Comparison

Color Notepad vs Journal Notebook

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Color Notepad

A clean and simple note-taking app that lets you personalize your experience with over 20 colorful themes. It offers a minimalist design for distraction-free writing, iCloud sync, and robust backup options.

Highlights
  • Minimalist design
  • 20+ colorful themes
  • Light & Dark Mode
  • iCloud sync
  • Sort notes
  • Export notes
  • Automatic local backups
Features
Read full description

Color Notepad is a clean and simple note-taking app designed to match your personal style. Whether you’re jotting down quick thoughts, daily tasks, or important ideas, Color Notepad keeps things fast, easy, and customizable. Choose from 20+ colorful themes to match your mood — or let the app surprise you with a random one each time you open it. Key Feature: • Minimalist design for quick and distraction-free note-taking. • 20+ colorful themes to suit your mood. • Light & Dark Mode support for every theme. • iCloud sync to keep your notes up to date across devices. • Sort your notes by date or alphabetically. • Export individual notes or your entire archive for backup or sharing. • Automatic local backups with the ability to restore notes. Color Notepad is perfect for anyone looking for a lightweight, private, and beautifully customizable notes app — with no ads, no accounts, and no clutter.

About

Journal Notebook

A straightforward digital notebook for personal use. It allows users to record thoughts, create to-do lists, and keep records with an intuitive interface. Entries can be searched and organized by topic, with cloud storage for added security.

Highlights
  • Simple writing interface
  • Dictate or scan text entries
  • Organize by topic
  • Searchable journal
  • Cloud storage integration
  • Permanent data retention
Read full description

Journal to write in with simple easy-to-use interface. It can be your: to-do list, notebook, records keeper, and diary, but most likely, it will be all of the above. All purpose in one. Write in everything you think about, search and read it later (next day, or even after years). Very easy to use: 1. Write Entry - just type in, dictate or scan text (if supported by your device). 2. Read Journal - turn over pages to read, tap on topic name to narrow down narrative. 3. Search Index - read what is related to specific topic only. This Journal intentionally left without dangerous data deletion functionality. Everything you write stays there forever, because nobody knows when you'll need it. And, for extra layer of protection for your memories, Journal Notebook is designed to utilize cloud storage.

Screenshots

Color Notepad3 screens
Journal Notebook4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Color Notepad at 47% against Journal Notebook's 0%. Color Notepad also leads on rating (4.5 vs 2.3) and ratings volume (606 vs 3). Journal Notebook's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and update cadence (daily vs every 5 months). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Color Notepad sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Journal Notebook asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Color Notepad holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 2.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Color Notepad has 606 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 47% of Color Notepad's written reviews are positive against 0% of Journal Notebook's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Color Notepad ships an update every 5 months, Journal Notebook daily. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Color Notepad versus Journal Notebook: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterColor NotepadJournal Notebook
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (606 ratings) — better2.3 (3 ratings)
Positive reviews46.5% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings606 — better3
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsDaily — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS14.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size4 MB1 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDmytro VynokurovInformation Arts Bureau LLC

Customer experience

Color Notepad

All ratings603 ratings
Positive86.1%
Neutral4.5%
Negative9.5%
Written reviews43 reviews
Positive46.5%
Neutral7.0%
Negative46.5%

Journal Notebook

All ratings2 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

Bugs and requests

Color Notepad

Reported bugs

7 issues
  • Notes deleted unexpectedly after saving
  • App crashes and fails to reopen
  • Text disappears or becomes invisible
  • Keyboard covers note content during editing
  • Inconsistent save functionality (8 out of 10 times fails)
Show 2 more
  • App unresponsive to input commands
  • Notes lost after app closure

Requested features

6 requests
  • Password protection for notes
  • Different colors for individual notes
  • Checklist functionality with reset capability
  • Note sharing capabilities
  • Multiple font options
Show 1 more
  • Apple Pencil support

Journal Notebook

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Color Notepad

One-time1
  • Unlimited Storage$4.99
None

Journal Notebook

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Color Notepad free?
Color Notepad is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Journal Notebook free?
Journal Notebook is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Color Notepad or Journal Notebook?
Color Notepad is rated higher. Color Notepad averages 4.5 out of 5 from 606 ratings, while Journal Notebook averages 2.3 from 3 ratings.
Do Color Notepad or Journal Notebook have ads?
Neither Color Notepad nor Journal Notebook shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Color Notepad or Journal Notebook?
Color Notepad ships an update every 5 months, and Journal Notebook daily. Most recently, Color Notepad was updated on October 24, 2026 and Journal Notebook on October 24, 2026.

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