Comparison

Notary eJournal vs NotaryGadget

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

Head to head
About

Notary eJournal

This digital notary journal offers a modern alternative to traditional paper journals. It helps notaries record all required information for notarizations, including thumbprints and ID scans, ensuring compliance with state guidelines.

Highlights
  • Digital replacement for paper notary journals
  • Thumbprint capture with Bluetooth scanner compatibility
  • ID scanning for automatic data entry
  • Automatic location input
  • Guided workflow for ease of use
  • Compliance with US notary journal guidelines
Features
Read full description

The Notary eJournal by Jurat INC is an electronic notary journal created to provide a digital replacement for the standard hard-bound notary journals that exist in the market. Designed by notaries in the State of California and trusted by notaries in over 45 states, it adheres to the most strict and up-to-date notary journal guidelines in the United States. Trusted by notaries in almost every industry, including; estate planning/trust documentation, automotive, loan signings, healthcare, general notary work, packing/shipping, resorts & timeshares, banking & financial institutions, and more Before considering use of any electronic notary journal, a notary public should check their state requirements to ensure adherence to all guidelines. You can also visit our webpage for information regarding which states specifically prohibit the use of an electronic notary journal, as well as other notary journal considerations The Notary eJournal was designed by signing agents in the State of California that work in the high-volume real estate & lending environment, often individually responsible for helping close hundreds of refinance, purchase and sale transactions per month. Given this workflow and industry insight, the Notary eJournal was created with the following priorities in mind: Compliance - California has some of the strictest guidelines for notaries when it comes to the notary journal. As the only State to require capturing a thumbprint for certain notarizations, it is imperative for any useful electronic notary journal to provide such functionality. Our team has tested numerous bluetooth thumbprint capturing devices and has made the Notary eJournal compatible with the best bluetooth thumbprint scanner available to the public. The link this device can be found on our website. *Note - this bluetooth thumbprint capturing device must be purchased separately Ease of Use - The guided workflow provided by the Notary eJournal will ensure your signing appointments aren’t slowed down by the process of manually writing down all entry information and using an ink pad to capture thumbprints. Technology - The Notary eJournal safely and securely implements features meant to truly make your job easier. Key features include using your device location to input location information, taking a picture of a signers ID and having all important information automatically input in the appropriate fields, and using bluetooth thumbprint technology to capture any necessary thumbprints. For a list of all product features please visit our webpage. All new users get a 14 day trial to create up to 5 signing entries - so be sure to check out the app and see what we have to offer!

About

NotaryGadget

Streamline your notary signing agent business with this comprehensive tool. Manage invoices, track payments, log mileage, record notarial acts, and organize your calendar and expenses. Simplify tax preparation and client communication.

Highlights
  • Invoice and payment tracking
  • Mileage and drive time calculation
  • Notarial act logging
  • Expense and receipt management
  • Calendar integration
  • Custom appointment reminders
  • Tax reporting
Read full description

NotaryGadget is the ultimate app for notary signing agents. It makes just about everything you do easier - sending invoices, tracking payments, tracking mileage, tracking notarial acts, managing your calendar, tracking your expenses, and helping you with your taxes. - Automatically import signing orders. - Automatically send invoices. - Automatically calculates driving directions, mileage, and drive time. - Track your notarial acts for huge tax savings - Track all your business expenses - Store copies of all your receipts - Integrates with your calendar. - Setup your own custom appointment reminders for your customers. - Instantly generate the report you need for your taxes - And so much more!

Screenshots

Notary eJournal4 screens
NotaryGadget4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Notary eJournal at weekly against NotaryGadget's every 7 months. NotaryGadget's advantage is monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases) and ratings volume (684 vs 190). On price, rating, review sentiment and ads 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

NotaryGadget holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 190 and 684 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 89% of Notary eJournal's written reviews are positive against 83% of NotaryGadget's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Notary eJournal ships an update weekly, NotaryGadget every 7 months. The most recent releases landed on September 15, 2026 and September 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Notary eJournal versus NotaryGadget: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNotary eJournalNotaryGadget
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (190 ratings)4.9 (684 ratings) — better
Positive reviews89.1% of reviews — better82.5% of reviews
Number of ratings190684 — better
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 7 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.512.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size81 MB30 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJuratX20 LLC

Customer experience

Notary eJournal

All ratings190 ratings
Positive93.2%
Neutral1.6%
Negative5.3%
Written reviews46 reviews
Positive89.1%
Neutral2.2%
Negative8.7%

NotaryGadget

All ratings547 ratings
Positive98.0%
Neutral0.7%
Negative1.3%
Written reviews40 reviews
Positive82.5%
Neutral2.5%
Negative15.0%

User reviews

Notary eJournal

From 190 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Saves significant time
  • 👍 Easy to use and intuitive
  • 💡 Innovative features like ID scanning and fingerprint reader
  • ❤️ Excellent customer support, even from the CEO
  • 🔒 Secure and professional

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Losing entries and thumbprints
  • 🐛 Unable to create an account
  • 🐛 Cannot change date and time for manual entries
  • 🐛 Clunky interface, feels like old tech
  • 🐛 Invalid coupon codes

NotaryGadget

From 684 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Excellent app for notaries and small businesses
  • 🚀 Powerful all-in-one tool for managing notary business
  • 👍 Easy to use and organize records
  • 👍 Helpful for tax time and accounting
  • 👍 Useful text template feature

Room to improve

  • 🐛 App not opening or crashing issues
  • 🐛 Slow loading and navigation issues
  • 🔍 Lack of scalability features for larger teams

Bugs and requests

Notary eJournal

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Entries and thumbprints disappearing after saving
  • Unable to create an account
  • Date and time automatically set to current for manual entries
  • Notary Assist coupon code invalid

Requested features

2 requests
  • Dark mode option
  • Ability to change date and time for manual entries

NotaryGadget

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Unable to create account or sign in
  • New layout less user-friendly than previous version

Requested features

3 requests
  • Text reminder option for clients
  • Package tracking integration
  • Touch ID/Biometric login option

In-app purchases

None

Notary eJournal

No in-app purchases

None

NotaryGadget

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Notary eJournal free?
Notary eJournal is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is NotaryGadget free?
NotaryGadget is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Notary eJournal or NotaryGadget?
NotaryGadget is rated higher. Notary eJournal averages 4.7 out of 5 from 190 ratings, while NotaryGadget averages 4.9 from 684 ratings.
Do Notary eJournal or NotaryGadget have ads?
Neither Notary eJournal nor NotaryGadget shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Notary eJournal or NotaryGadget?
Notary eJournal ships an update weekly, and NotaryGadget every 7 months. Most recently, Notary eJournal was updated on September 15, 2026 and NotaryGadget on September 25, 2026.

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