# Outliner vs Notebooks

The clearest difference is price: Outliner at $4.99 against Notebooks's $17.99. Outliner also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 4). Notebooks's advantage is update cadence (monthly vs every 4 months) and ratings volume (1.1K vs 89). On rating, review sentiment, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Outliner costs $4.99 and Notebooks $17.99 up front. Notebooks sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Outliner asks for nothing beyond the download.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Outliner against 4.7 for Notebooks. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Notebooks has 1.1K ratings behind it against 89, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 87% of Outliner's written reviews are positive against 82% of Notebooks's.

Outliner ships an update every 4 months, Notebooks monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Outliner | Notebooks |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | **$4.99** | $17.99 |
| Rating | **[4.8 (89 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/outliner/id284455726/reviews)** | [4.7 (1.1K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/notebooks-write-and-organize/id1490084838/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 89 | **1.1K** |
| Positive reviews | **86.5% of reviews** | 82.3% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | **Monthly** |
| Monetization | **Free** | Paid |
| Best chart rank | — | **#75** |
| Size | 17 MB | 48 MB |
| Requires iOS | **16.0** | 17.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [CarbonFin](https://appshunter.io/developer/284455729) | [Alfons Schmid](https://appshunter.io/developer/297571754) |

## What reviewers say

### Outliner

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/outliner/id284455726)

Organize your thoughts, tasks, and projects with a powerful outlining tool. Create structured lists, track project progress with visual indicators, and collaborate with others. Sync your work across devices and cloud storage for seamless access.

**Highlights:** Create structured outlines, Track project progress with pie charts, Sync with cloud storage (OneDrive, Dropbox), Collaborate with other users, Drag and drop editing, Search and filter outlines, Archive old outlines

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Fast, simple, and intuitive
- 🔒 Reliable and stable
- 👍 Excellent outlining functionality
- 👍 Seamless sync across devices
- 👍 Clean and uncluttered interface

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Occasional crashes and data loss issues
- 🔒 Concerns about data security and privacy
- 👎 Limited customization options (e.g., no color coding)
- 👎 Clunky data entry and navigation in some cases

**Reported bugs**

- Unexpected error: 500 when saving data
- Pane that lists outlines won't go away or resize
- Keyboard takes up too much screen space

**Requested features**

- Add due dates and priority levels for tasks
- Improve export and sharing options (e.g., PDF, Word)
- Implement better organization and search capabilities
- Introduce a desktop companion app for easier editing
- Add support for voice notes and other multimedia


### Notebooks

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/notebooks-write-and-organize/id1490084838)

**Currently charting:** #75 Top Paid · Productivity (US App Store)

This app helps you write, organize, and manage documents, tasks, and files. It offers flexible writing modes, robust organization tools, and task management features, all while ensuring your data remains accessible and under your control.

**Highlights:** Formatted text, plain text, and Markdown writing, Create documents with styles, tables, and attachments, Organize with nested hierarchies and 'books', Task management with due dates and checklists, Wiki-style linking and backlinks, Full-text search, Cross-device synchronization

**Features:** Family Sharing, Siri integration, Apple Watch app, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Small Tip | $0.99 | one-time |
| Custom Storage Locations | $2.99 | one-time |
| Medium Tip | $2.99 | one-time |
| Generous Tip | $4.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Powerful and flexible organization
- 🔒 Respects user data and privacy
- 👍 Reliable and stable
- 👍 Responsive and helpful developer
- 👍 Elegant and intuitive interface

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Occasional crashes and sync issues
- 🐛 Formatting and editing limitations
- 🐛 Steep learning curve for some users

**Reported bugs**

- Data loss after iOS upgrades
- Compatibility issues with newer iOS versions

**Requested features**

- Improved Markdown support
- More font and color customization options
- Better Apple Watch integration
- Export to Word format


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Outliner free?

Outliner costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Notebooks free?

Notebooks costs $17.99, and also offers in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Outliner or Notebooks?

Outliner is rated higher. Outliner averages 4.8 out of 5 from 89 ratings, while Notebooks averages 4.7 from 1.1K ratings.

### Do Outliner or Notebooks have ads?

Neither Outliner nor Notebooks shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Outliner or Notebooks?

Outliner ships an update every 4 months, and Notebooks monthly. Most recently, Outliner was updated on October 31, 2026 and Notebooks on November 3, 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.*