# Notebooks: Write and Organize — user reviews > 207 indexed App Store user reviews of Notebooks by Alfons Schmid, rated 4.70/5 from 1,056 ratings. - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/notebooks-write-and-organize/id1490084838/reviews - App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/notebooks-write-and-organize/id1490084838.md - Rating breakdown: 5★ 890 · 4★ 104 · 3★ 27 · 2★ 14 · 1★ 21 ## What do users think of Notebooks? Overall sentiment: positive **Pros** - 🚀 Powerful and flexible organization - 🔒 Respects user data and privacy - 👍 Reliable and stable - 👍 Responsive and helpful developer - 👍 Elegant and intuitive interface - 👍 Seamless cross-device sync **Cons** - 🐛 Occasional crashes and sync issues - 🐛 Formatting and editing limitations - 🐛 Steep learning curve for some users **Commonly reported bugs** - Data loss after iOS upgrades - Compatibility issues with newer iOS versions **Most requested features** - Improved Markdown support - More font and color customization options - Better Apple Watch integration - Export to Word format ## Newest reviews (18 of 207) ### 4/5 — Zufrieden, fast perfekt *2026-07-17* Seit gestern bin ich also auch dabei. Ein wenig Eingewöhnung in Sync (ich synchronisiere von lokal nach lokal über den eingebauten WebDAV) braucht es schon. Später habe ich versehentlich auf dem iPhone alle Dateien samt Ordnerstruktur in die iCloud gehievt. Oh Schreck, aber es geht ja auch leicht wieder zurück. Ansonsten erklärt sich das meiste während der Nutzung und Handbücher gibt es auch. Für mich ausschlaggebend für den Kauf: Nun ist alles, auch meine sehr umfangreiche PDF Sammlung, zusammen mit meinen Schreibsachen an einem Ort. Ein Wermutstropfen: In den PDFs werden fest eingebaute Lesezeichen nicht dargestellt, sondern ledig die Thumbnails der Seiten. Ich habe literarische Werke, historische Adressbücher und Noten mit ausführlichen Lesezeichen. Diese PDFs muss ich in einer anderen App öffnen (Menü öffnen mit), um zu navigieren. So also 4+ Sterne. ### 4/5 — A brilliant helpful notebook app *2026-07-05, version 13.2* A notebook engine wrapped around giant storage that allows each file to maintain its original file format. Easy to keep in notes and easy to share with no proprietary notebook behavior. Tasks! One line or an entire notebook can be turned into a tasks and a check box for a to-do list so it's also a to-do list engine interconnected to the storage files and the words in the notebooks. This is not your normal notebook app! Brilliant design. I love it and it synchronizes with all my devices including Mac. The developer is also incredibly kind, intelligent and attentive. Connected to family account, buy it once and share with the family. Huge value for the money. Highly recommend! 👏🏽💝🌹 ### 4/5 — Cloud indépendant *2026-06-19* Dommage qu’à ce prix là on ne puisse avoir un stockage sur un cloud dédié comme le propose Things 3. Il faudrait alors proposer d’autres solutions de stockage comme Proton Drive ? :) Édit a la suite de la réponse du dev : J’en reviens a Things 3 qui est un achat unique et propose du cloud. Ça ne semble donc pas si impossible. iCloud propose du stockage gratuitement oui mais il est peut déjà être plein avec 5Go seulement, tout le monde ne veut pas forcément prendre un abo iCloud+ **Developer response:** Merci pour votre retour. Notebooks est un achat unique sans abonnement. Un service de stockage cloud dédié implique des coûts permanents et ne peut donc pas être inclus dans le prix de l’application. En revanche, Notebooks fonctionne parfaitement avec iCloud Drive, qui est disponible gratuitement pour tous les utilisateurs Apple. ### 5/5 — The best markdown software I have found in the Apple ecosystem *2025-12-13, version 12.8.4* Simple yet complex and absolutely beautiful. Loving it and absolutely worth the price. Thanks for the wonderful app. ### 5/5 — A powerful notes app that respects your data and keeps you in control. *2025-12-09, version 12.8.4* Notebooks is non-subscription, and you retain full control over your data and privacy. You can choose where documents are stored, so you’re not tied to Apple, Google or Microsoft, and can work across different operating systems. It takes a little learning, but is reminiscent of simpler word-processing file structures where the user creates the logical sequence. It’s not just a note-taking app — it provides scaffolding for organising our complex digital worlds. If you want to keep good notes, this app has been built and maintained by a dedicated developer. One of the best-kept secrets in the notes world. A reminder that developers like Alfons truly care about the product, not data mining or subscription models. Thank you!! ### 5/5 — Simply the app I a using the most on my iPhone ! *2025-12-02* Convenient, versatile, reliable ### 5/5 — Apple純正メモ帳上位互換 *2025-11-26* 色々なメモ帳からノートアプリを使ってきましたが、最終的にこのアプリに決定しました。 UIも素晴らしく、マークダウンから何でもござれ、ノート間リンクでWikiも作れ、OCR、写真も動画も入れられて、Dropbox同期可、iPhoneメモ帳の最終形態ここにあり。 Macデスクトップ版は別売りですが、両方揃えても十分納得できる価格でした。 メモ帳、ノートに迷っている方は是非購入してみて下さい。 ### 5/5 — The backbone of my information system *2025-11-22, version 12.8.4* I have used Notebooks since I had an iPhone 3S. It has tons of info I’ve collected for years. And now it has so many more features than it did then. They’ve done a great job updating and providing a super high quality tool for organizing information and actions. ### 5/5 — Tried them all. This is the best for my work flow. *2025-11-10, version 12.8.4* Simple, instant, highly flexible organization. No visual noise, subtle marketing or excess bells and whistles. Just pure functionality and focus. ### 3/5 — Technical Issues *2025-11-06, version 12.8.4* I recently bought this upgrade from the previous app, hoping that some features from the previous would disappear. I don’t like the idea that bolding, italicizing, and etc… would get rid of the symbols at the start and end of the portion highlighted. It ruins the flow of writing. Lastly, I can’t indent the starting sentence of a paragraph. The old app allows me to do this, this one does not. ### 2/5 — Mise à jour ? *2025-09-22* Avec les dernières mises à jour de iOS, 18.6.2, l’application fonctionne très mal plus que des lenteurs… à quand la prochaine mise à jour de l’application ? **Developer response:** If you store Notebooks' documents on iCloud Drive, then the slow performance may be related to iCloud sync. You can resolve that with a few simple steps, as documented in the FAQ section of our website: https://www.notebooksapp.com/faqconc/when-icloud-sync-seems-stuck-ios/ If that does not help, please contact us by mail so we can help you sort out that issue. ### 5/5 — Great app *2025-09-20, version 12.8.4* This has been my favorite notebook app for years, but recently (in iOS 18.5 and now in iOS 26.0). Working well in 26.0. 👍🏻 ### 5/5 — Great app *2025-09-12, version 12.8.3* I really enjoy this app and keep coming back to it. I particularly enjoy the wi-fi sync option and the responsive developer as I’ve run into a couple markdown issues and always get a quick response. I hope a future update incorporates some sort of journal or the apple journal options and maybe more templates, but its easy enough for me to just duplicate a doc and add a date for now. Great handwriting recognition as well. ### 5/5 — The BEST notes app! *2025-07-12, version 12.8.3* I can sort, I can create books (folders), I can undo - pretty much all the things I wasn’t able to do with the iPhone Notes app. Worth every penny!! 🤩 ### 4/5 — Frustrating *2025-04-14, version 12.7.3* It comes with lots of info on the various functions but it’s not so hot on explaining how they work (at one point describing them as mostly self explanatory 😂) I guess it’s not really an app for newbies. The more I use it the more I get the hang of it and it’s certainly better value for money than Evernote. The one off payment is actually quite reasonable for what you get. So I’m not complaining but it needs an “idiots guide” along side the “I assume you know what I’m talking about” guide. ### 5/5 — Beste App - auch 2025! *2025-04-13* Diese App benutze ich schon seit vielen Jahren und sie ist gleichbleibend gut! Man kann quasi alles damit machen und das Beste ist: Man hat die absolute Hoheit über seine Daten - wenn man denn möchte. So ist die Synchronisation über WebDav/Nextcloud überhaupt kein Problem. Mit dem Markdown Plugin in NextCloud kann man seine Dateien online editieren und lesen. Perfekt. Man beachte auch, dass die App keinerlei Nutzerdaten erfasst! Der Support ist allzeit schnell und hilfsbereit. Die einmaligen Kosten sind ein Witz, wenn man den Funktionsumfang und die Zuverlässigkeit beachtet. Alles schreiben, alles taggen, alles finden. 100% uneingeschränkte Empfehlung für dieses Sahnestück im Apple-Universum. Mega Dank an den Entwickler! ### 5/5 — Love the focus - Love the simplicity *2025-04-04, version 12.7.3* Alfonso has created something really beautiful. “Don’t fear the blank page.” Being an easily distracted individual the uniformity and simplicity of using this notebook app can’t be overstated for me. Last year I had trouble with the app crashing and the support I received was incredibly helpful. Alfonso’s thoughtful responses and assistance with helping me diagnose the problem and then helping me to solve it: I was using a “math” font instead of a true text font and when I tried to format it, it kind broke the app. He was kind, helpful and made some corresponding changes to the app from some of the feedback I gave him on usability. It was a really authentic and genuine experience - a real rarity in the IT world. I too learned things I didn’t know and am now even more efficient in my approach to note taking and note making. This app truly disappears into the background while I work. Thank you so much. I highly recommend it to anyone wanting to focus on their work and where the evidence or their train of thought takes them. ### 5/5 — Great tool for organization *2025-04-03, version 12.7.3* After many years using Notebooks I can say the experience has been great and the customer support is outstanding. ## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated) ### 1/5 — Data gone! *2025-11-05, version 12.8.4* I have used Notebooks for years and have been generally happy with it. However, with the most recent update every last bit of data in my app is gone. Wiped out without warning. I have tried reaching out to the developer, but have still heard back nothing. Caution about using this app for anything important. You may never see your notes again. ### 1/5 — Very difficult to sync one version of Notebooks to another *2025-04-16, version 12.7.3* Very difficult to sync one version of netbooks to another ### 1/5 — So slow and buggy it’s not useable *2024-11-18, version 12.6.1* Hangs, crashes, hangs, crashes. Great idea but cannot handle iCloud or large libraries. ### 1/5 — It doesn’t sync anymore! *2024-10-20, version 12.6.1* Please fix the sync feature! It just started timing out whenever I try to sync. Nothing is wrong otherwise. If you can’t fix this, please refund my money. ### 1/5 — after years of use, large data base App becomes unusable *2024-03-29, version 12.4* after years of use, accumulating a large amount of data, upgrading to iOS 17.4 stopped Notebooks syncing and thus became unusable. Extremely disappointed.... ### 1/5 — Notebooks for Mac Sticker Shock—Even Worse, Lost Documents Upon iPhone Upgrade *2023-11-10, version 12.3.1* Thinking to expand my use of Notebooks 11 for iPhone as a writing tool (and to facilitate moving notes from my phone to my laptop—which I still struggle with getting to work reliably), I looked into buying the Notebooks 2 for mac. Ouch! What’s wanted is nearly US$40, with NO apparent discount for already have purchased the application and module for iPhone. Frankly, I was expecting a price of about half that. I’m not exactly “rolling in it” and have to manage my resources carefully (e.g. refurbished mid-2012 MacBook Pro, refurbished iPhone 7). I think I will have to wait to buy the mac version for full integration. Even worse, when I upgraded my phone, documents I had stored on my old phone within Notebooks didn’t move over to the new. There’s probably a way I can drill down and cause this to happen (good thing I saved the old phone), and because the documents are important original written work, I will have to do this. The thing is: I shouldn’t have to. Documents should move over like everything else does during a phone upgrade. Fail. ### 1/5 — Watch App Stinks *2023-09-15, version 12.2.1* Downloaded this app because the watch integration seemed great. However, the only button on the watch app is “New Task”. Nothing else. I can’t see my documents or tasks (even the ones I created from the watch). Just spent $12 on this app (and I even purchased the extra $3 custom storage location). Complete waste. Really wanted to like this app, but truly the app experience is utterly horrible. I’m using an Apple Watch SE (purchased in 2023). ### 1/5 — Gulp! Notebooks for Mac Sticker Shock With No Discount For Buying The App For iPhone *2023-02-12* Thinking to expand my use of Notebooks 11 for iPhone as a writing tool (and to facilitate moving notes from my phone to my laptop—which I still struggle with getting to work reliably), I looked into buying the Notebooks 2 for mac. Ouch! What’s wanted is nearly US$40, with NO apparent discount for already have purchased the application and module for iPhone. Frankly, I was expecting a price of about half that. I’m not exactly “rolling in it” and have to manage my resources carefully (e.g. refurbished mid-2012 MacBook Pro, refurbished iPhone 7). I think I will have to wait to buy the mac version for full integration. **Developer response:** One of the best ways to expand the use of Notebooks 11 is to install the free upgrade to Notebooks 12 on your iPhone. We don't have Notebooks for Mac 2 any more, it has been upgraded to version 3 a couple of months ago - for free as well. So when considering the price we charge for Notebooks, please take into account that it is a one-off payment. - A discount for existing users is a good idea, but it is not possible on the App Store, as we don't know who our users are. The only way to achieve something similar is through subscriptions with monthly or annual recurring fees, but with that, users would pay way more that $40 over a period of three years... ### 1/5 — Un incontournable *2022-07-29* S’intègre parfaitement dans un environnement GTD Est à la pointe du classement avec des recherche Hashtag Je l’utilise depuis plus de 9 ans ### 1/5 — Gulp! Notebooks for Mac Sticker Shock With No Discount For Buying The App For iPhone *2022-04-20, version 11.0.3* Thinking to expand my use of Notebooks 11 for iPhone as a writing tool (and to facilitate moving notes from my phone to my laptop—which I still struggle with getting to work reliably), I looked into buying the Notebooks 2 for mac. Ouch! What’s wanted is nearly US$40, with NO apparent discount for already have purchased the application and module for iPhone. Frankly, I was expecting a price of about half that. I’m not exactly “rolling in it” and have to manage my resources carefully (e.g. refurbished mid-2012 MacBook Pro, refurbished iPhone 7). I think I will have to wait to buy the mac version for full integration. ## Most praised reviews (10 highest-rated) ### 5/5 — unifies all my devices *2026-08-29, version 13.2.1* This app is outstanding. I use Notebooks on iPhone, iPad, Mac and Windows. It seamlessly syncs across all devices so I have the must current view no matter which device I am using. I can compose, edit and take notes on my iPhone with everything synced on all devices. Its invaluable. ### 5/5 — point d'ergonomie à affiner *2026-08-06* 👍28536 M / 190 954 L arrivée du compteur de mots ____ l'édition-recherche nécessitant le clavier, ne laisse pas la page fixe ____ Possibilité d’édition multi-formats au ToP ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕 de voir arriver cette 13ⁱᵉᵐᵉ 𝓂𝑜𝓊𝓉𝓊𝓇𝑒 de 𝙉𝙤𝙩𝙚𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙨. ____ Testé : sur texte long en un seul document html, le rechargement de la page devient plus lent mais semble maintenant avoir des comportements notables, différents selon qu'il soit après une recherche … avec deux types de recherches 1. à l'intérieur d'un document, 2. sur plusieurs documents, la vitesse de replacement dans un document semble beaucoup plus rapide, que lors d'un rechargement de page (avec quelques imprécisions sur la position dans le document) ### 5/5 — Fidèle, en évolution constante, Merci *2026-06-08* Update 2026 - Je me félicite d’avoir choisi Notebooks il y a bien longtemps : aujourd’hui je peux partager les notes que je veux avec l’IA de mon choix sans effort particulier. Les dossiers et fichiers textes sont accessibles simplement sur mes disques persos. Je peux facilement faire un travail de réflexion sur des années de notes. Merci Notebooks !!! ——— Utilisé pour toutes mes notes depuis… je ne sais pas… je dirais 12 ans, 15 ans peut-être… Choisi au départ pour le format non-propriétaire des notes et le fait de pouvoir les stocker sur le cloud de mon choix, contrairement aux leaders de l’époque. Jamais regretté, au contraire. Toujours aussi fluide, adaptable à mes besoins et en consolidation/évolution constante. Bref, une fiabilité à toute épreuve. Merci Notebooks 🙂 ### 5/5 — Nice note app! *2026-06-06, version 13.1.1* Been using Notebooks for years and like it a lot. It can do everything other note apps can and more, including inserting time stamps, location, etc. Well done. ### 5/5 — Great notebook *2026-03-15, version 13* Great Notebook, does what it states it does, the only notebook you need. ### 5/5 — Minor Issue *2026-03-06, version 13* I can’t swipe my document to another document, and I can’t make side-by-side documents either. I couldn’t even swipe document in side-by-side before as well. I am dissatisfied. ### 5/5 — Great app *2026-03-01* This app has helped me organize all my docs, all my projects for more than a decade. No subscription model is an another plus. Nothing else to say but support the developer’s efforts. ### 5/5 — True Gem *2026-02-21, version 12.8.4* I’ve had Notebooks for years and like many people, I’ve been tempted away by Bear, Notability, Obsidian, Notion etc. I’ve eventually come back to Notebooks and given it the commitment it deserves. I’ve now dumped iCloud and sync to my NAS via WebDAV. It is a total success, and the depth of usability keeps surprising me. It is ideal for quick notes, as well as complex content block editing using hyperlinks. Markdown is now my default, which gives great formatting. ### 5/5 — App geht immer noch besser, Support ist perfekt *2026-01-29* Mein Hinweis per Email auf eine weniger schöne Copy- und Paste-Auffälligkeit von Notebooks (Dateinamen nicht korrekt übernommen) wurde nach 30 min (!) konstruktiv beantwortet, sie soll als Arbeitspunkt in die Update-todo-Liste aufgenommen werden. Allein mit dieser Antwort-Geschwindigkeit, die sich himmelweit positiv von der anderer App-Anbieter abhebt, hätte Notebooks einen 6. Stern verdient. ### 5/5 — 10 years and running *2026-01-16, version 12.8.4* I’m going on 10+ years with Notebooks. It has been my go-to notes app and will always be. Just sophisticated enough to provide all you need. Just simple enough to not overwhelm you with all you don’t need. --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-09-08.*