Comparison

LessonNote vs Showbie

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 facilitates classroom lesson observation by allowing educators to document lesson flow and student engagement. It enables tracking of interactions, capturing notes, taking photos of student work, and analyzing time spent in different learning modalities. The app helps create a factual record to improve teaching and learning.

Highlights
  • Track student interactions
  • Record time-stamped notes
  • Photograph student work
  • Analyze time in learning modalities
  • Create seating charts
  • Review data for student-focused conversations
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

Showbie

This app streamlines classroom management by allowing teachers to assign, collect, and provide personalized feedback on student work. It supports digital portfolios and real-time assessment, making learning more effective for students and easier for educators.

Highlights
  • Personalized assignments and feedback
  • Digital ink, text, and voice annotations
  • Real-time assessment
  • Digital student portfolios
  • Parent communication
  • Integration with thousands of iPad apps
Features
Read full description

Used by over 3 million teachers and students worldwide, Showbie is the easiest and most effective digital learning app to personalise assignments and feedback on iPad. DNA of Learning: Your Foundation for Student Success Showbie supports the improvement of everyday teaching and learning by elevating four essential strands of effective classroom practice - direct instruction, independent practice, personalised feedback and real-time assessment - all in one platform. Find out how easy it is to assign, collect and review student work from thousands of compatible iPad apps, or have your students complete assignments with Showbie’s built in tools. Provide rich feedback using digital ink, text and voice annotations right on images and PDFs, and then add your students’ best work to personalized digital portfolios that can be securely shared with parents. WHAT EDUCATORS ARE SAYING “Showbie is my number one can't live without app! It makes the iPad workflow process a breeze! I especially love how it works seamlessly with so many other apps.” — Kristen Paino, Lead Technology Integrator at Avenues: The World School “I don't need to convince my colleagues that they need to use this app — it sells itself. I like that it gives me the flexibility in how I choose to grade my student's work, especially with the voice notes feature. There is no single third party app that I would rather champion.” — Suzanne Lustenhouwer, Teacher and iPad Coordinator, Apple Distinguished Educator “I love that Showbie is so versatile that the youngest of students can use it independently, yet it is appropriate for older grades as well. The ease of use makes it a great workflow solution for classes with iPads.” — Kristi Meeuwse, Kindergarten Teacher, Apple Distinguished Educator KEY FEATURES FOR TEACHERS & STUDENTS • Share work from thousands of compatible iPad apps in a few taps • Use the pen tool and pin text notes directly on any PDF or image • Gauge class understanding in real-time with minute-by-minute assessment • Instantly differentiate assignments and materials to specific students • Quickly distribute instructions and materials to your whole class • Chat privately with individual students to provide timely feedback • Record voice notes for verbal feedback or language exercises • Quickly review and assess batches of student work and provide rich, valuable feedback • Add student work to individual digital portfolios, or enable students to curate their own portfolios • Invite parents to view their student’s work and keep them informed of classroom activity • Can be used with any classroom subject • Available in 18 languages ENHANCED SHOWBIE PRO FEATURES • Record and track grades as numeric scores or letter grades, along with qualitative feedback • Provide richer feedback with more pen colours and line thicknesses, by typing on the page, or by pinning voice notes directly to student work • Record longer voice notes and videos and upload larger files • Lock assignments to control student access to documents and feedback • Give parents complete access to assignments in the classes you choose

Screenshots

LessonNote4 screens
Showbie4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: LessonNote at 4.7 against Showbie's 3.7. LessonNote also leads on review sentiment (65% vs 36%). Showbie's advantage is ratings volume (241 vs 10) and update cadence (every 8 days vs monthly). On price, 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

Both are free to download. LessonNote sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $29.99 per 3 months and Showbie 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

LessonNote holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Showbie has 241 ratings behind it against 10, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 65% of LessonNote's written reviews are positive against 36% of Showbie's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

LessonNote ships an update monthly, Showbie every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
LessonNote versus Showbie: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLessonNoteShowbie
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (10 ratings) — better3.7 (241 ratings)
Positive reviews65.2% of reviews — better35.5% of reviews
Number of ratings10241 — better
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 8 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.617.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size47 MB299 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLesson Study AllianceShowbie Inc.

Customer experience

LessonNote

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

Showbie

All ratings241 ratings
Positive65.6%
Neutral4.6%
Negative29.9%
Written reviews476 reviews
Positive35.5%
Neutral5.3%
Negative59.2%

Bugs and requests

LessonNote

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Showbie

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Text boxes disappearing or moving unexpectedly
  • Notifications not working correctly
  • Assignments not uploading or disappearing
  • Compatibility issues on older devices

Requested features

4 requests
  • Calendar view for assignments
  • More annotation tools and customization
  • Offline mode for accessing content
  • Better integration with other apps

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

Showbie

One-time1
  • Showbie Pro$239.99

Questions

Is LessonNote free?
LessonNote is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Showbie free?
Showbie is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, LessonNote or Showbie?
LessonNote is rated higher. LessonNote averages 4.7 out of 5 from 10 ratings, while Showbie averages 3.7 from 241 ratings.
Do LessonNote or Showbie have ads?
Neither LessonNote nor Showbie shows ads.
Which is updated more often, LessonNote or Showbie?
LessonNote ships an update monthly, and Showbie every 8 days. Most recently, LessonNote was updated on November 1, 2026 and Showbie on November 10, 2026.

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