# Notesnook: Private notepad — user reviews > 382 indexed App Store user reviews of Notesnook by Streetwriters LLC, rated 4.70/5 from 646 ratings. - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/notesnook-private-notepad/id1544027013/reviews - App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/notesnook-private-notepad/id1544027013.md - Rating breakdown: 5★ 538 · 4★ 62 · 3★ 16 · 2★ 11 · 1★ 19 ## What do users think of Notesnook? Overall sentiment: positive **Pros** - 🚀 Fast and efficient - 🔒 Secure and private - 👍 Clean and intuitive UI - 👍 Cross-platform compatibility - 👍 Generous free tier - 👍 Customizable features **Cons** - 🐛 Sync and login issues - 🐛 Buggy and crashes - 💰 Expensive premium tier - 🔒 Lack of free encryption features **Commonly reported bugs** - Crashes on launch on older iOS devices - Sync issues leading to data loss - Unreliable login and verification process **Most requested features** - Improved search functionality - Reminders and calendar integration - Handwriting and drawing support - Multilingual support - Improved table and spreadsheet features ## Newest reviews (18 of 382) ### 4/5 — Good Note App *2026-08-28, version 3.4.10* I’ve searched for an app such as this and am happy using it. I’ve used Notesnook for approx a year or more. It has a features I did find in the previous notes app I used. Thank you for Notesnook. ### 4/5 — Still Testing *2026-08-22, version 3.4.9* For starters, Mac and Linux compatible… Fantastic! I am very picky about application developments, especially those requiring subscriptions, so I will have more to say as time goes on. Great start though. ### 4/5 — Great app *2026-07-20, version 3.4.6* Great app But it doesn’t support RTL (Right-to-Left) text direction for arabic language when you write notes. ### 5/5 — Best notes app *2026-07-13, version 3.4.5* I’ve used a lot of notes apps trying to find the perfect one. This is it! Sync, encryption, export, markdown, attachments, this one has it all ands then some! ### 5/5 — Web clip option *2026-07-07, version 3.4.5* Been looking for a simple(ish) notes app to get nahstee Google Keep out of my IPhone and Android phone life, syncing between each phone and which will save web pages. This fills that need better than anything else I’ve found so far and as a very small use retiree on limited funds the reasonable free tier is great for this use case. Hopefully my recommendations to others will give more of a lucrative return! ### 5/5 — Truly the very best notes app!!! *2026-07-01, version 3.3.27* I love this app, it’s fast, has many options, the very best, you won’t find a better app!!! ### 5/5 — Moved from Standard Notes *2026-06-27, version 3.3.27* Always been looking for the perfect note application. I wasn’t Evernote user for multiple years and switched to other applications but they all are too heavy. Started using Standard Notes. Was lightweight, but there are a lot of issues with the application. So now I’m happy with Notesnook because it has all the features I need and appears to be reliable. Only issue is I could not import my Standard Notes into it so I have been slowly moving them over manly. ### 5/5 — Very good *2026-06-14, version 3.3.27* Very good ### 5/5 — Great value for free *2026-06-04, version 3.3.24* Free sync, modern layout, e2ee, great value compared to other note apps IMO ### 5/5 — Well rounded with a cherry on top *2026-05-22, version 3.3.24* I loved Anotes but the web and windows were poor and I have put a lot of work there so I looked for another option. Simplicity, Import/export, free tier and a good web version were what I looked at. And this had all . That’s it’s a privacy focused component with encryption was just the cherry on top and didn’t affect my decision . It’s still early but I’m loving it so far. ### 5/5 — Best Notes app ever made *2026-05-22, version 3.3.24* I can’t believe this exists ### 5/5 — incredible for writers *2026-05-21, version 3.3.24* i switched from google docs last year, and i tried a bunch of different apps. notesnook has really great support, the features are fantastic, and i haven’t lost any writing so far to server issues, which was a big problem for me before. i also like the year end word count feature, i didn’t know i was gonna get that and it was really cool! ### 5/5 — Great *2026-05-21, version 3.3.24* 05/21/2026 I’ve been using Notesnook for a year now and I feel like it’s the best privacy respecting notes taking application. It has all the features I need and anytime I notice any issue their support is quick to make the fix. Stability has always been good too. I use the iOS application and Windows application and both function the same. Initial: Been using for a couple of days now and so far everything has been great. Will add more to review as things come up. ### 2/5 — Unable to login sometimes *2026-04-29, version 3.3.20* The app is great when it works but there are many times when I am unable to login. The login screen just loads endlessly. ### 4/5 — Everything is fine *2026-04-27, version 3.3.20* Add colored, illustrated backgrounds to notes, like Google Keep. ### 5/5 — Great *2026-04-12, version 3.3.19* Use it all the time to send my ai chats from my phone to my desktop. 15 second sync for free, hard to beat ### 5/5 — Best note app for me *2026-04-11, version 3.3.19* I actually got it by gpt recommend, meanwhile I also pay for notion and a free SN user. This app is so good it's somewhat in between these 2 note apps I use most often. It's light, cheap and generally safe. I gave it a try spent some hours on it and really enjoy it! Hopefully there's a self-comment feature installed in future, wanna make comments on some of my notes but couldn't find anything useful. ### 5/5 — Great app! *2026-04-09, version 3.3.19* Love it, fantastic features and does everything it’s supposed to. ## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated) ### 1/5 — Security behind a pay wall *2026-07-25, version 3.4.7* Such a shame. Devs have put security features behind a pay wall. And a very expensive tier as well (app lock). Just too expensive for basic notes. ### 1/5 — Worthless *2026-04-19, version 3.3.19* Sync always failing don't always sync between devices. Cancelled my paid subscription and went elsewhere ### 1/5 — Okay but not impressed *2026-03-20, version 3.3.16* If it was not for the weekly syncing issues that I have and the struggle I have getting a hold of support a lot of the time I would have given this a much higher score. I am considering going somewhere else because at this point it is getting really hard to use something that you pay for and it does not work half the time. with my issue I’m having currently it’s been two weeks in a row that I have had syncing issues and other issues on my account as of march 20, 2026. I am unable to use Notesnook to the fullest degree as a paying subscriber. Only able to do basic notes everything else will not work. ### 1/5 — Useless *2026-03-14, version 3.3.16* Can't login, screen freezes and input is impossible. iPhone 16 pro max latest software. ### 1/5 — Sketchy business *2026-02-10, version 3.3.13* Developer chips away at a user’s existing features. I always used app lock to keep my Notesnook secure, I sign in one day and am told my app lock has been disabled and now requires payment. Existing users aren’t grandfathered in either. Bad way to do business. ### 1/5 — Icing out free users *2025-12-15, version 3.3.9* I got this app specifically because it had markdown style shortcuts available in the free tier. It took me a lot of time to migrate everything, but I was happy with the user experience, and with the selection of what was available in the free tier. Unfortunately, NotesNook recently decided to remove their main feature for all free users: you now can no longer use markdown shortcuts in your notes. This makes it just like every other organized notes app, and is bad form baiting in users only to switch up what they can actually access. ### 1/5 — Ads in a paid notes app *2025-12-08, version 3.3.9* I’ve been a paying subscriber for nearly a year and the developers recently started pinning ads for “partnered” promotions directly above the notes. This is a violation of trust. I pay for apps like this to avoid ads and to support developers who make good software, but I refuse to be your customer AND your product. A utility app should behave like a utility. Imagine your calculator or calendar suddenly started pushing sponsored content. It would be absurd, and that’s exactly what you’ve done to your product. I have cancelled my subscription and will be giving my money to one of your many competitors. ### 1/5 — Fragwürdiges Trialmodell *2025-10-12, version 3.3.3* Free Version ohne sinnvolle Testung (Bilder, Anhänge) Möchte auch dann für die weitere Trialversion die Kontodaten Nein Danke - bleibe lieber bei OneNote Gleich wieder gelöscht ### 1/5 — Are task lists and callouts a paid feature now? *2025-10-10, version 3.3.3* Why take it away when it used to be free? Task lists are a free and essential part of other notes apps. I don't get it. ### 1/5 — Support nonexistent; doesn't reply to emails; publicly replies to save face though. *2025-10-07, version 3.3.3* Support ignores all emails, they reply publicly to save face when complaining about the lack of support but absolutely refuse to respond to emails. ## Most praised reviews (10 highest-rated) ### 5/5 — Great Open Source Evernote Alternative *2026-08-31, version 3.4.10* I needed to find a replacement for Evernote, and Notesnook is even better than what I hoped for. I’ve been using Evernote for 7 years (since 2019) as a paid professional service, and I have seen severe performance degradation over the last 2-3 years. I got a notice that they increased my yearly subscription price from $140 to $240 - on the same day I couldn’t get a note to open on my phone because of an aforementioned new performance issue. I didn’t mind the price increase alone, but Evernote’s service is now full of AI slop and unacceptable software development practices. For a replacement, I considered Joplin, Notesnook, and Obsidian. Notesnook is user friendly, boasts the same core features as Evernote without the slop, adds additional nice-to-have features like nesting notebooks, and the syncing is flawless between my devices. I am now paying $70 a year for more features than I would have with Evernote at $240. ### 5/5 — Privacy friendly *2026-08-27, version 3.4.10* Font are too tiny, need to have a toggle to increase text size ### 5/5 — Great Note App and a replacement for EverNote *2026-08-21, version 3.4.9* I was an 11 year user of Evernote. Stayed with them from when it was free for personal uses all the way up to this year. I had renewed last year at $129 but was notified by Evernote they were raising the annual rate to $259 for the premium tier I was in. Started searching for a replacement and found Notesnook. I’ve been using it for almost 3 months now and I’m very impressed with it. All of my many years worth of Evernote data was imported into Notesnook. The layout is very familiar to me and I had no issues adapting. I highly recommend Notesnook! Oh, and my annual rate for the top tier as of this review is $89. Much cheaper than Evernote. ### 5/5 — Solid *2026-08-02, version 3.4.7* Tried several others. Easy to use, smooth flow, stable, reasonably priced. Solid. ### 5/5 — Overall, great *2026-08-01, version 3.4.7* Doesn’t what you’d expect. A nice multi platform option to share notes. Highly recommend. ### 5/5 — Super grateful to have found this *2026-07-30* Found this randomly after tryin out so many other apps and deleting them all. My main objective was sinple notetaking with todos and cross device sync. This beats every other alternative with its simplicity. Super light and super simple. Very customizable as well. Love it! ### 5/5 — Great App! *2026-07-29, version 3.4.7* Love this app for the privacy and cross platform ability! ### 5/5 — Secure and and well-designed. *2026-07-25, version 3.4.7* Beats every secure note app I ever tried. Easy to use for one’s private thoughts and ideas, out of reach of a steadily more intrusive Government. Europe takes privacy seriously - unlike the “Land of the Free”. ### 5/5 — Brilliant program *2026-07-24, version 3.4.7* A must if you want a good solid notes app that is privacy focussed. ### 5/5 — Nice UI, easy to use *2026-07-18, version 3.4.6* A great alternative to Evernote without the learning curve. Has most essential features and focuses on user privacy which is nice. --- *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 2026-09-05.*