Comparison

Penzu vs Notebook

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

Head to head
About

Penzu

This app provides a secure and private space for journaling, note-taking, and storing personal thoughts. It offers robust security features like password and PIN locks, encryption, and cloud syncing across devices. Users can also add photos and tags to their entries, making it a comprehensive digital diary.

Highlights
  • Unlimited journaling
  • Cloud sync for free
  • Password and PIN locks
  • Journal encryption
  • Add photos to entries
  • Search and tag entries
  • Offline writing
Read full description

*Used by over 1 million people around the world *Best free journal in any app store *Syncs to the web and other mobile platforms for free Penzu is the most popular free diary, journal and notepad. It’s the best place to keep your most private thoughts safe and secure. Sync your journals to Penzu where your notes are accessible from almost any device in the world. So simple and fun that you’ll leave your paper diary behind! FEATURES *Unlimited journaling *Sync journals with Penzu cloud for free *Customize your journal covers *Lock journals with a password *Encrypt your journals *Add photos *Lock app with a PIN *Search journals *Add tags *Write offline and more... WHY PENZU? Penzu is a diary and personal journal that is focused on privacy. With a unique and compelling user experience, it makes writing online as easy and intuitive as writing on a pad of paper. PRIVACY Your journal and your thoughts aren’t always meant to be shared — some things are supposed to be private! Use Penzu to jot down whatever you want. Then lock your journal with a password (or even encryption) so no one can read it but you! Furthermore, you can lock the entire app with a PIN in the event that someone gets access to your mobile device. PENZU Unlike other journal apps, Penzu has a web-based counterpart. So you can access your journals and diary from any web browser and other devices. Penzu is constantly being updated and improved so that the writing experience is effortless and reliable. SUBSCRIPTION INFO This app is free to download but requires a free Penzu account in order to start writing. Upgrading to Penzu Pro is available for a small monthly or yearly subscription. Your subscription will auto-renew unless you cancel manually. Monthly subscriptions are $4.99 USD and renew every month. Yearly subscriptions are $19.99 USD and renew every year. You can see our privacy policy here: http://penzu.com/m/privacy You can read our terms of use here: http://penzu.com/m/terms

About

Notebook

This app lets you record daily notes and diary entries, viewing them together on a single page. It offers search, passcode protection, and iCloud sync for easy organization and access. Core features are free, with an option to remove ads via a one-time purchase.

Highlights
  • Daily notes on one page
  • Searchable past entries
  • Passcode and biometric lock
  • iCloud sync across devices
  • Adjustable text size and Dark Mode
  • Recover deleted notes
Features
Read full description

Keep daily notes and diary entries together on one page. Turn pages like a book and revisit your past entries. Search, iCloud sync, and a passcode lock help you organize and access your notes. Core features are free; ad removal is a one-time purchase. ■ Your day on one page See the notes and diary entries you write each day together on one page. Swipe or tap to turn pages and look back on everyday moments and memories. ■ Find past entries Use the contents list or search to find a note you want to revisit. Change a note's date to record plans or past events. ■ Make reading and writing comfortable Adjust the text size or use Dark Mode. Copy, print, or share your notes. ■ Protect access with a passcode Lock access to your diary with a passcode. Face ID / Touch ID is available on supported devices. ■ Sync between devices with iCloud With iCloud sync enabled, notes synchronize automatically between devices using the same Apple Account. iCloud sync is enabled by default for new installations. iCloud Drive and Notebook's iCloud access must be enabled, with available storage and a network connection. Synchronization may take time. iCloud sync and device backups are separate features. Check your sync status and backups before changing devices. ■ Recover deleted notes Recover notes within 30 days of deletion from Recently Deleted in Settings. ■ Remove ads with a one-time purchase Core features are free. Premium removes ads with a one-time purchase, not a subscription. After changing devices, use Restore Purchases with the Apple Account used for your purchase. Over 2 million downloads worldwide. Rated 4.7 out of 5 from over 21,000 ratings across all countries and regions (October 2026). Capture your everyday moments, one page at a time.

Screenshots

Penzu4 screens
Notebook4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Penzu at none against Notebook's 1. Penzu also leads on ads (none vs shown). Notebook's advantage is rating (4.7 vs 4.2) and review sentiment (72% vs 53%). On price, update cadence, monetization model and device support 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. Notebook sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Penzu asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Notebook holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Notebook has 14K ratings behind it against 2.5K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 53% of Penzu's written reviews are positive against 72% of Notebook's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 11, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Penzu versus Notebook: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPenzuNotebook
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.2 (2.5K ratings)4.7 (14K ratings) — better
Positive reviews52.7% of reviews72.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2.5K14K — better
Update frequencyWeeklyWeekly
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS16.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size62 MB25 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperPenzu Inc.Koji Ito

Customer experience

Penzu

All ratings2,524 ratings
Positive81.3%
Neutral4.7%
Negative14.1%
Written reviews676 reviews
Positive52.7%
Neutral10.1%
Negative37.3%

Notebook

All ratings14,324 ratings
Positive94.1%
Neutral3.2%
Negative2.8%
Written reviews276 reviews
Positive72.5%
Neutral12.3%
Negative15.2%

User reviews

Penzu

From 2.5K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Easy to use
  • 🔒 Secure and private
  • 📝 Convenient journaling on the go
  • 🗓️ Helpful reminders and date tracking
  • 💻 Syncs across devices

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
  • 🔑 Password issues and lockout problems
  • 📁 Syncing and data loss issues
  • 📱 Limited functionality on mobile app
  • 💰 Expensive premium subscription

Notebook

From 14K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Simple and easy to use
  • 🔒 Password protection
  • 💡 Convenient for journaling and note-taking
  • 🚀 Smooth and responsive
  • 👍 Organized by date

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes or glitches
  • 🚫 Unable to insert photos or attachments
  • 🚫 Limited formatting options
  • 🚫 No cloud sync or backup
  • 🚫 Not compatible with iPad

Bugs and requests

Penzu

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Keyboard disappearing during use
  • Entries not saving or syncing properly
  • Inability to access account after updates

Requested features

4 requests
  • More customization options for fonts, themes, and layouts
  • Ability to export/backup journal entries
  • Improved mobile app stability and features
  • Better customer support and communication

Notebook

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Deleting entries causes the app to crash
  • Long entries can cause the app to become unresponsive
  • Password feature doesn't always work as expected

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add ability to insert photos and attachments
  • Implement cloud sync and backup
  • Allow more formatting options (font, size, color, bold, italic, etc.)
  • Develop an iPad version with optimized layout
  • Add a search function to easily find past entries

In-app purchases

None

Penzu

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Notebook

One-time1
  • Remove Ads$6.99

Questions

Is Penzu free?
Penzu is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Notebook free?
Notebook is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Penzu or Notebook?
Notebook is rated higher. Penzu averages 4.2 out of 5 from 2.5K ratings, while Notebook averages 4.7 from 14K ratings.
Do Penzu or Notebook have ads?
Notebook shows ads; Penzu does not.
Which is updated more often, Penzu or Notebook?
Penzu ships an update weekly, and Notebook weekly. Most recently, Penzu was updated on November 6, 2026 and Notebook on November 11, 2026.

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