Comparison

Notesnook vs LinkBuddy

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

LinkBuddy

This is a free, open-source client for a self-hosted bookmark management service. It allows users to add, edit, archive, and search bookmarks, with support for a share sheet extension and an in-app browser. It's privacy-focused and ad-free.

Highlights
  • Add, edit, archive, delete bookmarks
  • Search bookmarks (active, archive, unread, untagged, shared)
  • Share sheet extension for external app sharing
  • In-app browser with Safari Reader View
  • Dark and light mode themes
  • iPad compatible
  • Privacy focused and ad-free
Features
Read full description

LinkBuddy is a free and open source client for linkding, a selfhosted bookmark management service. NOTE: This does not work without a selfhosted instance of linkding and an associated API access token. Please see more information about setting up linkding here: https://linkding.link/ Features: - Add, edit, archive and delete bookmarks - View and search your active, archive, unread, untagged, and shared bookmarks - Supports share sheet extension to share URLs from other apps into LinkBuddy - Open and view links in in-app web browser - Supports Safari Reader View via in-app web browser - Supports dark mode and light mode themes - iPad compatible - Privacy focused - this app doesn't store or track any personal user information, logs, or display any ads - Free and open source: https://github.com/peterto/LinkBuddy

Screenshots

Notesnook4 screens
LinkBuddy4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: LinkBuddy at none against Notesnook's 20. LinkBuddy also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.7). Notesnook's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 2 months) and ratings volume (653 vs 1). On price, 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

Both are free to download. Notesnook sells 17 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. LinkBuddy asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

LinkBuddy holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Notesnook has 653 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Notesnook ships an update weekly, LinkBuddy every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 21, 2026 and June 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Notesnook versus LinkBuddy: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNotesnookLinkBuddy
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (653 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews78.2% of reviews—
Number of ratings653 — better1
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.615.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size89 MB22 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperStreetwriters LLCPeter To

Customer experience

Notesnook

All ratings653 ratings
Positive93.0%
Neutral2.5%
Negative4.6%
Written reviews386 reviews
Positive78.2%
Neutral6.7%
Negative15.0%

LinkBuddy

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

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

LinkBuddy

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

LinkBuddy

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Notesnook free?
Notesnook is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is LinkBuddy free?
LinkBuddy is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Notesnook or LinkBuddy?
LinkBuddy is rated higher. Notesnook averages 4.7 out of 5 from 653 ratings, while LinkBuddy averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Notesnook or LinkBuddy have ads?
Neither Notesnook nor LinkBuddy shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Notesnook or LinkBuddy?
Notesnook ships an update weekly, and LinkBuddy every 2 months. Most recently, Notesnook was updated on September 21, 2026 and LinkBuddy on June 1, 2026.

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