ZoomNotes vs Notebooks
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
ZoomNotes
This comprehensive visual note-taking app offers extensive zoom capabilities for creating handwritten notes and sketches on various digital surfaces. It supports PDF annotation, digital planning with calendar integration, and advanced features like sub-pages and bookmarks for organized visual files.
- Extensive zoom range for notes and sketches
- Write over PDF and Office documents
- Digital planner creation and calendar integration
- Sub-pages for hierarchical organization
- Bookmarks with presentation playback
- Handwriting recognition for search
- Layers for content control
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ZoomNotes is the most comprehensive visual note-taking app with huge zoom range. Make handwritten notes and sketches on virtual paper, huge WhiteBoards , PDF files, images and MS Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents (via GoogleDrive). Sync your documents between your iPad and iPhone with iCloud. ZoomNotes is compatible with any capacitive stylus pen and also with the top electronic pens on the market including the fabulous Apple Pencil. ZoomNotes Desktop for Mac now also available. Features include: MULTIPLE PEN TYPES There are 8 pen types to choose from including gel, nib, pencil and watercolour each with unlimited line thicknesses. HANDWRITING RECOGNITION Search handwritten notes. DIGITAL PLANNING Either import a planner pdf or use the ‘Custom digital planner’ option to create your own. You can configure a planner to show events and reminders from the Calendar and Reminder apps. SUB-PAGES This unique feature allows you to use ‘pages within pages’. This allows you to use sticky-notes and enables the creation of hierarchical visual files. You can also insert whole pdf files as sub-pages, or import pages from other ZoomNotes documents into a sub-page. BOOKMARKS Bookmarks allow you save views in your documents, and then return to them at a later date. There are animated playback facilities to allow you to present with or to create videos from your document. LINKS Add links between pages, and even between documents. This lets you create your own digital planners, enhance imported pdf planners or create indices. SPLIT_SCREEN Edit and view two documents side by side (or above and below). You can now also have 2 views of the same document. CALENDAR EVENTS Add events/reminders linked to your documents, possibly with alarms. The URL in the event links back to the document in ZoomNotes. HUGE ZOOM RANGE, WHITEBOARD MODE Zoom in and out without arbitrary limits including rotated views. LAYERS Layers let you control what is visible on a page, also options for 'master layers' which show on all pages. WRITE OVER PDF FILES Import and write over PDFs, Microsoft Office files Word, Excel and PowerPoint (via GoogleDrive). UNLIMITED PAPER SIZES AND STYLES Make your page as small or as large as you like. Choose any type of paper with our configurable paper types. FULLY EDITABLE In ZoomNotes, you can select, scale, rotate, shift and flip (mirror) objects. Cut, copy and paste are also available, including between documents, pages and other apps. SHAPES AND ARROWS Regular shapes and arrows (ideal for visual mapping); they can be drawn with the polygon tool or roughly drawn by hand and automatically converted into the exact geometric shape. SYMBOL LIBRARY Fully configurable library of reusable shapes and images. IMAGES AND IMAGE EDITING Insert images (photos) in your documents at any size and scale. Crop, mask, re-sample, edit transparency, scan-correct and deform images. Insert images and videos from camera or photo library. TYPED TEXT Enter typed text via keyboard; with a wide range of fonts and font sizes, font colours, fills and borders. Text can be entered at all zoom scales and can be selected and moved, scaled and rotated. RECORD AND PLAYBACK SOUNDS Including import and export of mp3 files. You can also insert a sound recording on the page to which it relates. Now linked to drawing. SHARE DOCUMENTS Share documents as PDF files, images, videos or ZoomNotes documents (via email, iTunes, clipboard, Dropbox, Twitter and Evernote, Airdrop, iCloud Drive and Open in. USE FOR PRESENTATIONS ZoomNotes is VGA compatible for use with projectors, monitors and AirPlay. MAGNIFICATION WINDOW Write into a zoomed in view whilst still viewing the zoomed out view. There are lots more details including videos or the app in action at www.zoom-notes.com. We respond to every email sent to support@zoom-notes.com
Notebooks
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.
- 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
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Own your notes — forever. Notebooks is a writing and organization app with no subscription, no lock-in, and no worries. Your documents are stored as standard files you can always access, export, or move freely. Pay once. Use for life. Use Notebooks as a personal wiki, Zettelkasten, document archive, task manager, or long-term writing space. Capture quick notes, turn them into actionable tasks, combine text fragments into chapters, organize research, or keep business documents separate from personal journals — without ever switching apps. Designed to help you stay focused and work at your own pace, Notebooks grows with your needs and is always ready to support you. WRITE AND CREATE Create beautifully formatted documents with styles, attachments, tables, checklists, and optional tables of contents. Choose from ready-made styles or design your own. Write in different ways: Formatted text (WYSIWYG) Plain text, with smart handling of lists, automatic character pairing, and a focused writing view Markdown, supporting MultiMarkdown and Discount, with syntax highlighting, dedicated keyboard keys, wiki-style links, and interactive checklists Sketch ideas or annotate images and PDFs using Apple Pencil. STORE AND ORGANIZE Notebooks stores all documents as regular files in standard formats. You always remain in control — no lock-in, no export worries, fully compatible across devices and over time. Organize your work in books and nested hierarchies without limits. Import PDFs, emails, web pages, MS Office and iWork documents, images, audio, video, and more. Use full-text search to find even the most deeply nested document. PLAN AND ACT Turn books into project lists and documents into tasks. Assign due dates and alerts, create nested projects, and track progress naturally — right where your work lives. Use simple checklists in formatted documents or Markdown for lightweight task tracking. STAY FOCUSED Link documents together to build knowledge over time. Use wiki-style links, backlinks, contexts, and smart books to keep everything connected and within reach. When you rename or move documents, links stay intact. A PLACE YOU CAN RELY ON Sync your documents between iPhone, iPad, Mac, and PC. Work on documents stored in other apps, compile selections into PDFs or eBooks, scan documents and extract text using OCR, and trust that your data stays accessible — now and in the future. With time, Notebooks often becomes the one place users rely on to keep everything that matters close at hand. WHAT USERS SAY “Notebooks is a wonderful app — sophisticated in an unassuming way. I feel more productive without spending time managing the app itself.” “You are GTD in every way that makes it efficient — and makes me efficient.”
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: ZoomNotes at $7.99 against Notebooks's $17.99. ZoomNotes also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 4). Notebooks's advantage is rating (4.7 vs 4.5) and chart position (#144 vs unranked). On review sentiment, ratings volume, update cadence and ads 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
ZoomNotes costs $7.99 and Notebooks $17.99 up front. Notebooks sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. ZoomNotes asks for nothing beyond the download.
Notebooks holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 907 and 1.1K respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 84% of ZoomNotes's written reviews are positive against 83% of Notebooks's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
ZoomNotes ships an update every 3 weeks, Notebooks every 5 weeks. Both last shipped on September 29, 2026.
| Parameter | ZoomNotes | Notebooks |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $7.99 — better | $17.99 |
| Rating | 4.5 (907 ratings) | 4.7 (1.1K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 84.3% of reviews — better | 82.6% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 907 | 1.1K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks — better | Every 5 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Best chart rank | — | #144 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 16.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 149 MB | 47 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Deliverance Software Ltd | Alfons Schmid |
Customer experience
ZoomNotes
Notebooks
User reviews
ZoomNotes
From 907 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Powerful features
- 👍 Customizable interface
- 🖋 Smooth handwriting
- 🗓 Calendar integration
- 🔗 Linking capabilities
Room to improve
- 🐛 Crashes and bugs
- 📚 Steep learning curve
- 🖥 Outdated user interface
- 🔍 Cluttered menus
- 🔀 Inconsistent page navigation
Notebooks
From 1.1K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Powerful and flexible organization
- 🔒 Respects user data and privacy
- 👍 Reliable and stable
- 👍 Responsive and helpful developer
- 👍 Elegant and intuitive interface
Room to improve
- 🐛 Occasional crashes and sync issues
- 🐛 Formatting and editing limitations
- 🐛 Steep learning curve for some users
Bugs and requests
ZoomNotes
Reported bugs
4 issues- Randomly deleted text and input
- Syncing issues with cloud storage
- Unstable performance after updates
- Compatibility problems with newer devices
Requested features
6 requests- Handwriting to text conversion
- Improved page management
- Smoother page transitions
- Customizable keyboard shortcuts
- Better integration with cloud services
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- Streamlined UI design
Notebooks
Reported bugs
2 issues- Data loss after iOS upgrades
- Compatibility issues with newer iOS versions
Requested features
4 requests- Improved Markdown support
- More font and color customization options
- Better Apple Watch integration
- Export to Word format
In-app purchases
ZoomNotes
No in-app purchases
Notebooks
- Small Tip$0.99
- Custom Storage Locations$2.99
- Medium Tip$2.99
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- Generous Tip$4.99









