Numly vs Roost, Rocketbook, Scribzee and QR stickers
These tools solve different problems. Numly links a line on your page to a link, photo or file on your phone through a short handwritten number. Roost is a phone inbox you empty onto paper. Rocketbook and Scribzee scan the page itself into the cloud. QR stickers link a page to a web address through the camera.
Numly's author wrote this page. Everything below was checked on November 5, 2026 against each product's own App Store listing or website, linked in Sources. Prices change; check them before you buy.
| Numly | Roost | Rocketbook | Scribzee | QR stickers | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| What it does | Gives a saved link, photo, file or note a short number you write on paper and type to open it | Temporary phone inbox: capture with a bullet signifier, then migrate each item to your notebook and delete it | Scans reusable pages into cloud services you pick through symbols printed on the page | Scans handwritten notes with the camera so you can read them on phone, tablet or computer | A printed code you stick on a page; the camera opens the address inside it |
| What you write on paper | A 2 or 3 digit number | The item itself, copied by hand | Your notes, on Rocketbook pages | Your notes | Nothing; you stick the code |
| Notebook it needs | Any | Any | Rocketbook pages; the site says compatible erasable pens (Pilot FriXion, or BIC Illusion in most of Europe) are needed for reuse | App built around compatible Hamelin products such as Oxford notebooks | Any, plus a printer or sticker sheet |
| Links back to things on your phone | Yes: link, photo, file or note | No: items are deleted after migrating | No: it sends the scan to a destination | No: it keeps the scan | Web addresses only |
| App price | Free for up to 5 items; one-time purchase for unlimited ($4.99 in the US) | Free; "All Themes" is a $3.99 in-app purchase | Free app; notebooks from $19.99 (Mini) and $34.99 (Core) | Free app; notebook prices not checked | Not an app; stickers depend on the seller |
| Platforms | iPhone, iPad and Mac, synced with iCloud | iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch, synced with iCloud | iOS and Android | iOS and Android; web version at scribzee.com | Any phone camera |
| App languages | English and Spanish | English | Several; not compared | Several; not compared | Not applicable |
Which one fits
- Numly if you keep a paper notebook and want a line on the page to open a specific link, photo or file, and you do not want to print or stick anything.
- Roost if you already keep a bullet journal and want a place on your phone for quick captures that you then rewrite on paper. It keeps no history, search or links by design.
- Rocketbook if you want your handwritten pages as digital copies in Drive, Dropbox, Evernote and similar, and you accept its pages and pens.
- Scribzee if you use a compatible Hamelin or Oxford notebook and want to read scanned notes on other devices.
- QR stickers if you only need to link pages to web addresses, you already own a printer or stickers, and you are fine scanning with the camera.
Where Numly is the wrong choice
Numly does not digitize handwriting, does not read the page and has no Android app. If you want your handwritten notes searchable as text, a scanning notebook does that and Numly does not.
Sources
- Numly on the App Store
- Roost: BuJo Notebook Companion on the App Store
- Rocketbook: how it works
- Rocketbook app on the App Store
- Scribzee on the App Store
Checked on November 5, 2026.
How the number works, step by step: how to link a paper notebook to your phone.