# UpNote vs IC

The clearest difference is update cadence: UpNote at weekly against IC's every 2 months. UpNote also leads on review sentiment (86% vs 68%) and device support (3 vs 1). IC's advantage is rating (4.9 vs 4.7). On price, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. UpNote sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and IC sells 5 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

IC holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1.1K and 385 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 86% of UpNote's written reviews are positive against 68% of IC's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpNote ships an update weekly, IC every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 11, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | UpNote | IC |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.7 (1.1K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/upnote-notes-diary-journal/id1389634515/reviews) | **[4.9 (385 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ic-reader/id1474445461/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **1.1K** | 385 |
| Positive reviews | **85.9% of reviews** | 68.1% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Weekly** | Every 2 months |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 81 MB | 113 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.6** | 26.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [UpNote Company Limited](https://appshunter.io/developer/1347759263) | [Shintaro Kawamura](https://appshunter.io/developer/1463344574) |

## What reviewers say

### UpNote

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/upnote-notes-diary-journal/id1389634515)

This app provides a clean and beautiful interface for writing and organizing notes, journals, and to-do lists. It offers rich formatting options, an intuitive organization system, and instant syncing across devices, with offline capabilities. Premium features include enhanced security and export options.

**Highlights:** Rich text editor with formatting tools, Intuitive organizing system (notebooks, pins, links), Secure note locking with Touch/Face ID, Instant cross-device syncing and offline access, Markdown support and export, Task management and to-do lists

**Features:** Family Sharing, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (8)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Premium monthly subscription | $1.99 | per month |
| Life-time Upgrade | $19.99 | one-time |
| Life-time Upgrade to Premium | $19.99 | one-time |
| Life-time Upgrade | $24.99 | one-time |
| Life-time Upgrade to Premium | $24.99 | one-time |
| Life-time Upgrade | $29.99 | one-time |
| Life-time upgrade to Premium | $34.99 | one-time |
| Life-time upgrade to Premium | $39.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Seamless syncing across devices
- 🚀 Fast and responsive
- 💡 Nested notebooks and tags for organization
- 👍 Clean and intuitive interface
- 💡 Lifetime premium option

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Occasional bugs and crashes
- 🐛 Issues with image/attachment handling
- 🐛 Formatting problems with pasted content
- 🐛 Syncing problems between devices
- 🔒 Lack of end-to-end encryption

**Reported bugs**

- Black screen issues
- Lost notes and data
- Incompatibility with newer iOS versions
- Google sign-in not working

**Requested features**

- Reminders and calendar integration
- More customization options (fonts, colors, etc.)
- Improved drawing/handwriting support
- PDF annotation and embedding
- Optical character recognition (OCR)


### IC

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ic-reader/id1474445461)

This app allows you to read, save, and export the usage history of various Japanese NFC transportation cards. Easily check your card balance and view past transactions, with the option to export data as a CSV file.

**Highlights:** Read IC card balance, View usage history, Export history as CSV, Supports multiple Japanese IC cards, Save card data

**In-app purchases (5)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| All CSV Export | $0.99 | one-time |
| One free coffee for Developer. | $0.99 | one-time |
| タコスをご馳走する | $3.99 | one-time |
| 広告非表示 | $4.99 | one-time |
| お寿司をご馳走する | $7.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is UpNote free?

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

### Is IC free?

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

### Which has better reviews, UpNote or IC?

IC is rated higher. UpNote averages 4.7 out of 5 from 1.1K ratings, while IC averages 4.9 from 385 ratings.

### Do UpNote or IC have ads?

Neither UpNote nor IC shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, UpNote or IC?

UpNote ships an update weekly, and IC every 2 months. Most recently, UpNote was updated on October 11, 2026 and IC on October 10, 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.*