Comparison

Mental Note for iPad ๛ vs Logbook Ultra

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

Head to head
About

Mental Note for iPad ๛

This app transforms your iPad into a versatile digital notepad. Seamlessly combine text, drawings, pictures, and voice recordings on a single page. Capture ideas in any format and share them easily.

Highlights
  • Combine text, pictures, audio, and drawings
  • Freehand sketching with multiple colors
  • Organize notes with tags
  • Password protect private notes
  • Export notes in PDF, text, and other formats
  • Share notes via email and cloud services
Read full description

"...a true notepad experience that may help you make a clean break from the pencil-and-paper era." -New York Times. Users describe Mental Note as "the only notepad app... that's actually better than, and as simple as, a pen and paper." It's "the future of note taking", and "a big sketchpad... [to] free-associate and put stuff down in any format". Mental Note for iPad brings the future closer with an even bigger sketchpad for you to capture your ideas on. Turn your iPad into a digital notepad.  Combine pictures, voice recordings, drawings and text - all on the same page, in any order you choose. An idea... a flash - a moment of genius.  When a thought hits, and you have to remember it, why limit how you record it?  The more context and sensory details you can capture, the clearer the idea can be put down. Use pictures, audio, sketching and text together on the same page... a digital page that can be shared with anyone. Mental Note allows you to capture ideas as they happen: use pictures, dictate, add text, sketch on anything.  Ideas clarified. Creativity captured. FEATURES - Draw with your finger using multiple colours and widths on top of pictures, text, or anywhere else on the page. Zoom in to sketch fine details. - Choose a picture from your album and add it to the page. - Add audio to the page by recording with the built-in microphone. Continue to edit your note while recording. - Organize your notes using tags. - Password protect your private notes and flag your important ones. - Attach Calendar events to your notes. - Undo, redo anything in the note by shaking the device. - Delete note sections using the toolbar button or by swiping any note section. - Move a note section by swiping and then dragging it to its new location. - Length of a note is limited only by device memory. - Export in a variety of formats including PDF, text, Mental Note format, and more. Send using email, iCloud, Dropbox, and more. * Send a note in Mental Note format so the note may be imported into another person's Mental Note app. * Using email, export a complete note directly from Mental Note as either a PDF document or a picture (each audio recording is attached to the email as a separate file). You can also email just the text from your note. - Export your notes and backups to your iCloud and/or Dropbox account. - Share a note with your friends using most installed apps. - Map the location a note was created at (if location services are enabled). - Change the size and font of the text in your notes. - Change the color and background of your notes. - Numerous other configuration options. THIS VERSION IS OPTIMIZED FOR iPad. FOR iPhone, PLEASE SEE Mental Note - the digital notepad. Read more: www.zymbiotic.com X @zymbiotic facebook.com/zymbiotic

About

Logbook Ultra

This app provides a digital pilot logbook for pilots, offering features like flight tracking, data analysis, and professional PDF export. It syncs across devices via iCloud and can import existing logbook data. Advanced features require a subscription.

Highlights
  • Digital pilot logbook
  • Device Sync via iCloud
  • Import existing logbooks
  • Airline roster import
  • FMC & ACARS Capture
  • ADS-B autofill
  • Professional PDF export
Features
Read full description

Logbook Ultra is a premium digital pilot logbook for airline, charter and private pilots on iPhone, iPad and Mac, with professional PDF logbooks in FAA format. Your flights are stored in your own iCloud, with no separate account to create. Keep one logbook across your devices with Device Sync, and access your flights offline. Import your existing pilot logbook from LogTen Pro, SafeLog, CrewLounge PILOTLOG, other logbook apps, or a spreadsheet - or start fresh with your existing totals. Then keep it current with airline roster import, FMC / ACARS Capture, ADS-B autofill, and calendar sync. Free roster import for worldwide airlines including British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Qantas and many more, or request your airline in the app. Engineered over many years and trusted by professional pilots worldwide. DASHBOARD | Your flights at a glance Totals, recent activity, upcoming flights, milestones, and logbook health. STATUS | Limits & Projections Plan ahead with limits and currency projections based on your logged flying and operating rules. INSIGHTS | Explore your flying Interactively analyze your flying with distributions across date ranges, roles, aircraft and time types. FLIGHT GLOBE | Your whole career, on a globe Every route and airport you've flown, drawn on an interactive 3D globe you can spin and zoom. Tap an airport to filter Insights, replay your flying period by period with Play Timeline, or export it to Google Earth. INTELLIGENT FLIGHT WIDGET | Your next flight at a glance Your upcoming flight, route and countdown on your Home Screen, with the flights that follow. FMC & ACARS CAPTURE | Times straight from the flight deck Reads OUT, OFF, ON and IN from your FMC or ACARS screen for you to check before saving. Recognition happens entirely on your device. FEATURES • Device Sync: your pilot logbook kept up to date across iPhone, iPad and Mac through your own iCloud. • Airline roster import. • FMC & ACARS Capture. • ADS-B flight radar autofill. • iOS Calendar sync. • Smarter flight entry: a default crew member, crew roles suggested from your most recent crewed flight, Pilot Flying or Pilot Monitoring by default, an optional PF/PM swap when copying a return sector, instrument time auto-fill, and IFR time in the editor. • Professional PDF logbooks in FAA (United States), CASA (Australia) and EASA (Europe) formats. • Intelligent night calculation. • Worldwide offline aircraft database. • Logbook health indicators. • Secure iCloud backup. More than a digital logbook. Built to help you understand your flying and plan ahead. Log up to 250 hours of flight time free. Subscribe to unlock advanced features, including ADS-B flight radar autofill, calendar sync, and unlimited logging. Secure discounted Version 3.5 launch pricing and keep your renewal price for as long as your subscription remains active (subject to App Store policy and regional pricing). Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Logbook Ultra4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Logbook Ultra at 100% against Mental Note for iPad ๛'s 52%. Logbook Ultra also leads on price (Free vs $4.99) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 5 months). On 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

Logbook Ultra is free to download; Mental Note for iPad ๛ costs $4.99 up front. Mental Note for iPad ๛ sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and Logbook Ultra sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $5.95 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Mental Note for iPad ๛ ships an update every 5 months, Logbook Ultra every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Mental Note for iPad ๛ versus Logbook Ultra: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMental Note for iPad ๛Logbook Ultra
Price$4.99Free — better
Rating2.7 (6 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews51.7% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings6 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
DevicesiPadiPhone, iPad, Mac — better
Requires iOS26.016.4 — better
Further details — not scored
Size17 MB119 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperZymbiotic TechnologiesFuture Approach Pty Ltd

Customer experience

Mental Note for iPad ๛

All ratings6 ratings
Positive33.3%
Neutral16.7%
Negative50.0%
Written reviews149 reviews
Positive51.7%
Neutral22.8%
Negative25.5%

Logbook Ultra

Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Mental Note for iPad ๛

One-time3
  • Paper Customization feature$2.99
  • Straight Line Drawing feature$3.99
  • Dark Mode Override feature$3.99
4 purchases

Logbook Ultra

Subscriptions4
  • Launch Pass - 1 Month$5.951 Month
  • OLD - Test subscription$22.951 Year
  • Launch Pass - 12 Months$29.951 Year
Show 1 more
  • Launch Pass - 12 Months$29.991 Year

Questions

Is Mental Note for iPad ๛ free?
Mental Note for iPad ๛ costs $4.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Logbook Ultra free?
Logbook Ultra is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Mental Note for iPad ๛ or Logbook Ultra have ads?
Neither Mental Note for iPad ๛ nor Logbook Ultra shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Mental Note for iPad ๛ or Logbook Ultra?
Mental Note for iPad ๛ ships an update every 5 months, and Logbook Ultra every 2 weeks. Most recently, Mental Note for iPad ๛ was updated on November 1, 2026 and Logbook Ultra on October 30, 2026.

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