Drybar vs HiNOTE
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Drybar
Book and manage professional blowout appointments at your favorite salon. Discover exclusive app-only promotions, join membership programs, and find style inspiration for your next visit. Rebook services and locations with ease.
- Book blowout appointments
- Manage appointments
- Exclusive app promotions
- Barfly Membership management
- Find salon locations
- Style inspiration
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At Drybar® shops, our philosophy is simple. Focus on one thing and be the best at it. For us, that’s blowouts. With that purpose in mind, we are focused on giving each and every client the premier blowout experience while providing professional quality products and tools to better help clients achieve and maintain the perfect blowout at home. Easily book a blowout appointment for you and all your friends. View, edit, or cancel your upcoming appointments on your personal home screen and seamlessly rebook your favorite service & location with just a few taps. You can find a Drybar location while on the go and become a Barfly with our Signature or Premium Memberships to ensure your hair is perfect on your most important dates throughout the month. 4 Reasons you'll love our new Mobile Booking App. 1. Get access to promotions and offers sent only to App users. 2. Book all your blowout appointments easily & frequently. 3. Join & manage your monthly Barfly Membership. 4. Find style inspiration for your next appointment.
HiNOTE
Create and send personalized digital greetings, invitations, and social media posts with unique templates and stationery. Features include RSVP tracking, photo sharing, and exclusive designs from renowned collaborators. Share effortlessly across multiple platforms without ads.
- Invitations with RSVP tracking
- Birthday and holiday cards
- Photo cards and digital frames
- Personalized digital stationery
- Exclusive collaborator designs
- Effortless sharing across platforms
- Weekly new designs
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Your messages deserve better than a text bubble. HiNOTE is the #1 personal stationery app for people who care how things land. Send greetings, invitations, thank-you notes, photo cards, and monogrammed stationery — personalized with your name or initials, and delivered anywhere: text, email, Instagram, WhatsApp, Slack and any social platform. What you can send: • New! Reactions: Let everyone chime in and get in on the fun • New! Your personal, digital Stationery Drawer • Invitations with built-in RSVP tracking • Birthday, holiday, and milestone cards that stand out • Photo cards and digital frames for any occasion • Thank-you notes and stylish memes • Wedding, baby, anniversary, and celebration announcements • Elegant digital stationery with your name or monogram • Why people choose HiNOTE: • One tap to any platform — text, email, WhatsApp, Instagram, Slack - any social platform • No ads. Ever. Just creativity, beauty, and connection • New designs added weekly — always something fresh for every season • Exclusive collaborations with Aerin Lauder, LoveShackFancy, Ken Fulk, Mark D. Sikes, Lingua Franca, Hotel du Cap, Emily Post Institute, Plum Sykes, Zoe de Givenchy, Claiborne Swanson Frank, Mrs Alice, Kimothy Joy, Glampwear, Sex w/Emily, Rebecca Gardner, and more Featured by Apple — The Best Greeting Card Apps "HiNOTE ups the ante on messaging — extra fun and pretty fabulous." — Oprah Daily "A reimagined alternative to digital communication." — Town & Country "So much cooler than blue or green blobs." — goop Also featured in TechCrunch, Fast Company, Elle, Architectural Digest, and Tory Burch Daily. Over 340,000 downloads. 13 million notes delivered. Join the people who send their best. Need help? Email hello@hinoteapp.com. We’d love to hear from you. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: HiNOTE at 87% against Drybar's 7%. HiNOTE also leads on rating (4.9 vs 2.5) and ratings volume (4.1K vs 33). Drybar's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 4) and ads (none vs shown). On price, update cadence 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
Both are free to download. HiNOTE sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Drybar asks for nothing beyond the download.
HiNOTE holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 2.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: HiNOTE has 4.1K ratings behind it against 33, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 7% of Drybar's written reviews are positive against 87% of HiNOTE's.
Drybar ships an update monthly, HiNOTE every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 17, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Drybar | HiNOTE |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 2.5 (33 ratings) | 4.9 (4.1K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 7.5% of reviews | 87.2% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 33 | 4.1K — better |
| Update frequency | Monthly — better | Every 5 weeks |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 14.4 — better | 16.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 52 MB | 306 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Drybar | HiNotes! Inc |
Customer experience
Drybar
HiNOTE
User reviews
Drybar
From 33 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Easy to book appointments
- 💡 Ability to rebook with same stylist
- 🎯 Single platform for all booking needs
- ✨ Modern and sleek interface design
- 🔄 Remembers previous appointments
Room to improve
- 🐛 Constant login issues and forced re-authentication
- 📱 Unreliable location detection
- 🔄 Doesn't save user preferences despite checkboxes
- ⚠️ Excessive font size and UI scaling problems
- 🔐 Frequent password reset requirements
HiNOTE
From 4.1K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 💫 Elevated communication
- 🎨 Beautiful, creative designs
- 🤩 Surprising and delightful
- 🎉 Fun and easy to use
- ✨ Personalized and thoughtful
Room to improve
- 🤔 Limited customization options
- 🔗 Promotional link distracting
- 🚫 Requires phone number for signup
- 🔍 Difficult to search/find content
Bugs and requests
Drybar
Reported bugs
20 issues- Login credentials not recognized despite being correct
- App logs out user every time it's opened
- Password reset emails not being sent
- Server error messages during booking process
- Scrolling issues on date selection screens
Show 15 moreShow fewer
- Font rendering too large making content unreadable
- Location search returns incorrect/distant locations
- App crashes when entering zip code search
- Payment processing fails with server errors
- Appointment confirmation not syncing to salon systems
- Membership credits showing as zero when they exist
- Add-on requests not appearing at salon
- Appointments not displaying in user schedule
- App freezes on confirmation screen
- Unable to add payment methods despite limit errors
- Location detection fails on cellular networks
- Password validation inconsistent between app and website
- Account profile phone number validation errors
- Customer not found errors for existing accounts
- Automatic next screen progression inconsistent
Requested features
17 requests- Face ID or biometric authentication support
- Remember login credentials between sessions
- Show available times across multiple locations simultaneously
- Search appointments by date instead of location
- Save user preferences and settings permanently
Show 12 moreShow fewer
- Ability to select specific stylists
- Display location phone numbers in app
- Cancel and modify appointments within app
- Show membership credits and benefits clearly
- Integration with calendar apps
- Keyboard shortcut support for login fields
- Better error messaging and explanations
- View appointment history with stylist names
- Search by date range across nearby locations
- Saved favorite add-ons and services
- Automatic location detection accuracy improvement
- Show availability before answering all questions
HiNOTE
Reported bugs
3 issues- App crashes when searching
- Inconsistent capitalization issues
- Authorization codes not received
Requested features
5 requests- Paid version without promotional link
- More customization options
- Ability to remove branding/logo
- Desktop/tablet app version
- Improved search and organization
In-app purchases
Drybar
No in-app purchases
HiNOTE
- The Monogram Club$3.991 Month
- Name here$3.99
- LoveShackFancy$6.99
- Mark D. Sikes$12.99
