Comparison

n+otes vs Basic Journal

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

Head to head
About

n+otes

Capture thoughts and ideas instantly with a simple interface. Secure your notes with a private lock feature. Optional subscription removes ads and supports development.

Highlights
  • Quick note-taking
  • Private note lock
  • Ad-free experience (subscription)
  • Easy to use interface
Features
Read full description

Great for those quick notes! Just tap the + button and start typing! Subscribe for the Ad-free Experience: To support further development and maintenance of the app, we have a small subscription so you can use the app without advertising: A monthly, 3-monthly or yearly purchase will be applied to your iTunes account on confirmation. Subscriptions will automatically renew unless canceled within 24-hours before the end of the current period. You can cancel anytime with your iTunes account settings. Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered will be forfeited if you cancel a subscription. Terms: http://rieu.co.nz/terms.html Privacy Policy: http://rieu.co.nz/privacy.html

About

Basic Journal

A fast and simple journal app designed for busy individuals to quickly jot down notes on daily activities. It offers an elegant, chronological display of entries with easy editing and export options.

Highlights
  • Quick note-taking
  • Chronological note display
  • Summary and detail views
  • Edit and delete notes easily
  • Recently edited notes highlighted
  • iCloud syncing
  • Text export option
Features
Read full description

Waste less time fiddling with your phone, and spend more time learning, working, or training! If you are an active or busy person, you need to take notes quickly, easily, on whatever device you have with you. This app is a fast and simple journal/diary for your daily activities. This app is ideal for fitness enthusiasts, gym users, dancers who need to make notes on choreography, or anyone who needs fast and simple note-taking. Why this app? Other note-taking apps are complicated and difficult to navigate, and your notes are quickly buried. They are just not practical for quickly noting down or recalling corrections and notes during a class, lecture or workshop. This app keeps all your notes on display in a large, friendly format, in chronological order. • Elegant and simple layout of notes by date. • Summary view for a quick overview. • Detail view to browse all notes at once. • Edit or delete notes quickly from any screen. • Recently edited notes are highlighted. Data storage: • Your notes are synced across all your iOS devices. It doesn't matter if you delete the app or lose your device; your notes are stored with Apple's iCloud (subject to iCloud availability, and it being enabled on your device). • Text export option: you can get all your notes out of the software any time you want, to keep your own backups, share, or use elsewhere. NOTES Accidents happen, so it is recommended that you make regular backups with the export function. You are responsible for maintaining your own backups in case of data loss. It may take a while to sync your existing notes when you first install the app on an extra device: be patient! Make sure iCloud is enabled on your device to use the syncing feature.

Screenshots

n+otes4 screens
Basic Journal4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: n+otes at 4.7 against Basic Journal's 3.3. n+otes also leads on ratings volume (45K vs 4) and review sentiment (64% vs 40%). Basic Journal's advantage is iOS requirement (11.0 vs 13.0). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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. n+otes sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $0.49 per month and Basic Journal 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

n+otes holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: n+otes has 45K ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 64% of n+otes's written reviews are positive against 40% of Basic Journal's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

n+otes ships an update fortnightly, Basic Journal every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 7, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
n+otes versus Basic Journal: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
Parametern+otesBasic Journal
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (45K ratings) — better3.3 (4 ratings)
Positive reviews64.2% of reviews — better40.0% of reviews
Number of ratings45K — better4
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 2 weeks
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.011.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size25 MB14 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRIEU LimitedJames Hudson

Customer experience

n+otes

All ratings45,283 ratings
Positive92.6%
Neutral3.8%
Negative3.6%
Written reviews436 reviews
Positive64.2%
Neutral8.9%
Negative26.8%

Basic Journal

All ratings4 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive40.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative60.0%

Bugs and requests

n+otes

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Notes disappearing or getting lost
  • Inability to delete notes on Apple Watch
  • Scrolling issues and text freezing at the bottom
  • Inconsistent behavior after updates

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to sync notes across devices
  • More font and formatting options
  • Folder or category organization
  • Voice-to-text functionality
  • Ability to insert images and attachments

Basic Journal

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

4 purchases

n+otes

Subscriptions3
  • Ad-free Experience (Monthly)$0.491 Month
  • Ad-free Experience (3 Months)$0.993 Months
  • Ad-free Experience (1 Year)$3.991 Year
One-time1
  • Remove Ads$19.99
1 purchases

Basic Journal

One-time1
  • Remove Ads$0.99

Questions

Is n+otes free?
n+otes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Basic Journal free?
Basic Journal is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, n+otes or Basic Journal?
n+otes is rated higher. n+otes averages 4.7 out of 5 from 45K ratings, while Basic Journal averages 3.3 from 4 ratings.
Do n+otes or Basic Journal have ads?
Both n+otes and Basic Journal show ads.
Which is updated more often, n+otes or Basic Journal?
n+otes ships an update fortnightly, and Basic Journal every 2 weeks. Most recently, n+otes was updated on November 7, 2026 and Basic Journal on November 2, 2026.

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