# Dining Note vs Bowelle

The clearest difference is ads: Bowelle at none against Dining Note's shown. Bowelle also leads on update cadence (every 8 days vs every 5 weeks). Dining Note's advantage is device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 18.0). On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Dining Note sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Bowelle sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $2.49 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Dining Note against 4.7 for Bowelle. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 867 and 2.2K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 94% of Dining Note's written reviews are positive against 92% of Bowelle's.

Dining Note ships an update every 5 weeks, Bowelle every 8 days. Both last shipped on October 26, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | Dining Note | Bowelle |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.8 (867 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/dining-note-simple-diet-diary/id1194971321/reviews)** | [4.7 (2.2K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bowelle-the-ibs-tracker/id1436064640/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 867 | **2.2K** |
| Positive reviews | **93.6% of reviews** | 92.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | Every 5 weeks | **Every 8 days** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 11 MB | 13 MB |
| Requires iOS | **12.0** | 18.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [4th May Games Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/975488129) | [Bowelle AB](https://appshunter.io/developer/1436064639) |

## What reviewers say

### Dining Note

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/dining-note-simple-diet-diary/id1194971321)

Easily track your daily food and drink intake, including meals and snacks. Record exercise, add photos, and set a password for privacy. Improve your eating habits with simple monthly statistics.

**Highlights:** Record meals and beverages, Track exercise, Add photos to entries, Password protection, Customizable themes, Monthly statistics

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Upgrade to Premium | $2.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Simple and easy to use
- 🚀 Straightforward interface
- 💡 Flexible for recording food intake
- 🚀 Minimal and non-intrusive
- 👍 Doesn't focus on calories or weight loss

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Occasional crashes or glitches
- 💡 Limited customization options
- 💡 Lack of syncing between devices
- 💡 No notes or mood tracking section

**Reported bugs**

- Swipe up gesture to exit app sometimes doesn't work
- Photo uploads can be unreliable or cause app to crash
- Inconsistent behavior when trying to save entries

**Requested features**

- Add ability to edit or delete entries
- Implement time stamps for meals
- Include option to export data
- Add more drink categories beyond just water and coffee
- Integrate with Apple Health or other fitness apps


### Bowelle

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bowelle-the-ibs-tracker/id1436064640)

Easily track your food, mood, and symptoms to identify patterns and potential triggers. Visualize your health data with beautiful charts and export it to share with healthcare professionals.

**Highlights:** Food and symptom tracking, Mood and water intake logging, Stress level monitoring, Bowel movement diary, Customizable fields, Visual trend charts, Data export for doctors

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (9)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Bowelle Premium | $2.49 | per month |
| Bowelle Premium | $3.49 | per month |
| Bowelle Premium | $3.99 | per month |
| Bowelle Premium | $4.99 | per 3 months |
| Bowelle Premium | $6.99 | per 3 months |
| Bowelle Premium | $7.99 | per 3 months |
| Bowelle Premium | $9.99 | per year |
| Bowelle Premium | $14.99 | per year |
| Bowelle Premium | $17.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Easy to use
- 👍 Customizable
- 👍 Helpful for tracking symptoms and triggers
- 👍 Clean and intuitive interface
- 👍 Useful reports and data visualization

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Issues with editing/deleting past entries
- 🔒 Concerns about data loss or syncing
- 💡 Limited customization options in free version
- 💡 Lack of integration with other health apps
- 💡 Desire for more detailed symptom tracking

**Reported bugs**

- Occasional crashes or freezes
- Issues with data display or loading

**Requested features**

- Ability to add time stamps for symptoms
- Option to track exercise, medications, and other health factors
- More detailed food logging with food database integration
- Sync across multiple devices
- Expanded customization options in free version


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Dining Note free?

Dining Note is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Bowelle free?

Bowelle is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Dining Note or Bowelle?

Dining Note is rated higher. Dining Note averages 4.8 out of 5 from 867 ratings, while Bowelle averages 4.7 from 2.2K ratings.

### Do Dining Note or Bowelle have ads?

Dining Note shows ads; Bowelle does not.

### Which is updated more often, Dining Note or Bowelle?

Dining Note ships an update every 5 weeks, and Bowelle every 8 days. Most recently, Dining Note was updated on October 26, 2026 and Bowelle on October 26, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*