Comparison

Joplin vs Notesnook

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

Head to head
About

Joplin

A privacy-focused note-taking and to-do application that allows you to capture multimedia notes, organize them with notebooks and tags, and sync across devices. It offers end-to-end encryption and an offline-first approach for secure and accessible information management.

Highlights
  • Capture multimedia notes (speech, photos, videos, PDFs)
  • Organize notes with notebooks and tags
  • Create to-dos and set reminders
  • End-to-end encryption for privacy
  • Cross-device synchronization (Joplin Cloud, Dropbox, OneDrive)
  • Offline-first access
  • OCR search for text within images and PDFs
Features
Read full description

Privacy-first app Capture your thoughts freely and without distractions, tracking, or ads. With Joplin’s end-to-end encryption and open-source code, you can concentrate on your ideas and tasks without worrying about your privacy. Capture multimedia notes Capture multimedia notes effortlessly. In Joplin you can : • create manuscript notes, • transcribe speech to note, • add multimedia: photos, videos, PDFs, and images, • insert documents as attachments, • create math expressions, add tables, write code and insert diagrams, • create to-dos and add reminders. Organise your ideas Organise your notes into notebooks. Connect your notes with tags by subject or priority. Use colours and rich text editor to format your notes with ease. Make task lists, create to-dos and add reminders. Effortlessly find your notes, even within PDFs and images, thanks to the powerful search feature enhanced by Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology. Use Joplin to store your bills, lecture notes, photos or receipts. Reliable synchronisation Access your notes from computer, phone or tablet by synchronising with various services including Joplin Cloud, Dropbox and OneDrive. Seamlessly move from one device to another. Offline-first You can access your notes anytime and anywhere, even without Internet. If you’re using Joplin on multiple devices, they will synchronise and update once you regained the connection. Enhance your productivity across devices Extend your note-taking experience by using Joplin on additional devices such as a desktop computer or tablet. Make the most of each device by using its specific features. On the desktop app, use a web clipper extension, wide-range of community plugins and a Markdown editor. Experience flawless handwriting and drawing on your tablet. Join active community Connect with Joplin’s vibrant community on Joplin Forum. It’s a place where users can share ideas, ask questions, exchange information and give feedback. Joplin’s dynamic community also develops powerful plugins, so you can customise your app to suit your needs.

About

Notesnook

This open-source app offers secure, encrypted note-taking and organization across all your devices. It features a robust editor, to-do lists, and a private journal with advanced security to protect your personal information.

Highlights
  • Military-grade encryption
  • Cross-platform synchronization
  • To-do lists and task management
  • Private journal with media support
  • Rich text and Markdown editor
  • Notebook organization
  • App lock with fingerprint support
Features
Read full description

Your notes are yours. Notesnook encrypts every one of them on your device before it ever reaches the cloud — so no one can read them. Not advertisers, not us. UNLIMITED NOTES. EVERY DEVICE. FREE. Most note apps cap the free plan until it hurts. Others stop after a few dozen notes. Notesnook never limits how much you write or how many devices you sync. A REAL EDITOR Headings, tables, code blocks, maths, outlines, Markdown and full-quality images. Notes that hold up whether you are writing a shopping list or a thesis chapter. ORGANISED AT ANY SIZE Nested notebooks, tags, colours, pinned and favourite notes, and search that stays instant at 10,000 notes. Link notes to each other and build your own private wiki. PRIVACY YOU CAN CHECK YOURSELF • End-to-end encryption is always on — you cannot switch it off, so you cannot forget • Encrypted on your device, in transit and at rest, using XChaCha20-Poly1305 and Argon2 • Even your notebook and tag names are encrypted • 100% open source under AGPLv3 — read every line, or run your own sync server • Recommended by Privacy Guides IMPORT YOUR OLD NOTES Bring your notes, notebooks and tags with you. Import from your previous notes app, plus plain Markdown and HTML files. EVERYWHERE YOU WRITE iPhone, iPad, Mac and the web. Sync is instant, and encrypted the whole way. ALSO INSIDE • Web clipper — save any article, ad-free and offline • Reminders across all your devices • Note version history, so nothing is ever really lost • Publish a note to a shareable link • Dark mode and custom themes FREE FOREVER Unlimited notes, unlimited devices, 50 notebooks, 50 tags and full end-to-end encryption. No ads. No trial countdown. PAID PLANS Add task lists, callouts, recurring reminders, more storage, and — on Pro — app lock, an encrypted vault and full-quality images. From $19.99 a year. Questions or feedback: support@streetwriters.co Privacy policy: https://notesnook.com/privacy Terms: https://notesnook.com/terms

Screenshots

Joplin4 screens
Notesnook4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Notesnook at 4.7 against Joplin's 4.1. Notesnook also leads on update cadence (weekly vs monthly) and review sentiment (78% vs 67%). Joplin's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 20). On price, ratings volume, ads and device support 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. Notesnook sells 17 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Joplin asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Notesnook holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.1. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 473 and 653 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 67% of Joplin's written reviews are positive against 78% of Notesnook's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Joplin ships an update monthly, Notesnook weekly. The most recent releases landed on September 20, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Joplin versus Notesnook: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterJoplinNotesnook
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.1 (473 ratings)4.7 (653 ratings) — better
Positive reviews66.6% of reviews78.2% of reviews — better
Number of ratings473653 — better
Update frequencyMonthlyWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.615.6
Further details — not scored
Size73 MB89 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLaurent CozicStreetwriters LLC

Customer experience

Joplin

All ratings473 ratings
Positive77.2%
Neutral6.3%
Negative16.5%
Written reviews494 reviews
Positive66.6%
Neutral9.3%
Negative24.1%

Notesnook

All ratings653 ratings
Positive93.0%
Neutral2.5%
Negative4.6%
Written reviews386 reviews
Positive78.2%
Neutral6.7%
Negative15.0%

User reviews

Joplin

From 473 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Great app
  • 🔒 End-to-end encryption
  • 👍 Excellent cross-platform support
  • 👍 Intuitive Markdown support
  • 👍 Flexible sync options (Dropbox, OneDrive, WebDAV)

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Sync issues, especially on iOS
  • 🐛 Buggy UI, especially on iOS
  • 🐛 Crashes and freezes
  • 🐛 Slow performance at times
  • 🐛 Confusing interface, not very intuitive

Notesnook

From 653 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Fast and efficient
  • 🔒 Secure and private
  • 👍 Clean and intuitive UI
  • 👍 Cross-platform compatibility
  • 👍 Generous free tier

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Sync and login issues
  • 🐛 Buggy and crashes
  • 💰 Expensive premium tier
  • 🔒 Lack of free encryption features

Bugs and requests

Joplin

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Sync issues with WebDAV and Dropbox
  • Crashes when creating new notes
  • Keyboard issues, text getting obscured
  • Rendering problems in dark mode
  • Compatibility issues with older iOS versions

Requested features

6 requests
  • Add web clipper functionality on iOS
  • Implement nested notebooks on iOS
  • Allow password/biometric protection for notes
  • Improve text editing experience on mobile
  • Add more font and formatting options
Show 1 more
  • Implement a trash/recycle bin for deleted notes

Notesnook

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Crashes on launch on older iOS devices
  • Sync issues leading to data loss
  • Unreliable login and verification process

Requested features

5 requests
  • Improved search functionality
  • Reminders and calendar integration
  • Handwriting and drawing support
  • Multilingual support
  • Improved table and spreadsheet features

In-app purchases

None

Joplin

No in-app purchases

17 purchases

Notesnook

Subscriptions17
  • Notesnook Pro$0.991 Month
  • Notesnook Essential Plan7 Days trial$1.991 Month
  • Notesnook Pro$2.491 Month
Show 14 more
  • Notesnook Pro Plan7 Days trial$2.991 Month
  • Notesnook Pro3 variants$4.491 Month
  • Notesnook Pro1 Month trial$4.491 Month
  • Notesnook Pro Plan7 Days trial$6.991 Month
  • Notesnook Believer Plan7 Days trial$8.991 Month
  • Notesnook Pro$9.991 Year
  • Notesnook Essential Plan14 Days trial$19.991 Year
  • Notesnook Pro$24.991 Year
  • Notesnook Pro Plan14 Days trial$29.901 Year
  • Notesnook Pro Yearly$49.991 Year
  • Notesnook Pro2 variants$49.991 Year
  • Notesnook Pro1 Year trial$49.991 Year
  • Notesnook Pro Plan14 Days trial$69.991 Year
  • Notesnook Believer Plan14 Days trial$89.991 Year

Questions

Is Joplin free?
Joplin is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Notesnook free?
Notesnook is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Joplin or Notesnook?
Notesnook is rated higher. Joplin averages 4.1 out of 5 from 473 ratings, while Notesnook averages 4.7 from 653 ratings.
Do Joplin or Notesnook have ads?
Neither Joplin nor Notesnook shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Joplin or Notesnook?
Joplin ships an update monthly, and Notesnook weekly. Most recently, Joplin was updated on September 20, 2026 and Notesnook on September 21, 2026.

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