Comparison

Byword vs Notebooks

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

Head to head
About

Byword

This app simplifies writing on mobile devices with robust Markdown support. It offers cross-device syncing, offline access, and seamless publishing to popular blogging platforms. Enjoy features like dark mode, word counts, and accessibility options.

Highlights
  • Markdown writing and editing
  • Cross-device syncing
  • Offline document access
  • Publish to blogs (Medium, WordPress, etc.)
  • Dark mode support
  • Word and character counters
  • Export to PDF and HTML
Features
Read full description

Byword makes writing easier on your iPhone and iPad. # Key features of Byword - Designed to make writing with Markdown easier - Sync text documents across all your Mac, iPhone, iPad devices - Take all documents offline to access them anytime - Filter documents by searching all text (Find & Replace inside documents coming soon) - Alternate dark theme for extra comfort in low-light situations - The most complete Markdown support including footnotes, tables and cross-references - Export Markdown documents to PDF and HTML documents - Publish to Medium, WordPress, Tumblr, Blogger and Evernote # Optimized for iOS 13 - Dark mode support to match iOS preference; - Search documents directly from iOS Spotlight; - Multitasking and split screen on iPad; - Shortcuts to create new document and access most recent documents right from application icon. # Blog publishing Publish to Medium, WordPress, Tumblr, Blogger and Evernote from Byword. Publishing your story with Byword is as simple as: 1. Write in Byword 2. Open Tools and select Publish 3. Confirm metadata 4. Publish # More features - List continuations - TextExpander snippet expansion - Word and character counters with live update - Extensive VoiceOver support for visual impaired users - Spell and Grammar checking and Dictionary lookup - Keyboard shortcuts for formatting and navigating between screens Here are some ways to use Byword in your life: - For posting to your blog without using clunky web interfaces and risking losing your work - For research, meeting and class notes - To write that important email without being distracted - To capture ideas and notes and have them available in all devices # Rich text warning Byword for iOS only works with plain text formats. Supported file extensions are: txt, text, md, mmd, rmd, markdown, markdn, mdown, mkdn, markd and fountain. # Support We are proud to provide a super friendly customer support. If you need help and/or have suggestions, please contact us using the mediums below. Twitter: http://twitter.com/bywordapp Email: byword@metaclassy.com Web: http://bywordapp.com

About

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.

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
Read full description

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

Byword4 screens
Notebooks4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Byword at $5.99 against Notebooks's $17.99. Byword also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 4) and iOS requirement (10.3 vs 17.0). Notebooks's advantage is rating (4.7 vs 4.4) and review sentiment (82% vs 60%). On ads, 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

Byword costs $5.99 and Notebooks $17.99 up front. Notebooks sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Byword asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Notebooks holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Notebooks has 1.1K ratings behind it against 185, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 60% of Byword's written reviews are positive against 82% of Notebooks's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Byword ships an update every 2 months, Notebooks monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
Byword versus Notebooks: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBywordNotebooks
Price$5.99 — better$17.99
Rating4.4 (185 ratings)4.7 (1.1K ratings) — better
Positive reviews60.1% of reviews82.3% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1851.1K — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidPaid
Best chart rank—#194 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch
Requires iOS10.3 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size9 MB48 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMetaclassy, Lda.Alfons Schmid

Customer experience

Byword

All ratings179 ratings
Positive86.0%
Neutral2.8%
Negative11.2%
Written reviews328 reviews
Positive60.1%
Neutral13.7%
Negative26.2%

Notebooks

All ratings1,069 ratings
Positive94.0%
Neutral2.7%
Negative3.3%
Written reviews215 reviews
Positive82.3%
Neutral5.6%
Negative12.1%

User reviews

Byword

From 185 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Highly recommended, just works
  • 🚀 Reliable, efficient, and aesthetically appealing
  • 🚀 Excellent Markdown support
  • 👍 Clean, simple, and distraction-free writing experience
  • 👍 Seamless sync between devices

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Dropbox sync issues, including lost files and sync conflicts
  • 🐛 Crashes and performance issues, especially on newer iOS versions
  • 🐛 Limited font and theme options
  • 🐛 Lack of advanced features like search, word count, and dark mode
  • 🐛 Unintuitive organization and file management

Notebooks

From 1.1K App Store ratings

What 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

Byword

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Dropbox sync not working, files not syncing or disappearing
  • Crashes on launch or when opening certain files
  • Issues with file organization, renaming, and folder management

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add support for rich text formatting (bold, italic, underline)
  • Improve Markdown preview and rendering
  • Implement more keyboard shortcuts and customization options
  • Integrate with more cloud storage services beyond Dropbox and iCloud
  • Add search and replace functionality

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

None

Byword

No in-app purchases

4 purchases

Notebooks

One-time4
  • Small Tip$0.99
  • Custom Storage Locations$2.99
  • Medium Tip$2.99
Show 1 more
  • Generous Tip$4.99

Questions

Is Byword free?
Byword costs $5.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Notebooks free?
Notebooks costs $17.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Byword or Notebooks?
Notebooks is rated higher. Byword averages 4.4 out of 5 from 185 ratings, while Notebooks averages 4.7 from 1.1K ratings.
Do Byword or Notebooks have ads?
Neither Byword nor Notebooks shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Byword or Notebooks?
Byword ships an update every 2 months, and Notebooks monthly. Most recently, Byword was updated on November 10, 2026 and Notebooks on November 7, 2026.

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