Comparison

Notebooks vs R.F.

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

Head to head
About

Notebooks

This app helps you write, organize, and manage documents, tasks, and files. It offers flexible writing modes, robust organization tools, and task management features, all while ensuring your data remains accessible and under your control.

Highlights
  • Formatted text, plain text, and Markdown writing
  • Create documents with styles, tables, and attachments
  • Organize with nested hierarchies and 'books'
  • Task management with due dates and checklists
  • Wiki-style linking and backlinks
  • Full-text search
  • Cross-device synchronization
Features
Read full description

Own your notes — forever. Notebooks is a writing and organization app with no subscription, no lock-in, and no worries. Your documents are stored as standard files you can always access, export, or move freely. Pay once. Use for life. Use Notebooks as a personal wiki, Zettelkasten, document archive, task manager, or long-term writing space. Capture quick notes, turn them into actionable tasks, combine text fragments into chapters, organize research, or keep business documents separate from personal journals — without ever switching apps. Designed to help you stay focused and work at your own pace, Notebooks grows with your needs and is always ready to support you. WRITE AND CREATE Create beautifully formatted documents with styles, attachments, tables, checklists, and optional tables of contents. Choose from ready-made styles or design your own. Write in different ways: Formatted text (WYSIWYG) Plain text, with smart handling of lists, automatic character pairing, and a focused writing view Markdown, supporting MultiMarkdown and Discount, with syntax highlighting, dedicated keyboard keys, wiki-style links, and interactive checklists Sketch ideas or annotate images and PDFs using Apple Pencil. STORE AND ORGANIZE Notebooks stores all documents as regular files in standard formats. You always remain in control — no lock-in, no export worries, fully compatible across devices and over time. Organize your work in books and nested hierarchies without limits. Import PDFs, emails, web pages, MS Office and iWork documents, images, audio, video, and more. Use full-text search to find even the most deeply nested document. PLAN AND ACT Turn books into project lists and documents into tasks. Assign due dates and alerts, create nested projects, and track progress naturally — right where your work lives. Use simple checklists in formatted documents or Markdown for lightweight task tracking. STAY FOCUSED Link documents together to build knowledge over time. Use wiki-style links, backlinks, contexts, and smart books to keep everything connected and within reach. When you rename or move documents, links stay intact. A PLACE YOU CAN RELY ON Sync your documents between iPhone, iPad, Mac, and PC. Work on documents stored in other apps, compile selections into PDFs or eBooks, scan documents and extract text using OCR, and trust that your data stays accessible — now and in the future. With time, Notebooks often becomes the one place users rely on to keep everything that matters close at hand. WHAT USERS SAY “Notebooks is a wonderful app — sophisticated in an unassuming way. I feel more productive without spending time managing the app itself.” “You are GTD in every way that makes it efficient — and makes me efficient.”

About

R.F.

Features
Read full description

Uproot is your personal recovery and accountability companion, designed to help you break free from unhealthy habits, build discipline, and create lasting positive change. Whether you’re working toward overcoming addiction, improving focus, or simply wanting more structure in your daily life, Uproot combines habit tracking, AI-driven insights, and real-time accountability to guide your progress one day at a time.

Screenshots

Notebooks4 screens
R.F.4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: R.F. at Free against Notebooks's $17.99. R.F. also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 4). On update cadence, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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

R.F. is free to download; Notebooks costs $17.99 up front. Notebooks sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. R.F. asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Notebooks ships an update every 5 weeks, R.F. every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 26, 2026 and September 15, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Notebooks versus R.F.: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNotebooksR.F.
Price$17.99Free — better
Rating4.7 (1.1K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews82.6% of reviews—
Number of ratings1.1K — better—
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeksEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationPaid—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS16.615.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size47 MB28 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAlfons SchmidDavid Vance Crow

Bugs and requests

Notebooks

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Data loss after iOS upgrades
  • Compatibility issues with newer iOS versions

Requested features

4 requests
  • Improved Markdown support
  • More font and color customization options
  • Better Apple Watch integration
  • Export to Word format

R.F.

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Notebooks

One-time4
  • Small Tip$0.99
  • Custom Storage Locations$2.99
  • Medium Tip$2.99
Show 1 more
  • Generous Tip$4.99
None

R.F.

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Notebooks free?
Notebooks costs $17.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is R.F. free?
R.F. is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Notebooks or R.F. have ads?
Neither Notebooks nor R.F. shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Notebooks or R.F.?
Notebooks ships an update every 5 weeks, and R.F. every 3 weeks. Most recently, Notebooks was updated on September 26, 2026 and R.F. on September 15, 2026.

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