Comparison

Onenote vs Journal

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

Head to head
About

Onenote

This digital notebook app offers a creative space for journaling, planning, and drawing with a vast collection of cute stationery, stickers, and brushes. It supports offline saving and flexible editing for a personalized note-taking experience.

Highlights
  • Abundant stationery, backgrounds, and stickers
  • Real-time offline saving
  • Flexible editing of pictures, text, and stickers
  • Graffiti and hand-painting tools
  • Customizable notebook covers
Read full description

Huahua Notebook: It is a super cute healing electronic notebook software, which is very popular among notebook fans, painting lovers and sticker lovers. Not only can be used to record notes, write a diary, bookkeeping, do hand copy newspaper, with daily record, but also can be used as a pad to use. Students can make class schedules, and couples in love can write relationship memoirs. You must be wondering why a software has so many amazing features, because the software has abundant stationery, tons of stickers, and paintbrushes, can be used in different scenarios. 【 Character Background 】 Huahua is a lovely girl. Like other girls, she has a crush on someone and also has the trifles of life. However, since she learned to make a hand account, she can show the bits of beauty and memories in daily life by recording. 【 Characteristic Function 】 ○ More stationery, backgrounds, stickers, tape, etc. ○ Real-time offline saving, no longer afraid of hard work in vain ○ Flexible editing of pictures, text and stickers; ○ Graffiti or hand painting can be used as a separate painting software; Support custom notebook cover, each is a favorite; Subscription Instructions: - Users will only be able to unlock all advanced features and avoid advertising interruptions with a paid subscription; - The subscription fee is deducted from the iTunes account when the user confirms the purchase, and the subscription can be automatically renewed; - Cancellations of automatic renewals must be made at least 24 hours before the end of the current subscription period, otherwise they will be automatically renewed; - Users can manage subscription services, that is, they can go to the user account Settings to disable automatic subscription after purchase. - To open a subscription, you need to agree to the following terms Privacy policy: https://hyktco.com/xieyi.html Service agreement: https://hyktco.com/fuwuxieyi.html

About

Journal

This app allows users to create a personal diary with a variety of cute stickers and backgrounds. It offers automatic saving of drafts, password protection for privacy, and the ability to insert photos. The app is also optimized for iPad use.

Highlights
  • Customizable stickers and backgrounds
  • Automatic draft saving
  • Password protection for privacy
  • iPad support with Apple Pencil
  • Photo insertion for diary entries
Features
Read full description

Journal, record the unrepeatable moments carefully. Journal is a diary designed for journal enthusiasts. You can use cute stickers and backgrounds as your Journal. As an interesting journaling app, Journal looks forward to recording warm times with you! [Journal Features] -Super many materials: stickers and backgrounds are updated regularly, and there are new surprises every time you make a diary. -Drafts: Save the content of your Journal automatically, so you can no longer be afraid of losing your journal. -Security privacy: You can set a password for the app to protect your secret space. -Support for iPad: It is easier to edit journals with a large screen and an apple pencil. -Photo record: The diary supports inserting photos to retain beautiful moments. This subscription will be automatically renewed through your iTunes account, and the renewal fee will be deducted according to your package within 24 hours before the end of the current subscription period. You can manage or cancel the automatic renewal at the Account Settings Department. To cancel the automatic renewal, you must at least 24 hours before the end of the current subscription period. If your trial has not ended, the remaining days will automatically expire after you start subscribing. To open the subscription, you need to agree to the following terms: Terms of Service: https://keshoujie.github.io/posts/keshoujie/fuwu Privacy terms: https://keshoujie.github.io/posts/keshoujie/privacy

Screenshots

Onenote4 screens
Journal4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Journal at 90% against Onenote's 17%. Journal also leads on rating (4.6 vs 4.2) and ratings volume (1.8K vs 135). Onenote's advantage is update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 6 weeks) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.6). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Onenote sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month and Journal sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Journal holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Journal has 1.8K ratings behind it against 135, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 17% of Onenote's written reviews are positive against 90% of Journal's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Onenote ships an update every 2 weeks, Journal every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 27, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Onenote versus Journal: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterOnenoteJournal
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.2 (135 ratings)4.6 (1.8K ratings) — better
Positive reviews16.7% of reviews89.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1351.8K — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterEvery 6 weeks
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.0 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size109 MB45 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperHangzhou Hongying Ketu Network Technology Co. Ltd.受杰 柯

Customer experience

Onenote

All ratings126 ratings
Positive78.6%
Neutral7.9%
Negative13.5%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive16.7%
Neutral16.7%
Negative66.7%

Journal

All ratings1,523 ratings
Positive90.6%
Neutral4.5%
Negative4.9%
Written reviews243 reviews
Positive89.7%
Neutral6.2%
Negative4.1%

Bugs and requests

Onenote

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Journal

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • App crashes when trying to reopen saved pages
  • Stickers not displaying properly in some cases
  • Sync issues causing data loss

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add more free stickers and customization options
  • Improve syncing and backup functionality
  • Allow creating custom backgrounds and stickers
  • Introduce a dark mode option

In-app purchases

7 purchases

Onenote

Subscriptions4
  • Monthly Prremium1 Month trial$0.991 Month
  • One month VIP$2.991 Month
  • 年会员$2.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • One year VIP$13.491 Year
One-time3
  • 1Sticker package$0.99
  • permanent VIP$19.99
  • 永久会员$19.99
3 purchases

Journal

Subscriptions2
  • Plus Version3 Days trial$2.991 Month
  • Plus Version3 Days trial$4.993 Months
One-time1
  • Pro Version$8.99

Questions

Is Onenote free?
Onenote is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Journal free?
Journal is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Onenote or Journal?
Journal is rated higher. Onenote averages 4.2 out of 5 from 135 ratings, while Journal averages 4.6 from 1.8K ratings.
Do Onenote or Journal have ads?
Both Onenote and Journal show ads.
Which is updated more often, Onenote or Journal?
Onenote ships an update every 2 weeks, and Journal every 6 weeks. Most recently, Onenote was updated on October 24, 2026 and Journal on October 27, 2026.

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