Compare · as of Oct 2026
Be Thoughtful vs Simply Noted
Simply Noted and Be Thoughtful both send cards written with a real ballpoint pen, stamped and mailed for you. Simply Noted says on its site that its notes are not printed with a handwriting font and leave a pen indentation you can feel, and the same is true of ours: both use pen-guided handwriting machines.
Where they differ is who they are built for. Simply Noted is a handwritten mail service for businesses, from solo agents to large teams, with postcards, prepaid credit packages, monthly plans, a mailing list builder, an API and webhooks. Be Thoughtful is built first for people sending to family and friends, with business tools on the side. Here is a fair comparison as of Oct 2026.
Side by side
| Be Thoughtful | Simply Noted | |
|---|---|---|
| Handwriting | Written in real ink with a ballpoint pen by a pen-guided handwriting machine at our handwriting fulfillment partner, in the handwriting style you pick | Written with a real ballpoint pen by a large fleet of pen machines, per their site |
| Products | Folded cards, flat note cards and full-page letters | Folded note cards and handwritten postcards with a full-color front |
| Writing the message | AI drafts a personal letter for each person, which you edit, or write your own | You supply the message, often with merge fields for a campaign |
| Card covers | A one-of-a-kind painted cover from each letter, your photo or your design | Their designs or your own branded cards |
| Price | A card starts at $8.95 and a full letter at $10.95, US stamp included, no plan | Published credit packages and a monthly unlimited plan; postage on top |
| Business tools | Client cards, automations, a REST API, webhooks, Follow Up Boss | REST API, webhooks, Shopify and Zapier, CSV upload, a mailing list builder |
| Tracking | Order status online and a QR code on every card | USPS mail tracking and a QR code on every card |
| For families | Free reminders, a phone calendar, letters from Santa and other characters | Not a focus of their site |
Where Be Thoughtful is better
- Personal letters for people you love. The AI writes a different letter for each person from a few details, and you read and edit every one before anything is written.
- A painted cover per card, so each card looks made for its person rather than printed from a campaign template.
- No plan, no credits, no minimum: pay for the card you send, US stamp included, with guest checkout.
- Family features: free birthday reminders, a phone calendar, and letters from Santa, the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny.
Where Simply Noted is better
- Big business campaigns. Simply Noted supports sending one mailer or thousands at once, with CSV upload, merge fields and financing for very large orders.
- Postcards. They offer handwritten postcards with a full-color front, which we don’t.
- Finding new prospects. Their mailing list builder filters by location, income and home value; we only mail people you already know.
- Mail tracking. Every piece carries USPS Intelligent Mail tracking, and webhooks report delivery and scan events back to your systems.
- A free sample with no credit card, so you can feel the card before you commit.
Who should pick which
Pick Simply Noted if… you run prospecting or customer campaigns by the hundreds or thousands, want postcards, need a mailing list, or want tracking data in your CRM.
Pick Be Thoughtful if… you are writing to family, friends or a smaller set of clients and want each card to read and look personal, with no plan or credits.
Good to know
Simply Noted’s headline prices are tied to credit packages or a monthly plan, and its site shows postage as a separate line. Be Thoughtful prices include the US stamp, and the price per card goes down automatically when one checkout has more cards in it.
If you are a business that sends a few dozen client cards a year, try a small order with each and compare how the cards read. If you send thousands, Simply Noted’s plans and list tools are built for that volume.
Both put a QR code on cards. On a Be Thoughtful card it can open a voice or video message, or let the person send a card back.
Questions
Sources
Checked as of Oct 2026. Services change their features and prices, so check their pages for the latest. Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we’ll fix it.