The reMarkable Paper Pro is a fully functional device with no account and no internet: local notebooks, reading, writing, and PDF export work indefinitely with no subscription. The cloud ecosystem is an optional layer on top of that local core. Its job is to mirror notebooks, PDFs, and ebooks across the tablet, the desktop apps, and the mobile apps, and — on the paid tier — to bridge those documents into third-party storage and productivity services. Understanding where the free line sits, what the Connect subscription actually unlocks, and how sync behaves offline is the foundation for the custom-connector and developer material that follows.
The reMarkable Cloud sync model
The reMarkable cloud is the hub that keeps content consistent across every client. When the tablet is on Wi-Fi, edits sync automatically to the cloud and propagate to the desktop apps (Windows, macOS) and mobile apps (iOS, Android). The device does not require a live connection to function — it operates fully offline and reconciles changes on the next connection. A wired path also exists: sync to the desktop app over USB works without going through the cloud at all, which matters for users who want app access without paying for cloud sync.
Figure 5.1: reMarkable Cloud sync topology — tablet, cloud hub, apps, and integrations
Desktop and mobile apps
The official apps exist on Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android. Their capabilities are tier-dependent. On the free tier, the apps let you view, organize, and import files. Creating or editing notes inside the desktop and mobile apps is a Connect feature — the free apps are read/organize/import only. This is a common point of confusion: the apps install and open for everyone, but the write experience is gated behind the subscription.
Connect subscription tiers
Pairing a device to a reMarkable account without an active subscription grants a 50-day free trial of Connect. After the trial, unlimited cloud sync requires a paid subscription. The consumer tier is $3.99/month or $39.90/year (marketed as roughly 12 months for the price of 10). This price was raised from a prior $2.99/month. A business tier sits above it, starting around $6.99/month and requiring contact with sales, adding enterprise controls (SSO, device management, role/account management, enforced security policies). The subscription can be canceled anytime; canceling reverts you to free-tier behavior without disabling the device.
| Feature | Free (no Connect) | Connect (~$3.99/mo, $39.90/yr) | Connect for Business (from ~$6.99/mo) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Offline writing / reading / PDF export | Yes (unlimited, forever) | Yes | Yes |
| View / organize / import in apps | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Sync to desktop via USB | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Unlimited cloud storage & sync | 50-day trial, then limited* | Yes | Yes |
| Create / edit notes in apps | No | Yes | Yes |
| Unlimited handwriting-to-text conversion | No | Yes | Yes |
| Handwriting search | No | Yes | Yes |
| Google Drive / Dropbox / OneDrive integrations | No | Yes (up to 5 accounts) | Yes |
| Screen share, Meeting Notes, AI summaries, Send to Slack/Miro | No | Yes | Yes |
| Extended (3-year) hardware warranty while subscribed | No | Yes | Yes |
| SSO, device management, role management, enforced security | No | No | Yes |
\*Free-tier document/storage cap after the trial: some sources cite a limit on the number of documents that sync to the cloud (figures such as ~50 documents have been reported). This specific cap is not confirmed against official documentation and should be treated as uncertain. What is well established is that unlimited ongoing cloud sync requires Connect; the exact free-tier ceiling is not authoritatively documented here.
Official integrations
Connect unlocks official connectors for Google Drive, Dropbox, and OneDrive. You can add up to five accounts across these services. From the device you can browse, copy, upload, import, and export files; exports back to a connected service are saved as PDFs. Importable types include PDF, EPUB, .docx, Google Docs, and .txt. The Connect-only "Convert to Notebook" turns .docx and .txt files into editable notebooks; Google Drive can additionally import Google Docs as notebooks or PDFs, and OneDrive can import Word as PDFs.
Setup is a browser-based OAuth flow: Settings > Account > Cloud Services (Integrations) > Add, then sign in to the provider, grant reMarkable access to specific folders, and accept permissions. Because access is scoped through OAuth to selected folders, the connector never receives blanket account access. These integrations are strictly a Connect feature — the free tier syncs only between the device and the official apps. They were first introduced in software release 2.10 (September 2021).
Outside the cloud connectors, additional transfer paths exist — the "Read on reMarkable" Chrome extension for web articles and the Microsoft Word/PowerPoint add-ins for Office documents. These, together with the USB desktop path, set up the developer and custom-connector approaches covered in the sections that follow, where the goal is often to replicate integration-style workflows without the Connect subscription.
Offline behavior and conflicts
Because the local device is authoritative for its own content, offline editing is safe: changes accumulate on the tablet and push to the cloud when connectivity returns. In practice, editing the same document simultaneously across multiple clients while offline is the scenario most likely to produce divergence, so the low-friction pattern is to let each device sync before switching to another. The USB desktop path provides a cloud-independent fallback for retrieving content when sync is unavailable or unsubscribed.
Figure 5.2: Offline editing to sync to conflict-handling lifecycle