Comparison

Noteflow 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

Noteflow

This app offers a digital notebook experience designed to replace pen and paper. It allows for note-taking, PDF annotation, sketching, and freeform idea capture with vector ink that scales without quality loss. Seamlessly integrate real-world content and organize your thoughts digitally.

Highlights
  • Digital notebook replacement for pen and paper
  • Annotate PDFs and sketch freely
  • Convert real-world images to vector ink
  • Fluid editing without traditional layers
  • Drag-and-drop integration with iOS
  • Cloud storage synchronization
Features
Read full description

Noteflow is designed to replace pen and paper. It is a modern digital notebook that lets you get the most from your iPad and iPhone. Use it for taking notes, annotating PDFs, sketching and doodling, plus a whole lot more: Copy and paste from the real world: Use Inkport gen 2 to snap a picture of a whiteboard or writing and convert it into Noteflow's native vector ink. No special paper needed. Then resize, re-color, or edit as if you wrote it in Noteflow. Create layered drawings without layers: Use the highlighter tool to color and shade behind existing ink. Use Color-Select to separate and edit individual colors. It's a much more fluid and natural editing experience than with layers. Use the straight-line tool with a grid for fast and intuitive wireframes and drafting. Drag-and-drop, cloud-storage, and more: Noteflow natively integrates with iOS's file system and drag-and-drop capabilities. Drop photos and text into Noteflow, and drag your drawings into other apps. Store your files locally or sync with the cloud service of your choice. Make Noteflow a seamless part of your workflow, the way you like. SPACE FOR YOUR IDEAS TO ROAM Our vision for Noteflow is simple: to be digital pen and paper. The magic of pen and paper is in their versatility. They are useful for so many things, but particularly for the freeform capture of ideas. Noteflow expands upon this quality. You can naturally do all the things you normally do with pen and paper: take notes in meetings or class, and jot down flashes of inspirations on the go. And you can take that to a whole new level: One of Noteflow’s best uses is for "thinking on digital paper": quickly capture key ideas and concepts, then move and organize them on the screen. Noteflow's vector ink engine lets you scale and edit your work without any loss of quality. Your words and drawings remain tack sharp when zoomed in, giving you a huge effective working canvas even on a single page. There are analogues in the physical world, such as sketchnotes or everyday working on a white board, but being able to fluidly edit and move your ideas around the page is something you can only do digitally. When you represent the ideas in your head with your own personal scribbles on the screen, it effectively becomes an extension of your mind - giving you more room to think. We've designed every part of Noteflow to let you intuitively capture and work on your ideas the way you like. Whether it's dropping in existing information, quickly sketching concepts, or assembling polished presentations for others. EVALUATE NOTEFLOW RISK FREE Rather than just read about Noteflow, go ahead and try it out: We've decided to make the Basic Edition completely FREE. The Basic Edition is a full featured note-taking and sketching app. It comes with the Fountain Pen with black ink, photos, and a standard set of 5 popular fonts for text. Books max out at 20 pages each, but you can create as many as you like. NOTEFLOW+ Upgrade instantly at any time to get: + Inkport + Import and annotate PDFs + A customizable, full color palette, + The Marker, Write-Behind Highlighter and Straight Line tools. + Rotate, Cut, Copy, Paste Ink, and Page Management, + Notebooks with unlimited pages, + Page backgrounds and sizes, + An additional 50+ fonts, + And more! Learn more in the in-app Quickstart Guide. DIGITAL TOOLS FOR A DIGITAL AGE I hope you'll find Noteflow a useful part of your workflow, and that you'll discover new ways to do things with it that weren't easy before. We're very proud of the work we've put into Noteflow, but we're also just seen the beginning of what's possible with powerful new digital platforms like the iPad. Our goal is to push these platforms to their limits to craft useful tools. Tools that can help us think a little more clearly, communicate a bit more effectively, and connect with other in new and enriching ways. Thanks for joining us on this journey! -- The App Makers @ Qrayon.

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

Noteflow4 screens
Journal Notebook4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Noteflow at 47% against Journal Notebook's 0%. Noteflow also leads on rating (4.2 vs 1.0) and ratings volume (182 vs 2). Journal Notebook's advantage is update cadence (daily vs every 6 weeks). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Noteflow holds the better App Store score, 4.2 against 1.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Noteflow has 182 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 47% of Noteflow's written reviews are positive against 0% of Journal Notebook's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Noteflow ships an update every 6 weeks, Journal Notebook daily. The most recent releases landed on October 10, 2026 and September 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Noteflow versus Journal Notebook: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNoteflowJournal Notebook
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.2 (182 ratings) — better1.0 (2 ratings)
Positive reviews46.7% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings182 — better2
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksDaily — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS12.4 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size14 MB1 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperQrayon, LLCInformation Arts Bureau LLC

Customer experience

Noteflow

All ratings182 ratings
Positive78.0%
Neutral7.1%
Negative14.8%
Written reviews30 reviews
Positive46.7%
Neutral10.0%
Negative43.3%

Journal Notebook

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

In-app purchases

None

Noteflow

No in-app purchases

None

Journal Notebook

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Noteflow free?
Noteflow is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Journal Notebook free?
Journal Notebook is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Noteflow or Journal Notebook?
Noteflow is rated higher. Noteflow averages 4.2 out of 5 from 182 ratings, while Journal Notebook averages 1.0 from 2 ratings.
Do Noteflow or Journal Notebook have ads?
Neither Noteflow nor Journal Notebook shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Noteflow or Journal Notebook?
Noteflow ships an update every 6 weeks, and Journal Notebook daily. Most recently, Noteflow was updated on October 10, 2026 and Journal Notebook on September 25, 2026.

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