Comparison

Notesnook vs Notelux

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

Notelux

Features
Read full description

Notelux is a private, offline notepad for everything you need to remember: quick thoughts, checklists, ideas, journals, meeting notes and shopping lists. No account, no sign-up. Everything is stored on your device. WRITE THE WAY YOU THINK • Title, heading and subheading styles • Bold, italic, underline, strikethrough, highlight and text color • Bulleted and numbered lists, and checklists you can tick off • Links, emoji and photos from your camera or gallery, with markup • Left, center or right alignment, and full right-to-left support • Undo when you change your mind STAY ORGANIZED • Folders and tags • Pin what you use most • Search every note by title and text • Sort by date edited, date created or title, in a list or grid • Archive what you want out of the way • Trash keeps what you delete for a while, so you can bring it back KEEP YOUR NOTES SAFE • Back up every note and picture to one file, and restore it on any device • Dark mode, light mode, or match your system • Available in 42 languages NOTELUX PRO One purchase, no subscription. Pro unlocks: • No ads • Face ID lock for single notes or the whole app • Export to PDF and Markdown • Automatic backup to iCloud Drive • Voice notes, sketches, document scans and tables • Sub-folders and note templates • Reminders and home-screen widgets • Note colors, themes and alternate app icons PRIVACY Nothing leaves your device unless you back it up or share it yourself. The free version shows ads from Google AdMob, which may use your device's advertising identifier; you can change this under Ad Privacy Choices in Settings. Notelux Pro removes the ads. Download Notelux and keep every note in one private place.

Screenshots

Notesnook4 screens
Notelux4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Notesnook at none against Notelux's shown. Notesnook also leads on update cadence (every 8 days vs every 2 months). On price, in-app purchases, 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 and Notelux sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Notesnook ships an update every 8 days, Notelux every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Notesnook versus Notelux: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNotesnookNotelux
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (672 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews78.7% of reviews—
Number of ratings672 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 8 days — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.615.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size96 MB205 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperStreetwriters LLCBEK Service LTD

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

Notelux

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
1 purchases

Notelux

One-time1
  • Remove Ads$2.99

Questions

Is Notesnook free?
Notesnook is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Notelux free?
Notelux is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Notesnook or Notelux have ads?
Notelux shows ads; Notesnook does not.
Which is updated more often, Notesnook or Notelux?
Notesnook ships an update every 8 days, and Notelux every 2 months. Most recently, Notesnook was updated on October 13, 2026 and Notelux on October 9, 2026.

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