Comparison

SciNote vs Action Journal

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

Head to head
About

SciNote

Features
Read full description

SciNote electronic lab notebook, a leading ELN solution trusted by FDA, NIH, USDA and over 90+k scientists across the globe, now offers a mobile app as well! With the SciNote mobile app, you can say goodbye to printing out your protocols on paper. Organize your data in SciNote, and take it to the lab bench on your smartphone or tablet to level up your note-taking. Access your planned tasks in the SciNote mobile app on your smartphone or tablet. You can find your recent tasks on the home page, or browse through all the tasks accessible to you on the Tasks page. Use different filters to narrow down the list of tasks by project, experiment, and task status. You can also use the search function to find the task you want to work on. Monitor the progress directly in the app by completing the protocol steps on the fly. Step attachments can be downloaded and opened on your device. You can also add comments to protocol steps or read those added by others. Open the task details, notes, and protocol description when needed. Find a list of assigned items to prepare all of the needed materials for your laboratory experiment. Spend less time writing your notes and recording results. Simply create text results and attach images or other files to the task results directly in the app. With this, you avoid copying your hand-written notes into your computer at the end of your work day. All the updates you do in the mobile app will be reflected in your web account right away. When you’re done with your work, easily update the task status right in the app. You can use the same app for accessing all SciNote teams you are part of. Switch between different SciNote teams on the Account page. You must have an active SciNote account to use the SciNote mobile app. The actions made in the mobile app are reflected on your web account only if the device is connected to the internet. Without an internet connection, the actions are not performed and recorded. This is a beta version of the SciNote mobile app; the app is available to all Premium and Free users. The app is not yet available for Platinum and locally hosted customers. Please contact your Customer Success Manager for more information. Your feedback is very valuable and highly appreciated. You can submit your feedback through this email address support@scinote.net or to your Customer Success Manager. Terms of Service: https://www.scinote.net/legal/terms-of-service/ Privacy policy: https://www.scinote.net/legal/users-privacy-policy/

About

Action Journal

Features
Read full description

Action Journal is a clean time-blocking journal that helps you track what you do, understand where your hours go, and stay focused on the projects that actually matter. Plan your day on a timeline Β· Add events in seconds with start/end time, details, and category Β· Link entries to projects for long-term tracking Β· See your day at a glance with a calm, spacious calendar layout Understand your time with analytics Β· Switch between Week / Month / Year views Β· View total time and time distribution Β· Break down your time by category or by project Visualize focus with the Focus Map Action Journal turns your logs into an intuitive bubble map: Β· Time Share (X-axis): how much of your time a project takes Β· Accumulation (Y-axis): how meaningful and worth-investing it feels Use Last 30 Days / Last 90 Days / This Year to see how your focus shifts over time, spot hidden gems, and catch time sinks early. Built for clarity Β· Simple UI, soft colors, and readable typography Β· Designed to reduce mental overhead and make reflection effortless Action Journal is for anyone who wants less guessing and more clarity - one day, one project, one decision at a time.

Screenshots

SciNote4 screens
Action Journal4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Action Journal at weekly against SciNote's every 4 months. SciNote's advantage is iOS requirement (11.0 vs 15.1). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price Β· Rating Β· Positive reviews Β· Number of ratings Β· Update frequency Β· Ads Β· In-app purchases Β· Monetization Β· Best chart rank Β· Devices Β· Requires iOS

CostPrice Β· In-app purchases Β· Ads Β· Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SciNote ships an update every 4 months, Action Journal weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 27, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences Β· 4 level
SciNote versus Action Journal: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSciNoteAction Journal
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsWeekly β€” better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS11.0 β€” better15.1
Further details β€” not scored
Size66 MB38 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperScinote LLCXinyi Pang

In-app purchases

None

SciNote

No in-app purchases

None

Action Journal

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is SciNote free?
SciNote is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Action Journal free?
Action Journal is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do SciNote or Action Journal have ads?
Neither SciNote nor Action Journal shows ads.
Which is updated more often, SciNote or Action Journal?
SciNote ships an update every 4 months, and Action Journal weekly. Most recently, SciNote was updated on October 27, 2026 and Action Journal on October 28, 2026.

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