Sketchbook®

Verdict

Sketchbook is a drawing and illustration tool, not a note-taking app — it's built for freehand art with brushes and layers, not typed or handwritten text notes. Reviewers consistently praise it as ad-free and easy to pick up, with paid features unlocked via a one-time purchase rather than a subscription.

Best for

Someone who wants a free, ad-free sketching canvas for digital illustration and doesn't mind paying once for extra brushes, not someone looking to jot down text notes or meeting minutes.

Dealbreaker

It's fundamentally an art app, so if you came here wanting to type or organize written notes, this won't do that; a few reviewers also found the help/tutorial system confusing enough to give up on figuring out features.