Comparison

LessonNote vs Equity Maps

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

Head to head
About

LessonNote

This tool helps educators document classroom lessons by tracking student interactions, capturing notes, and recording time spent in various learning modalities. It facilitates data-driven conversations to improve teaching and learning outcomes.

Highlights
  • Track student interactions and conversation duration
  • Record handwritten notes and observations
  • Capture photos of student work
  • Measure time spent in different learning modalities
  • Review data for student-focused discussions
  • Ideal for peer observation and coaching
Features
Read full description

LessonNote is an innovative classroom observation tool for documenting the flow of a lesson and its impact on students. Capture both quantitative and qualitative data: • Track who is talking to whom, when, and for how long. • Jot handwritten, time-stamped notes about what is being said and what students are doing. • Take photos of student work. • Capture time spent in different modalities: whole-class, individual work, group work. Begin by creating a seating chart with icons representing the teacher, students, groups, and display areas such as blackboards or projection screens. Record observations by selecting an icon, or linking two icons for a note about an interaction. Take photos of student work. After a lesson, efficiently review your data for a student-focused conversation that improves teaching and learning. A small seating chart shows exactly who or what a note is about, so you don't need to know the names of the students. A timeline shows how much time was spent in whole-class lecture or discussion, individual work time, and group work time. LessonNote helps you create a fact-based and non-judgemental record of the lesson and its impact on students. LessonNote is ideal for peer observation, coaching, instructional rounds, and of course for Lesson Study. For administrators, LessonNote improves on simple checklists or rating scales by helping document how lessons affect students—which is, ultimately, what teaching is all about. Work with your colleagues and use LessonNote to improve teaching and learning! Read the Terms of Service at: https://LSAlliance.org/LessonNote/terms-of-service.html.

About

Equity Maps

This app helps educators visualize and analyze student participation in classroom discussions. It allows teachers to track who speaks, how often, and the nature of their contributions, fostering reflection and equity.

Highlights
  • Visualize student participation
  • Instant feedback and analytics
  • Animated playback of discussions
  • Track contribution types
  • Create custom identity markers
  • Export audio and analytics (Premium)
Features
Read full description

• Elevate the voices in the room -- help students to reflect & grow! • Provide Instant Feedback – Nurture Reflection – Ignite Collaboration – Promote Equity • Created by teachers, for teachers & their students. Ideal for Socratic seminars, Spider Web™ & Harkness® (*) discussions, Literature Circles, Dialogic lesson designs, or anytime students interact. Effortlessly chart & record students’ interactions to graphically illustrate levels & types of participation. Spur deeper reflection with the discussion maps, instant analytics & animated playback at multiple speeds. NEW IN PREMIUM! – Export audio & class analytics – Post in your LMS or email directly to your students along with their talk time, Checknotes of types of contributions, the discussion map, & your personal feedback (beta). STANDARD FEATURES: • Up to 20 participants in any class w/open seating options • Quick edit features to create groups and classes. • Playback the discussion maps in real time or fast forward • Select & listen to any speaker & view notes linked to their participation • Individual/Group analytics – Include/Exclude participants from the data to see how the dynamics change PREMIUM FEATURES available with in-app upgrade or by downloading Premium today: • Up to 40 participants • Add Identity Markers to track data by groups of students • Export Audio or analytics via email to students or post in LMS or export to CSV (beta) • Track student contributions w/ enhanced Checknotes & access the 17 templates ------- CONFERENCE WITH YOUR STUDENTS OR TEACHERS: • Debrief w/students individually! Review contributions of any one student in the improved participant analytics: see each time the student spoke & playback what they said, or play from the person who spoke before/after, review notations for that student, participation data, or Checknotes… all on one screen! • Give better feedback! Take notes or write comments during or after the discussion that link directly to the student speaking and share with them immediately after. • Identify Markers: customize the groups w/n your class that you’d like to measure such as grade level, language level, race, seating area, or anything you’d like to see. ------- REFLECTIVE DATA AT YOUR FINGERTIPS: • Simply tap on the participants’ icons when they speak & Equity Maps will do the rest by visually charting the interactions & calculating levels of participation. • Track the nature of each participant's contributions with Checknotes, choose among the 17 templates or create your own, or take notes during the discussion that attach to the speaker for review afterward. • The “Feedback Frames” provide key statistics for teachers, students or group members: time spoken, times spoken, gender equity, or customize anything you’d like to measure. TEACHERS: • Enhance your Socratic Seminars, Literature Circles, Harkness®(*) discussions, or full classroom discussions • Monitor & assess Common Core Speaking & Listening Standards, ATL, Dialogic lessons, or seminar criteria • Promote student involvement & self-reflection • Perfect for schools with VPP for 50% discount FACILITATORS & GROUP LEADERS: • Encourage deeper reflection of your group’s goals, norms & processes • Give your boss an Equity Check & share how equitable your last meeting was • Critical Friends Group® coaches & facilitators (CFG work) or in PLCs ADMINISTRATORS & INSTRUCTIONAL COACHES: • Provide teachers an “image” of their classroom instruction like they’ve never seen before! • Revitalize reflective practices for teachers, while reducing anxiety of post-observation meetings • Make your classroom observations more meaningful & reflective ------ Equity Maps® is a registered trademark at the USPTO / U.S. Pat. No 10,553,129 *Equity Maps has been developed completely independent of Phillips Exeter Academy & is not affiliated in any way with the academy. Critical Friends Group® is a registered trademark of the National School Reform Faculty (NSRF®)

Screenshots

LessonNote4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: LessonNote at Free against Equity Maps's $1.99. LessonNote also leads on update cadence (monthly vs every 3 months). Equity Maps's advantage is review sentiment (100% vs 65%) and ratings volume (72 vs 10). On rating, 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

LessonNote is free to download; Equity Maps costs $1.99 up front. LessonNote sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $29.99 per 3 months and Equity Maps sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for LessonNote against 4.8 for Equity Maps. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Equity Maps has 72 ratings behind it against 10, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 65% of LessonNote's written reviews are positive against 100% of Equity Maps's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

LessonNote ships an update monthly, Equity Maps every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on September 13, 2026 and September 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
LessonNote versus Equity Maps: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLessonNoteEquity Maps
PriceFree — better$1.99
Rating4.7 (10 ratings)4.8 (72 ratings) — better
Positive reviews65.2% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1072 — better
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPad
Requires iOS17.612.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size62 MB56 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLesson Study AllianceDavid Nelson

Customer experience

LessonNote

All ratings10 ratings
Positive90.0%
Neutral10.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews23 reviews
Positive65.2%
Neutral17.4%
Negative17.4%

Equity Maps

All ratings72 ratings
Positive95.8%
Neutral2.8%
Negative1.4%
Written reviews16 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

6 purchases

LessonNote

Subscriptions3
  • 3 Months of Pro$29.993 Months
  • 6 Months of Pro$44.996 Months
  • 1 Year Pro$64.991 Year
One-time3
  • 6-month LessonNote Pro subscription$89.99
  • 1-year LessonNote Pro subscription$149.99
  • 2-year LessonNote Pro subscription$249.99
1 purchases

Equity Maps

One-time1
  • Equity Maps Premium v5.3$7.99

Questions

Is LessonNote free?
LessonNote is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Equity Maps free?
Equity Maps costs $1.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, LessonNote or Equity Maps?
Equity Maps is rated higher. LessonNote averages 4.7 out of 5 from 10 ratings, while Equity Maps averages 4.8 from 72 ratings.
Do LessonNote or Equity Maps have ads?
Neither LessonNote nor Equity Maps shows ads.
Which is updated more often, LessonNote or Equity Maps?
LessonNote ships an update monthly, and Equity Maps every 3 months. Most recently, LessonNote was updated on September 13, 2026 and Equity Maps on September 8, 2026.

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