CardBeat: Story Plot Corkboard

Name: CardBeat: Story Plot Corkboard
Rating: 3.5 (33 reviews)
Author: Stefan Stuckmann

Index Cards to Outline Movies

Free · In‑App Purchases

33 Ratings
Age Rating

4+
Years
Category

Productivity
Developer

Stefan Stuckmann
Language

EN
+ 1 More
Size

7.2
MB

CardBeat 2026.11 is here: redesigned for Liquid Glass and the iPhone Duo, with board import and export for co-writers, more reliable iCloud sync and better performance. A digital corkboard for plotting your novel, screenplay or short story. CardBeat keeps all the fun things about index cards – and gets rid of all the rest. Break your story into acts, sequences and scenes. Put each beat on a card, pin it to the board and shuffle until the structure works – without wasting ink or paper. WRITE YOUR WAY - Handwrite with Apple Pencil or just your finger – pens, pencils, markers and brushes in any color. - Prefer typing? Every card takes keyboard input, too. - Choose blank, lined, dotted or grid cards in different colors to track characters, subplots or timelines. SEE THE WHOLE STORY - Place cards anywhere on the board – no rows, columns or table cells. Turn on snap-to-grid when you want things tidy. - Zoom out for the big picture, zoom in to work on a single scene. - Working in a writers' room? Connect a TV, monitor or projector and show a clean view of the board while you plot. SHARE AND SYNC - Your boards stay in sync across iPhone and iPad with iCloud – or turn sync off with a single switch. - Export a board as a PDF for feedback, or as a CardBeat file your co-writer can import and keep working on. PRIVATE BY DESIGN No accounts, no ads, no third-party analytics. CardBeat doesn't collect any data. FREE TO START Plot up to two boards for free. Unlock unlimited boards with a one-time purchase – no subscription.

Ratings & Reviews

3.5

out of 5

33 Ratings

Excellent UI, needs more bells and whistles.
12/17/2022
DylanMMc
The controls feel very natural in terms of taps and swipes compared to another similar app which felt very unnatural having the user go back and forth tapping with 1 finger or 2 fingers or dragging with 3 fingers, this one feels good to use. I think they need to revisit monetization maybe sell additional boards in bundles or singularly for a small fee. Also needs more features, would love if boards were on more of a grid we could have option to snap to just to keep everything more in line. I would also love to be able to put more information or a photo on the back of the card. Maybe a few words on the front then detailed explanation on back would be awesome.
Excellent UI, needs more bells and whistles.
12/17/2022
DylanMMc

The controls feel very natural in terms of taps and swipes compared to another similar app which felt very unnatural having the user go back and forth tapping with 1 finger or 2 fingers or dragging with 3 fingers, this one feels good to use. I think they need to revisit monetization maybe sell additional boards in bundles or singularly for a small fee. Also needs more features, would love if boards were on more of a grid we could have option to snap to just to keep everything more in line. I would also love to be able to put more information or a photo on the back of the card. Maybe a few words on the front then detailed explanation on back would be awesome.
Good enough, too minimal to justify pro upgrade at the moment
04/05/2021
Adhish
App works well enough. You can create notecards and drag them around a canvas easily, zoom in and out of the canvas, and easily delete/add new notecards.There aren’t many features, however. I question whether $23 for the pro version is worth the price just to unlock multiple cork boards. I’ll keep an eye out if more features are added and consider changing my review later.The app is much more geared towards drawing on the notecards than typing, which unfortunately isn’t my primary use case. Font and text formatting control is unfortunately lacking. Text autofits to notecards.I would love to see some snapping/grid spacing options for the cards, custom sizing of cards, text formatting controls, and different export options like plaintext or formatted text so that card contents can be copied and pasted to other documents, beat sheets, lists, etc.With these kinds of features, this could become an invaluable part of my process. The potential is there.

Developer Response
Hey, thanks for your feedback! We’re working on better export options as well as a grid/snap feature for the board. Different card sizes and non-automatic text formatting aren’t planned yet, but we’ll look into those later. It’s always a challenge to strike the right balance between features and simplicity, but we‘ll try to do our best 😅
Good enough, too minimal to justify pro upgrade at the moment
04/05/2021
Adhish

App works well enough. You can create notecards and drag them around a canvas easily, zoom in and out of the canvas, and easily delete/add new notecards.There aren’t many features, however. I question whether $23 for the pro version is worth the price just to unlock multiple cork boards. I’ll keep an eye out if more features are added and consider changing my review later.The app is much more geared towards drawing on the notecards than typing, which unfortunately isn’t my primary use case. Font and text formatting control is unfortunately lacking. Text autofits to notecards.I would love to see some snapping/grid spacing options for the cards, custom sizing of cards, text formatting controls, and different export options like plaintext or formatted text so that card contents can be copied and pasted to other documents, beat sheets, lists, etc.With these kinds of features, this could become an invaluable part of my process. The potential is there.
Developer Response 04/14/2021
Hey, thanks for your feedback! We’re working on better export options as well as a grid/snap feature for the board. Different card sizes and non-automatic text formatting aren’t planned yet, but we’ll look into those later. It’s always a challenge to strike the right balance between features and simplicity, but we‘ll try to do our best 😅
Not perfect, but just right
11/17/2024
WonderHeir
I don’t usually write reviews for things, but this app deserves this. I have looked, and there isn’t any other app that does what this app does. It’s simple it’s easy, it’s going to help me SO much with writing in the future. And there isn’t an accursed subscription. Maybe I’m cheap, but I don’t like subscriptions. And as long as I limit myself to one to two projects at once, I shouldn’t have to spend a dime :) I was seriously about to go out and buy a cork board and a ton of notecards, and then I saw this app, and it really saved me, because I don’t have any room for a cork board. So thank you.

Developer Response
Thank you so much, I hope you keep enjoying this app!
Not perfect, but just right
11/17/2024
WonderHeir

I don’t usually write reviews for things, but this app deserves this. I have looked, and there isn’t any other app that does what this app does. It’s simple it’s easy, it’s going to help me SO much with writing in the future. And there isn’t an accursed subscription. Maybe I’m cheap, but I don’t like subscriptions. And as long as I limit myself to one to two projects at once, I shouldn’t have to spend a dime :) I was seriously about to go out and buy a cork board and a ton of notecards, and then I saw this app, and it really saved me, because I don’t have any room for a cork board. So thank you.
Developer Response 11/18/2024
Thank you so much, I hope you keep enjoying this app!
Super Potential
03/12/2022
PLØY
I would love to storyboard content for so late media and lay out those projects over time. It would be awesome to add a feature where we can take photos with the phone for framing and maybe even audio for notes on that frame/ scene. It would make it easier to track the ideas and projects as they work from scrap to fruition. This app is an excellent start for blocking out ideas. If the developer gets the support I could see this App becoming an incredibly helpful tool.
Super Potential
03/12/2022
PLØY

I would love to storyboard content for so late media and lay out those projects over time. It would be awesome to add a feature where we can take photos with the phone for framing and maybe even audio for notes on that frame/ scene. It would make it easier to track the ideas and projects as they work from scrap to fruition. This app is an excellent start for blocking out ideas. If the developer gets the support I could see this App becoming an incredibly helpful tool.

- Copy, cut and paste cards: within a board, between boards, and across your devices. - External displays now frame your board on their own. Choose Fit Board or Follow My View from the new toolbar button. Works again on iOS 27. - Boards with many cards open faster, and new boards open as soon as you create them. - Undo now scrolls changes it makes off-screen into view, and you can pinch a card closed while typing. - Fixes: undo and redo are saved and synced right away, ⌘B/⌘I/⌘U formatting sticks, and a crash when closing a card during iCloud sync.

Version 2026.11 2d ago

Data Not Collected

The developer does not collect any data from this app.

Privacy practices may vary, for example, based on the features you use or your age. Learn More

Accessibility

Information

Seller: Stefan Stuckmann
Size: 7.2 MB
Category: Productivity
Compatibility: Requires iOS 26.0 or later.

iPhone
Requires iOS 26.0 or later.

iPad
Requires iPadOS 26.0 or later.
Languages: English and German
Age Rating: 4+

4+

Learn More
In-App Purchases: Yes

Unlimited Story Boards $19.99

Learn More

Privacy Policy

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CardBeat: Story Plot Corkboard

Ratings & Reviews

Excellent UI, needs more bells and whistles.

Good enough, too minimal to justify pro upgrade at the moment

Not perfect, but just right

Super Potential

What’s New

App Privacy

Data Not Collected

Accessibility

Information

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