# UpNote vs Secret Diary

The clearest difference is update cadence: UpNote at weekly against Secret Diary's every 3 months. UpNote also leads on ratings volume (1.1K vs 1) and review sentiment (86% vs 70%). Secret Diary's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.7). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. UpNote sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and Secret Diary sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Secret Diary holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: UpNote has 1.1K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 86% of UpNote's written reviews are positive against 70% of Secret Diary's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpNote ships an update weekly, Secret Diary every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | UpNote | Secret Diary |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.7 (1.1K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/upnote-notes-diary-journal/id1389634515/reviews) | **[5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/secret-diary-password-notes/id6445909382/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **1.1K** | 1 |
| Positive reviews | **85.9% of reviews** | 70.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Weekly** | Every 3 months |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 81 MB | 66 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | **15** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [UpNote Company Limited](https://appshunter.io/developer/1347759263) | [伟 葛](https://appshunter.io/developer/1028908732) |

## 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)


### Secret Diary

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/secret-diary-password-notes/id6445909382)

Securely record your daily life and protect your privacy with this easy-to-use digital journal. Customize entries with beautiful fonts and quickly find past notes using content search. It offers password protection for exclusive access.

**Highlights:** Password protection, Secure diary entries, Customizable fonts, Content search, User-friendly interface, Privacy protection

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

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Lifetime Premium | $2.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is UpNote free?

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

### Is Secret Diary free?

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

### Which has better reviews, UpNote or Secret Diary?

Secret Diary is rated higher. UpNote averages 4.7 out of 5 from 1.1K ratings, while Secret Diary averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.

### Do UpNote or Secret Diary have ads?

Neither UpNote nor Secret Diary shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, UpNote or Secret Diary?

UpNote ships an update weekly, and Secret Diary every 3 months. Most recently, UpNote was updated on October 13, 2026 and Secret Diary on October 7, 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.*