Comparison

A reMarkable alternative without a subscription: your notebook and Axsuro

According to its shop, a reMarkable costs from €399 (Paper Pure) to from €649 (Paper Pro), and the Connect subscription €3.99 a month or €39.90 a year. The alternative is the notebook you already have: with Axsuro you photograph the page and Axsuro turns it into tasks, events, documents and searchable notes, on the free plan with 60 pages a month. If you want to read and mark up PDFs on a screen, a reMarkable is the better fit.

What a reMarkable costs

Checked on 6 November 2026 in reMarkable's shop and help pages:

reMarkable Paper Pure: from €399, with Marker.
reMarkable Paper Pro Move: from €479, with Marker.
reMarkable Paper Pro: from €649, with Marker.
reMarkable lists the reMarkable 2 as discontinued; the Paper Pure replaces it.
Connect: €3.99 a month or €39.90 a year, with a 50-day free trial. It includes unlimited cloud storage and sync, notes in the mobile and desktop apps, handwriting search and extra templates.

To be fair: a reMarkable works without a subscription. According to reMarkable, you keep handwriting conversion on the tablet, Google Drive, Dropbox and OneDrive, sending by email and Screen Share. Without Connect, only files used in the last 50 days sync, and you can't write or edit notes in the apps.

reMarkable vs a notebook with Axsuro

A reMarkable replaces paper with a screen that feels like paper. Axsuro leaves the paper as it is and takes care of what happens after you write.

	reMarkable	Notebook + Axsuro
What you buy	a tablet from €399 (Paper Pure) to from €649 (Paper Pro)	nothing, any notebook works
Subscription	Connect optional, €3.99 a month or €39.90 a year	Free with no subscription and 60 pages a month; Plus €5.99, Pro €11.99 a month
Writing	with the Marker on the e-paper screen, with erase and undo	with any pen on paper
The page becomes digital	at once, it is made digitally	with a photo, several pages in a row
Handwriting to text	on the tablet, also without a subscription	every line is read, in 12 languages
Handwriting search	with Connect	on every plan, plus questions to your notes (Ask)
Tasks and events	integrations with Google Calendar and Outlook, among others, according to reMarkable	from markers such as todo: and cal: in single lines, synced with Google, Outlook and Todoist
PDFs	read and mark up on the screen	print, write on paper, notes come back into the PDF as comments
Battery and device	charge, carry, protect	not needed, you have your phone anyway

What Axsuro does with your notebook

You write on paper and photograph the page with the Axsuro iPhone and Android app, or upload the photo in the browser. Axsuro reads every line word for word. A word at the start of a line says what it becomes:

todo: Report to the team Fri becomes a task due on Friday.
cal: 2 Dec 14:00 Client workshop becomes an event in your calendar.
doc: Chapter 3 turns the text below into a typed document you can export as PDF, Word or Markdown.

Lines without a marker stay thoughts and are searchable. With Ask you ask in plain words and get the answer with a link to the page. Drawings become editable sketches, and questions with answers can become flashcards (Plus and up). If you already have full notebooks, "Bring in an old notebook" brings them in all at once. See digitise your notebook for the whole picture.

Using both

If you already own a reMarkable, you don't have to choose. Pages you export from the reMarkable as a PDF can be uploaded to Axsuro, up to 50 pages per file. Each PDF page becomes a page in the notebook and is read like a photo. That way you write on the tablet and still get tasks and events from your markers.

Who a reMarkable suits better

You read and mark up lots of PDFs, such as contracts, papers or manuscripts, right on the screen.
You want all your notebooks in one device, with no paper to carry or restock.
You like to erase and rearrange: layers, undo, moving pages.
You don't want to take a photo, because the page on the tablet is already digital.

Who a notebook and Axsuro suit better

You don't want to buy a device for several hundred euros and like writing on real paper.
You want to start without a subscription: the free plan reads 60 pages a month.
Your notes should turn into tasks and events in Google Calendar, Outlook or Todoist; see from paper to your calendar.
You already have full notebooks you want to make searchable.

Every new account starts with 14 days of Pro without a card. Plus costs €5.99 a month or €59 a year, Pro €11.99 or €119. Everything else is on the pricing page.

Frequently asked questions

What is an affordable alternative to a reMarkable?

A notebook you already own and an app that reads its pages. With Axsuro you photograph the page; the free plan reads 60 pages a month.

Does a reMarkable need a subscription?

No, Connect is optional. Without it, according to reMarkable, only files from the last 50 days sync, and handwriting search and notes in the apps are missing. Connect costs €3.99 a month or €39.90 a year (checked on 6 November 2026).

Do I need a subscription for Axsuro?

No. The Free plan costs nothing and reads 60 pages a month. Plus and Pro are subscriptions with more pages and features.

Can Axsuro read reMarkable notes?

Yes, as a PDF. Export the pages from the reMarkable as a PDF and upload them to Axsuro, up to 50 pages per file.

Can I write on PDFs with Axsuro?

Yes, on paper. Axsuro prints the PDF with room to write, you write by hand, scan the sheets and get the PDF back with your notes as comments. You don't write on the screen in Axsuro.

Updated 6 November 2026

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