Comparison

ClayLab vs ClayNote

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

Head to head
About

ClayLab

A digital diary for ceramists to meticulously document their pottery projects. Track every stage, from forming to firing, and record detailed information about glazes, clay bodies, and application techniques. Organize and retrieve your work with advanced search and backup features.

Highlights
  • Comprehensive progress tracking
  • Detailed documentation of glazes and materials
  • Advanced search and filtering
  • Data backup and import/export
  • Layering and application details logging
  • Unlimited photos per piece
Features
Read full description

Never lose track of a pottery piece again. ClayLab is a pottery journal and studio tracker designed by potters for potters. Track pieces, glazes, firings, experiments, and inventory in one place. Whether you work in a home studio or a shared community studio, ClayLab helps you stay organized, find your work, and learn from every experiment. Track every stage of your pottery journey, from wet clay to finished work. Record glazes, underglazes, slips, oxides, stains, clay bodies, forming methods, dimensions, weight, firing results, and more. Keep detailed notes and photos so you always know what worked and what didn't. ▶ Stay Organized Track pieces through every stage Record sold, gifted, traded, available, and archived pieces Organize work with custom locations Quickly find pieces in shared studios Unlimited pieces Unlimited photos ▶ Track Your Process Glazes and underglazes Clay bodies Forming methods Slips, oxides, and stains Stage tracking Status tracking Detailed notes Dimensions and weight tracking ▶ Learn From Every Experiment Compare results across pieces Search and filter by glaze, clay body, form, stage, and more Record glaze layering and application details Track dipping times Calculate shrinkage and monitor changes through firing ▶ Backup & Restore Protect your pottery records with export and import tools. Easily back up your data and move it between devices. Perfect for potters, ceramic artists, students, hobbyists, and studio members who want to keep better records, stay organized, and improve their craft. ▶ What's Included No ads Unlimited pieces Search and filtering Custom glazes Custom underglazes Custom clay bodies Custom stains Custom oxides Custom forms Custom forming methods Custom locations Dimensions tracking Weight tracking Stage tracking Status tracking Unlimited photos General note-taking ▶ ClayLab Pro Backup export Backup import Unlimited glaze layers Coat tracking Application method logging Glaze annotations Dipping time tracking Duplicate pieces (up to 20 copies) Custom stage definitions ▶ How do ClayLab Pro subscriptions work? ClayLab Pro Monthly: billed monthly ClayLab Pro Yearly: billed annually at a discounted rate Payment will be charged to your Apple ID account upon confirmation of purchase. Subscriptions automatically renew unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can manage subscriptions and turn off auto-renewal in your App Store account settings. www.claylabapp.com/terms www.claylabapp.com/privacy-policy

About

ClayNote

This app assists potters and ceramicists in documenting their creative process. It allows users to record stage notes, annotate images, save inspirations from the web, and organize their work with custom tags and collections. It serves as a digital journal to refine artistic skills.

Highlights
  • Stage notes for each step
  • Save web inspirations (Sparks)
  • Annotate images for surface treatments
  • Customizable studio options
  • Organize pieces with collections and tags
  • Quick-add notes and reminders
  • Reflect on process to refine craft
Features
Read full description

Track every pot from wet clay to the finished shelf. ClayNote helps potters and ceramicists document, track and reflect on every piece — from the first idea to the final glaze. Photograph a piece, tick off each stage as it dries, gets trimmed, bisqued and glazed, and write down what you did while you still remember it. FOLLOW EVERY PIECE Ideas, Formed, Trimmed, Bisqued, Glazed, Finished. Tick each stage as your piece gets there, and see at a glance what's drying on the shelf and what's waiting for the kiln. NOTES THAT COME BACK TO YOU Write a note at any stage — the clay body, how thin you pulled it, which shelf it sat on. Next time you make something similar, ClayNote shows you what you wrote the last time round. MAP YOUR SURFACE DECISIONS Record glazes, underglazes, slips, oxides and stamps, and mark on the photo itself exactly where each one went. YOUR WORK IS YOURS One tap saves everything — every piece, note and photo — as a spreadsheet and a folder of pictures you can keep on your computer or a cloud drive. No account, nothing locked in. SPARKS Save the shapes, glaze recipes and reels you love from Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest and YouTube, and keep them right next to your own work. ALSO • Your materials and methods, customisable to your studio • Collections and tags to organise your work your way • Search your collection by name, grouped by month • A home screen widget • Reminders to keep your journal going between sessions

Screenshots

ClayLab4 screens
ClayNote4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: ClayLab at 4.6 against ClayNote's 2.7. ClayLab also leads on review sentiment (92% vs 63%) and ratings volume (366 vs 26). ClayNote's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2). On price, update cadence, 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. ClayLab sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. ClayNote asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

ClayLab holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 2.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ClayLab has 366 ratings behind it against 26, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 92% of ClayLab's written reviews are positive against 63% of ClayNote's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ClayLab ships an update every 2 months, ClayNote monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
ClayLab versus ClayNote: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterClayLabClayNote
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (366 ratings) — better2.7 (26 ratings)
Positive reviews91.7% of reviews — better62.5% of reviews
Number of ratings366 — better26
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemiumFree — better
DevicesiPhoneiPhone
Requires iOS16.4 — better18
Further details — not scored
Size27 MB56 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLorenzo CalvaniYing-Chao Tung

Customer experience

ClayLab

All ratings366 ratings
Positive91.5%
Neutral4.9%
Negative3.6%
Written reviews230 reviews
Positive91.7%
Neutral6.1%
Negative2.2%

ClayNote

All ratings26 ratings
Positive42.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative57.7%
Written reviews16 reviews
Positive62.5%
Neutral0.0%
Negative37.5%

Bugs and requests

ClayLab

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Occasional crashes or performance issues
  • Data loss when changing devices or reinstalling

Requested features

6 requests
  • Add hand-building option alongside thrown pieces
  • Ability to track firing details (cone, atmosphere, etc.)
  • Option to create custom categories (e.g., sold, gifted)
  • Search and filter by glaze, clay, form, etc.
  • Sync data across devices (iCloud, etc.)
Show 1 more
  • Export data to CSV or PDF format

ClayNote

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

2 purchases

ClayLab

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Yearly$49.991 Year
None

ClayNote

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is ClayLab free?
ClayLab is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is ClayNote free?
ClayNote is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, ClayLab or ClayNote?
ClayLab is rated higher. ClayLab averages 4.6 out of 5 from 366 ratings, while ClayNote averages 2.7 from 26 ratings.
Do ClayLab or ClayNote have ads?
Neither ClayLab nor ClayNote shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ClayLab or ClayNote?
ClayLab ships an update every 2 months, and ClayNote monthly. Most recently, ClayLab was updated on October 13, 2026 and ClayNote on October 8, 2026.

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