Comparison

Notesnook vs Blocknotes

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

Head to head
About

Notesnook

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
Read full description

Your notes are yours. Notesnook encrypts every one of them on your device before it ever reaches the cloud — so no one can read them. Not advertisers, not us. UNLIMITED NOTES. EVERY DEVICE. FREE. Most note apps cap the free plan until it hurts. Others stop after a few dozen notes. Notesnook never limits how much you write or how many devices you sync. A REAL EDITOR Headings, tables, code blocks, maths, outlines, Markdown and full-quality images. Notes that hold up whether you are writing a shopping list or a thesis chapter. ORGANISED AT ANY SIZE Nested notebooks, tags, colours, pinned and favourite notes, and search that stays instant at 10,000 notes. Link notes to each other and build your own private wiki. PRIVACY YOU CAN CHECK YOURSELF • End-to-end encryption is always on — you cannot switch it off, so you cannot forget • Encrypted on your device, in transit and at rest, using XChaCha20-Poly1305 and Argon2 • Even your notebook and tag names are encrypted • 100% open source under AGPLv3 — read every line, or run your own sync server • Recommended by Privacy Guides IMPORT YOUR OLD NOTES Bring your notes, notebooks and tags with you. Import from your previous notes app, plus plain Markdown and HTML files. EVERYWHERE YOU WRITE iPhone, iPad, Mac and the web. Sync is instant, and encrypted the whole way. ALSO INSIDE • Web clipper — save any article, ad-free and offline • Reminders across all your devices • Note version history, so nothing is ever really lost • Publish a note to a shareable link • Dark mode and custom themes FREE FOREVER Unlimited notes, unlimited devices, 50 notebooks, 50 tags and full end-to-end encryption. No ads. No trial countdown. PAID PLANS Add task lists, callouts, recurring reminders, more storage, and — on Pro — app lock, an encrypted vault and full-quality images. From $19.99 a year. Questions or feedback: support@streetwriters.co Privacy policy: https://notesnook.com/privacy Terms: https://notesnook.com/terms

About

Blocknotes

This app saves your notes as local HTML files, ensuring complete offline privacy. Your notes sync automatically across devices via iCloud Drive. It requires an iCloud account to function.

Highlights
  • Local HTML file storage
  • Completely offline functionality
  • No internet connection required
  • Automatic iCloud Drive sync
  • Cross-device synchronization
Features
Read full description

Own your data! This app stores your notes as simple, local HTML files. Blocknotes never connects to the internet. It’s completely offline and private. Files are stored in your iCloud Drive, so it automatically syncs across devices. Requires you to be signed in with iCloud.

Screenshots

Notesnook4 screens
Blocknotes4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Notesnook at 78% against Blocknotes's 25%. Notesnook also leads on rating (4.7 vs 4.0) and ratings volume (653 vs 2). Blocknotes's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 20). On price, 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. Notesnook sells 17 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Blocknotes asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Notesnook holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Notesnook has 653 ratings behind it against 2, 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 25% of Blocknotes's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Notesnook ships an update weekly, Blocknotes monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 4, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Notesnook versus Blocknotes: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNotesnookBlocknotes
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (653 ratings) — better4.0 (2 ratings)
Positive reviews78.1% of reviews — better25.0% of reviews
Number of ratings653 — better2
Update frequencyWeekly — betterMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS15.6 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size89 MB9 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperStreetwriters LLCAutomattic

Customer experience

Notesnook

All ratings653 ratings
Positive93.0%
Neutral2.5%
Negative4.6%
Written reviews389 reviews
Positive78.1%
Neutral6.7%
Negative15.2%

Blocknotes

All ratings2 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral50.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive25.0%
Neutral25.0%
Negative50.0%

Bugs and requests

Notesnook

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Crashes on launch on older iOS devices
  • Sync issues leading to data loss
  • Unreliable login and verification process

Requested features

5 requests
  • Improved search functionality
  • Reminders and calendar integration
  • Handwriting and drawing support
  • Multilingual support
  • Improved table and spreadsheet features

Blocknotes

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

17 purchases

Notesnook

Subscriptions17
  • Notesnook Pro$0.991 Month
  • Notesnook Essential Plan7 Days trial$1.991 Month
  • Notesnook Pro$2.491 Month
Show 14 more
  • Notesnook Pro Plan7 Days trial$2.991 Month
  • Notesnook Pro3 variants$4.491 Month
  • Notesnook Pro1 Month trial$4.491 Month
  • Notesnook Pro Plan7 Days trial$6.991 Month
  • Notesnook Believer Plan7 Days trial$8.991 Month
  • Notesnook Pro$9.991 Year
  • Notesnook Essential Plan14 Days trial$19.991 Year
  • Notesnook Pro$24.991 Year
  • Notesnook Pro Plan14 Days trial$29.901 Year
  • Notesnook Pro Yearly$49.991 Year
  • Notesnook Pro2 variants$49.991 Year
  • Notesnook Pro1 Year trial$49.991 Year
  • Notesnook Pro Plan14 Days trial$69.991 Year
  • Notesnook Believer Plan14 Days trial$89.991 Year
None

Blocknotes

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Notesnook free?
Notesnook is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Blocknotes free?
Blocknotes is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Notesnook or Blocknotes?
Notesnook is rated higher. Notesnook averages 4.7 out of 5 from 653 ratings, while Blocknotes averages 4.0 from 2 ratings.
Do Notesnook or Blocknotes have ads?
Neither Notesnook nor Blocknotes shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Notesnook or Blocknotes?
Notesnook ships an update weekly, and Blocknotes monthly. Most recently, Notesnook was updated on October 4, 2026 and Blocknotes on September 21, 2026.

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