# Notesnook vs Filen The clearest difference is rating: Notesnook at 4.7 against Filen's 3.8. Notesnook also leads on review sentiment (78% vs 48%) and ratings volume (653 vs 123). Filen's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 20). On price, update cadence, ads and monetization model there is nothing between them. Both are free to download. Notesnook sells 17 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Filen asks for nothing beyond the download. Notesnook holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Notesnook has 653 ratings behind it against 123, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 78% of Notesnook's written reviews are positive against 48% of Filen's. Notesnook ships an update weekly, Filen fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 26, 2026 and September 3, 2026 respectively. ## The numbers | Metric | Notesnook | Filen | | --- | --- | --- | | Price | Free | Free | | Rating | **[4.7 (653 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/notesnook-private-notepad/id1544027013/reviews)** | [3.8 (123 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/filen-cloud-storage/id1549224518/reviews) | | Number of ratings | **653** | 123 | | Positive reviews | **78.2% of reviews** | 47.7% of reviews | | In-app purchases | Yes | **No** | | Ads | No | No | | Update frequency | **Weekly** | Fortnightly | | Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium | | Size | 89 MB | 103 MB | | Requires iOS | **15.6** | 26.0 | | Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad | | Age rating | 4+ | 17+ | | Developer | [Streetwriters LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1536533660) | [Filen Cloud Dienste UG (haftungsbeschraenkt)](https://appshunter.io/developer/1549224520) | ## What reviewers say ### Notesnook [App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/notesnook-private-notepad/id1544027013) This open-source app offers secure, encrypted note-taking and organization across all your devices. It features a robust editor, to-do lists, and a private journal with advanced security to protect your personal information. **Highlights:** Military-grade encryption, Cross-platform synchronization, To-do lists and task management, Private journal with media support, Rich text and Markdown editor, Notebook organization, App lock with fingerprint support **Features:** Vision Pro support **In-app purchases (17)** | Purchase | Price | Billing | | --- | --- | --- | | Notesnook Pro | $0.99 | per month | | Notesnook Essential Plan | $1.99 | per month | | Notesnook Pro | $2.49 | per month | | Notesnook Pro Plan | $2.99 | per month | | Notesnook Pro | $4.49 | per month | | Notesnook Pro | $4.49 | per month | | Notesnook Pro Plan | $6.99 | per month | | Notesnook Believer Plan | $8.99 | per month | | Notesnook Pro | $9.99 | per year | | Notesnook Essential Plan | $19.99 | per year | | Notesnook Pro | $24.99 | per year | | Notesnook Pro Plan | $29.90 | per year | | Notesnook Pro Yearly | $49.99 | per year | | Notesnook Pro | $49.99 | per year | | Notesnook Pro | $49.99 | per year | | Notesnook Pro Plan | $69.99 | per year | | Notesnook Believer Plan | $89.99 | per year | **What reviewers like** - 🚀 Fast and efficient - 🔒 Secure and private - 👍 Clean and intuitive UI - 👍 Cross-platform compatibility - 👍 Generous free tier **What reviewers complain about** - 🐛 Sync and login issues - 🐛 Buggy and crashes - 💰 Expensive premium tier - 🔒 Lack of free encryption features **Reported bugs** - Crashes on launch on older iOS devices - Sync issues leading to data loss - Unreliable login and verification process **Requested features** - Improved search functionality - Reminders and calendar integration - Handwriting and drawing support - Multilingual support - Improved table and spreadsheet features ### Filen [App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/filen-cloud-storage/id1549224518) Securely store photos, videos, and documents with military-grade encryption. Access files on any device, share them easily, and enjoy features like offline access and encrypted notes. Offers a free tier with 10 GB storage. **Highlights:** 10 GB free storage, Unlimited pro storage, Secure client-side encryption, Offline file access, Cross-device file access, Encrypted notes and chats, Automatic camera upload **Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support **In-app purchases:** none **What reviewers like** - 🔒 End-to-end encryption and privacy-focused design - 💰 Affordable pricing with generous storage tiers - 🌍 Open-source and transparent service - 🚀 Fast upload/download speeds - 👍 Clean and intuitive UI design **What reviewers complain about** - 🐛 Frequent app crashes during uploads - 📸 Photo/video upload failures and inconsistencies - 🔄 Auto-upload feature unreliable and incomplete - ⚠️ Data loss issues in Notes feature - 🔐 Thumbnail cache exposed in Files app (security concern) **Reported bugs** - App crashes when uploading photos/videos - Music pauses when app is minimized - Photo upload stuck at specific file counts (e.g., 42 photos) - Notes lose data during sync - Note type conversion deletes text content **Requested features** - Video streaming/playback within app - Read-only file mode option - Back-sync feature (delete from phone, delete from cloud) - Multi-select file upload capability - iPad split-screen view support ## Frequently asked questions ### Is Notesnook free? Notesnook is free to download, with in-app purchases available. ### Is Filen free? Filen is free to download, with no in-app purchases. ### Which has better reviews, Notesnook or Filen? Notesnook is rated higher. Notesnook averages 4.7 out of 5 from 653 ratings, while Filen averages 3.8 from 123 ratings. ### Do Notesnook or Filen have ads? Neither Notesnook nor Filen shows ads. ### Which is updated more often, Notesnook or Filen? Notesnook ships an update weekly, and Filen fortnightly. Most recently, Notesnook was updated on September 26, 2026 and Filen on September 3, 2026. --- *Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*