XNote vs reMarkable: Real Paper or a Paper Tablet?

One of these products comes with a notebook. The other does a very good impression of one. A smart pen and notebook like XNote Write captures real ink on a real page; a paper tablet like reMarkable Paper Pure is a screen built to feel like paper. You feel the difference three weeks after a meeting, when you need what Jordan promised and the meeting is one page in a full notebook.

We make XNote Write. Every reMarkable fact below comes from a linked source: reMarkable's own pages, plus one hands-on from The Verge, all checked October 9, 2026. Where reMarkable is the better buy, we say so.

XNote vs reMarkable: what's the actual difference?

XNote Write is a smart pen and notebook: you write with real ink on XNote paper and your handwriting appears in the XNote app, searchable and understood by AI. reMarkable Paper Pure is a paper tablet: a 10.3 inch E Ink screen (the low-power, paper-like display used in e-readers) you write on with a Marker, so the screen itself is the page.

The pen captures handwriting only on XNote paper: XNote notebooks, or pages you print from the XNote app on a laser printer. It reads a tiny pattern printed on those pages and sends every stroke to the app over Bluetooth. With the app open and connected, your handwriting appears as you write. No phone nearby? The pen stores up to 1,000 pages. Import them next time you open the app.

reMarkable's pitch is quiet. In its own words, Paper Pure "doesn't buzz, notify, or nudge, leaving you in peace with your ideas" (Paper Pure page). That's a fair dig at any setup that keeps a phone on the table, ours included: XNote Write sends your pages to the XNote app on your phone or tablet.

Is there a reMarkable alternative with real paper and no subscription?

Yes. If real paper means ink on a page, the reMarkable alternative is a smart pen and notebook: you write in real ink on the pen's own paper, and every stroke lands in an app. XNote Write is one, and it needs no subscription: handwriting-to-text and search come with the XNote app's Free plan.

Two other smart pens, the Neo Smartpen M1+ and the Moleskine Smart Writing Set, are picks in Wired's smart notebook and smart pen roundup (updated August 2026). Of the five "reMarkable alternative" lists we opened on October 9, 2026, four list only tablets; our smart notebook roundup puts paper and screens side by side.

If you're only avoiding the subscription, you may not need an alternative at all: a reMarkable turns handwriting into text for free. Handwriting search and the AI tools are what need Connect. Looking for a reMarkable 2 alternative because it was discontinued? Skip to the section for reMarkable 2 owners.

What can XNote Write and reMarkable do after you finish writing?

Without a subscription, XNote Write does more with a finished page: it searches your handwriting once pages sync, answers questions about your pages (AI chat is included, with usage limits) and turns to-dos into tasks. reMarkable does more on the page itself: erase, mark up PDFs, read, and work with no phone in reach. Add Connect and it searches your handwriting too.

Call it the after-the-last-stroke test: judge a note-taking tool by what it can do with a page once you stop writing. Spec sheets describe the writing. This test starts on day 21.

Here is that page, in ink and as text in the XNote app. Jordan is on three lines. The one you want says "Jordan will pull latest # signups".

Day 21: getting back to Jordan's line

• XNote Write. Type "Jordan" into the XNote app's search. It finds pages by any word you wrote once they sync, so page 32 is among the thumbnails. Or ask your pages what Jordan promised (AI chat is included, with usage limits).
• Paper Pure with Connect. Search your handwriting for "Jordan" (pricing table).
• Paper Pure, no Connect. Handwriting search needs Connect. You can convert the page to text for free, but reMarkable doesn't say whether that text is searchable without Connect. Otherwise, you find the notebook (free tags help) and flip pages.

Day 21 is one job. Here are nine, plus what each one has you rebuy. Without Connect, XNote Write does more with a finished page; reMarkable does more on the page itself.

One catch on our side: handwriting-to-text and AI need an internet connection. A page written on a plane becomes searchable after it syncs.

Can XNote Write erase, mark up PDFs or read books?

No. XNote Write is a pen on paper, so the ink is permanent and there is no screen to open a PDF or a book on. If you need to erase, annotate or read, reMarkable Paper Pure is the better tool.

• Erasing and rearranging. You can "erase, move, and improve" notes with layers, shapes and highlights (Paper Pure page), and the selection tool can "copy, cut, paste, move, resize, rotate or flip" (features).
• PDFs. It imports PDF and EPUB files, exports PDF, PNG and SVG, and emails pages from the tablet (features).
• Reading. EPUB books work without Connect. Paper Pure has "No reading light" (compare page), so bedtime reading needs a lamp, like a paperback.
• One device. Every notebook lives in one slate, and there are no notebooks to rebuy.

XNote has no eraser. Cross it out on paper, then fix the typed version in the app.

Which reMarkable features need a Connect subscription?

A reMarkable needs Connect for handwriting search, AI tools such as Convert and share, the Meeting Notes Tool, writing and editing in reMarkable's phone and computer apps, and sending to Slack or Miro. Connect costs $3.99 a month or $39.90 a year (checked October 9, 2026). Turning handwriting into text on the tablet stays free.

Both lists come from reMarkable's pricing table and its support page on using reMarkable without a subscription, checked October 9, 2026.

Some alternatives lists get this wrong. One from 2026 says reMarkable's Connect subscription "is required for cloud sync, handwriting-to-text conversion, and screen mirroring." All three are overstated. reMarkable's own pricing table lists Handwriting Conversion and Screen Share as included without Connect, and cloud sync as limited, not absent.

Its free tier is more generous than its reputation, with one real limit: without Connect, only notebooks edited in the last 50 days sync to reMarkable's cloud (pricing table).

If you rarely go back to old pages, skip Connect. If searching old pages is the point, $39.90 a year is what that habit costs on a reMarkable. Our 3-year cost comparison works out whether Connect is worth it for you.

On XNote Write, search and handwriting-to-text come with the Free XNote plan. AI chat is included, with usage limits. The Free plan also includes 150 audio minutes a month. Plans are optional and mainly for audio, and paid plans also raise the AI chat limits (what the Free XNote plan includes).

Which costs less over 3 years, XNote Write or reMarkable Paper Pure?

Print its pages yourself and XNote Write costs less over three years than reMarkable Paper Pure with Connect, up to about 6 handwritten pages a workday, if you already own a laser printer. At a notebook's worth of pages a quarter (about 15 a week), XNote Write ($199) with printed pages comes to about $350, against $518.70 for Paper Pure with Connect and $399 without it. Prices checked October 9, 2026; ink and Marker tips not counted.

Pages you print from the XNote app are free. You pay only for your own paper and toner on a laser printer: about 7 cents a page (5 to 10 cents) at US prices we checked on October 9, 2026. Inkjet prints can't be read by the pen, and XNote's printable pages need a laser printer at 600 dpi or better. Depending on your toner and paper, the break-even with Paper Pure and Connect falls between 4.4 and 8.2 pages a workday. Paper is a running cost too; it just doesn't send a monthly bill.

The alternative: bought notebooks. A Standard notebook (192 pages) every quarter brings XNote Write to $518, within a dollar of Paper Pure with Connect billed yearly ($518.70). reMarkable's free Connect year tips that one to Paper Pure ($494.76), and skipping search makes Paper Pure $119 cheaper.

Now take three pages every workday, the daily writer in our breakdown of what 10 note-taking setups cost over 3 years. XNote Write then comes to about $353 with printed pages, or $547 with 12 bought notebooks.

No laser printer yet? The cheapest of five we checked that meets XNote's printing checklist costs $179.99. Count it, and printed XNote Write stays cheaper than Paper Pure with Connect up to about 2.7 pages a workday (2.1 to 3.7). Or print the app's pages at a print shop such as FedEx Office or Staples: black-and-white letter pages on 24 lb paper cost about 25 cents each (21 to 34 cents) at prices we checked on October 9, 2026.

A print shop is a convenience, not a saving. At a notebook's worth of pages a quarter, it brings XNote Write to about $343 in year one and about $727 over 3 years, against $286 and $518 with bought notebooks. That is also more than Paper Pure with Connect ($518.70): over 3 years, print-shop XNote Write costs more from about 1.9 pages a workday (1.5 to 2.2). Choose US Letter in the app, ask for actual size and laser output, and try one test page with the pen first (what to ask the print shop).

How we counted. XNote Write comes with a 192-page Standard notebook, so we count it first and print the other 2,112 pages; print every page instead and add about $14. Paper and toner prices are US list and store prices for a 24 lb ream and genuine toner, checked October 9, 2026. With bought notebooks, XNote Write stays under the $399 Paper Pure up to six notebooks plus the one in the box. That's 1,344 pages, about 8.6 a week ($199 + 6 x $29 = $373; a seventh makes $402).

About the free Connect year. It is reMarkable's current offer on new tablets bought on remarkable.com. Activate it "within 30 days of your purchase date"; it then renews monthly at the standard rate unless you cancel (offer terms; no end date published). Switch to yearly billing after it and that row drops to $478.80.

Not counted: ink refills ($12 for five), Marker tips ($19), tax and shipping. XNote publishes no estimate for how long a refill lasts. reMarkable's tip estimate ("anywhere between two and four months" of daily use) is for the Paper Pro, not the Paper Pure (Marker tips).

Which has the longer return window, XNote Write or reMarkable?

reMarkable has the longer return window: "free returns and a full refund within 50 days after your delivery date" (Paper Pure FAQ), against 30 days from receiving your order for XNote Write. reMarkable runs on fifties: 50 days to return the tablet, 50 days of Connect trial from the day you pair it, and 50 days after you cancel before unedited files stop syncing.

On XNote Write, you can write in the included notebook and still get a full refund, as long as you send the set back complete. Warranties are the same length: reMarkable lists a "1-year limited warranty" (shop listing), and the XNote pen has a 12-month warranty.

On XNote returns, original shipping fees may not be refunded. reMarkable's 2024 guarantee post says it sends a prepaid DHL courier to pick a return up (how its 50-day guarantee works).

The free Connect year adds a 30-day activation window of its own.

I have a reMarkable 2. Should I switch to Paper Pure or XNote Write?

If your reMarkable 2 still works, keep it: it is discontinued but still supported. Its product page says it "has been discontinued" and that "All our reMarkable 2 users will still receive regular software updates from our team" (checked October 9, 2026). reMarkable announced the change on May 6, 2026, the day it introduced Paper Pure.

Paper Pure starts at $399, and reMarkable's announcement said it would begin shipping in early June. The Verge's hands-on lists better contrast, a better processor, 2 GB of RAM instead of 1 GB and 32 GB of storage instead of 8 GB. Your old Marker stays behind: "Markers for reMarkable 2 can't be used with reMarkable Paper Pure, reMarkable Paper Pro, or reMarkable Paper Pro Move" (Paper Pure FAQ). Paper Pure comes with its own Marker.

If what you miss is paper, XNote Write can sit beside the tablet instead of replacing it: PDFs on the reMarkable, meetings and journals in ink.

Discontinued is a status, not a diagnosis. Your tablet does tomorrow what it did yesterday.

XNote Write, reMarkable or something else: which should you buy?

Buy XNote Write if you write in ink and want to search and ask your pages later. Buy reMarkable Paper Pure to erase, mark up PDFs or carry one quiet device; Connect is optional. If reading comes first, look at Kindle Scribe. Amazon's newest model has an 11 inch display with a front light, and you can "jot notes right on the page" of Kindle books (Amazon, checked October 9, 2026). And if you already own an iPad, spend a week with a note app and an Apple Pencil that fits your iPad before buying a second device.

XNote Write is the wrong buy if you:

• need to erase and rewrite, mark up PDFs or read books on the same device;
• want to keep writing in notebooks you already own (only XNote paper syncs);
• would fill a notebook a quarter, have no laser printer and rarely search old pages (over 3 years, a Paper Pure with no Connect costs $119 less than XNote Write with bought notebooks);
• want the pen to record audio (it has no microphone);
• rarely write by hand (a phone photo of the odd page costs nothing).

Our XNote review covers the pen's other limits.

XNote vs reMarkable: common questions

Last updated October 2026. Prices and the Connect offer checked October 9, 2026.