stronger fit for stylus-based study than for users seeking a general-purpose workspace, and the five-notebook free plan is a real constraint.

Overview

Kilonotes brings handwritten notes, document annotation, search and AI study tools together. Core note-taking works offline, while AI tasks wait until the device reconnects. That split suits students who need to keep writing without a connection, but not anyone who expects every feature to work offline.

Its AI privacy claims are specific: Kilonotes says notes are not used to train models and data is not retained after an AI session. Its privacy policy also describes collection of device and log information and the use of third-party advertising and analytics SDKs, a consideration for users weighing privacy.

Key features

Handwriting, PDFs and search

The app advertises pressure-sensitive, low-latency ink and palm rejection, along with handwriting-to-text conversion that recognizes math equations. Users can import and annotate PDFs, then search handwriting across notebooks. That combination is well suited to working through course material in one place; the five-notebook free limit could be restrictive for students who organize notes by class or term.

Android 12 or later is supported, with Samsung S Pen, Wacom and USI stylus support. These compatibility details make the Android version a practical option for students with supported devices, rather than an iPad-only choice.

AI and audio

Kilonotes AI can explain notes, create practice questions and flashcards, summarize documents, and generate mind maps. Audio tools record and transcribe sessions, then produce summaries and key points. These features can turn material into review aids, but the free plan provides only trial uses of AI features before requiring AI credits.

Pricing

Kilonotes is freemium. The Free plan costs nothing and allows five notebooks, basic AI, and trial uses of AI features before credits are required. It is a reasonable way to try the writing and study workflow, but the notebook cap and limited AI access may not stretch across a full course load.

Premium adds unlimited notebooks, full AI, custom fonts, exclusive page styles and other advanced features. The maker’s plans page does not show a price; the App Store lists “Annual Plan $9.99,” “Quarterly Plan $4.99,” and “Monthly Subscription $1.99.” Premium is the relevant upgrade for users who need more notebooks and broader AI access, but check the purchase platform’s current terms before committing.

AI Member focuses on tools for organizing, summarizing, structuring and reviewing study material. Its price is not shown on the maker’s plans page; the App Store lists “AIChat $5.99” and “AI Points Products $1.99.” The separate Monthly Subscription, Annual Plan, Quarterly Plan and Lifetime Access entries have custom pricing. Refunds depend on where the purchase was made: App Store and Google Play purchases are handled through those stores.

Platforms

Kilonotes offers iOS and Android apps, and its features page describes continuing work across iPad, Mac and Android. The download links point to iOS and Android apps, so users should not assume a separate Mac app is available. Note sharing is supported.

Who it's for

Kilonotes is best for students who prefer handwriting, annotate PDFs and want AI-generated study materials from notes or recordings. It is less suited to people who need a high-capacity free notebook system, rely on AI without credits, or want a text-first project workspace.

Pros and cons

• Pro: Handwriting, PDF markup and cross-notebook handwriting search serve a focused study workflow.
• Pro: Offline note-taking keeps core writing available without a connection.
• Pro: Audio transcription and AI-generated summaries, questions and flashcards offer several ways to review course material.
• Con: Five notebooks on Free can force students to consolidate or upgrade as subjects accumulate.
• Con: Free AI access is limited to trial uses before credits are needed, while broader plan pricing is not consistently shown.
• Con: Device and log collection plus advertising and analytics SDKs may concern privacy-conscious users, despite the AI data-use claims.

Alternatives

Choose Goodnotes if you want a handwriting-oriented alternative with a free plan capped at three notebooks, three text documents, three whiteboards and three folders, plus 100 MB of storage.

Notability is another freemium option, with a free Starter plan that includes five notes and editing tools, PDFs and documents, and 20,000+ templates.

Pick HyNote if audio capture is the priority: its free plan includes recording and transcription, professional templates and sessions up to 120 minutes.

Audionotes offers a free plan centered on voice notes, with unlimited one-minute voice notes, text notes, transcripts and summaries.

For a broader digital workspace, Notion has a free plan for personal projects and life organization, including pages, blocks, databases and basic collaboration.

Craft is another general-purpose alternative, with a free plan that includes 1,500 blocks, 1 GB storage, a 25 MB media upload limit, seven days of version history and 15 AI assistant credits.

Gemini Notebook may suit users who want a source- and query-based notebook system: its free plan allows 50 sources per notebook, 100 notebooks and 50 chat queries per day.

Mem Agent is an alternative for people who want a notes product with an AI agent.

Browse more options in AI Note-Taking Apps or Note-taking apps.

Verdict

Choose Kilonotes if handwritten study notes, PDF annotation and AI-powered review tools belong in the same student workflow. Its strongest reason to choose it is that focused mix, backed by offline core note-taking. Look elsewhere if five free notebooks are not enough or you need clear, comparable paid-plan pricing before upgrading.