# Notesnook vs Harbor Notes

The clearest difference is ratings volume: Notesnook at 672 against Harbor Notes's 4. Notesnook also leads on iOS requirement (15.6 vs 18.0). Harbor Notes's advantage is review sentiment (100% vs 79%) and rating (5.0 vs 4.7). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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 and Harbor Notes sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Harbor Notes holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Notesnook has 672 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 79% of Notesnook's written reviews are positive against 100% of Harbor Notes's.

Notesnook ships an update every 8 days, Harbor Notes every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 11, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Notesnook | Harbor Notes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.7 (672 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/notesnook-private-notepad/id1544027013/reviews) | **[5.0 (4 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/harbor-notes/id6788795948/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **672** | 4 |
| Positive reviews | 78.7% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 8 days | **Every 4 days** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Size | 96 MB | 37 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.6** | 18.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Mac |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Streetwriters LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1536533660) | [Cloudmanic Labs, LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/483718119) |

## 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


### Harbor Notes

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/harbor-notes/id6788795948)

Capture, organize, and secure all your thoughts, tasks, and files in one private space. This app offers rich note-taking features, robust organization, and instant search, even within images and scanned documents. Your data is yours, with optional end-to-end encryption and no ads or data selling.

**Highlights:** Rich notes with checklists, tables, and highlights, Notebooks, stacks, and tags for organization, Task management with due dates, Document scanning and sketching, Voice memos and file attachments, Instant search with OCR, Offline-first native apps

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Unlimited — Monthly | $9.99 | per month |
| Unlimited — Yearly | $99.00 | per year |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Notesnook free?

Notesnook is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Harbor Notes free?

Harbor Notes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Notesnook or Harbor Notes?

Harbor Notes is rated higher. Notesnook averages 4.7 out of 5 from 672 ratings, while Harbor Notes averages 5.0 from 4 ratings.

### Do Notesnook or Harbor Notes have ads?

Neither Notesnook nor Harbor Notes shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Notesnook or Harbor Notes?

Notesnook ships an update every 8 days, and Harbor Notes every 4 days. Most recently, Notesnook was updated on October 13, 2026 and Harbor Notes on October 11, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*