Comparison

Noteshelf vs TalkJournal

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

Head to head
About

Noteshelf

Capture, organize, and enhance your notes with natural handwriting, AI summarization, and PDF annotation. Ideal for students and professionals, it offers a seamless writing experience with extensive customization and secure cloud syncing.

Highlights
  • Natural handwriting with lifelike pens
  • AI summarization and explanation
  • PDF and document annotation
  • Audio recording alongside notes
  • 200+ digital planner templates
  • Handwriting to text conversion
  • Secure cloud sync and backup
Features
Read full description

Write. Plan. Study. Work. Create. Noteshelf 3 brings natural handwriting, powerful AI, PDF annotation, audio recording and planning together in one beautiful app for iPad, iPhone and Mac. Free to start. FOR STUDENTS • Take lecture and class notes with lifelike pens, pencils and highlighters • Annotate textbooks, worksheets, slides and PDFs • Record audio while you write, so you never miss a word • Use Noteshelf AI to summarize and explain what you've learned FOR PROFESSIONALS • Capture meeting notes and record important discussions • Mark up contracts, reports and presentations • Present your notes on an external display with a laser pointer • Export and share notes as PDFs or images in one tap FOR PLANNERS & JOURNALERS • 200+ templates for digital planners, journals, diaries and trackers • Plan your days, track goals and keep a personal journal • Decorate pages with stickers, photos and custom covers WRITE NATURALLY • A smooth, natural handwriting experience built for Apple Pencil • Write, type, draw and sketch on the same page • Turn handwriting into text and search your notes in 65 languages • Choose lined, dotted or grid paper in any color WORK WITH PDFs & DOCUMENTS • Import and annotate PDFs, Word documents, PowerPoint files and images • Highlight, mark up, write and draw directly on your documents • Scan paper documents with the built-in scanner NOTESHELF AI • Summarize handwritten pages in seconds • Explain difficult terms and concepts • Translate text into other languages • Generate notes on any topic RECORD & REMEMBER • Record lectures, meetings and ideas alongside your handwritten notes STAY ORGANIZED & SECURE • Folders, subfolders, tags, bookmarks and a table of contents • Link notebooks together to connect ideas • Lock notes with a password, Face ID or Touch ID • Sync across iPad, iPhone and Mac with iCloud • Automatic backup to Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox or WebDAV YOUR NOTES, YOUR WAY • Custom notebook covers and a toolbar you can rearrange • Presentation mode, dark mode and flexible page layouts FREE TO START Create up to 3 notebooks with core pens and paper for free. Upgrade to Noteshelf Premium for unlimited notebooks, all templates, handwriting recognition, auto-backup and 100 monthly AI credits. Write beautifully. Work smarter. Stay organized. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula

About

TalkJournal

Effortlessly capture your thoughts with a voice-first diary. Speak naturally and get instant, searchable text transcriptions. Enjoy a private, offline experience with a clean interface, perfect for daily reflection and busy individuals.

Highlights
  • Voice-to-text transcription
  • Offline voice recognition
  • Full-text search
  • Calendar view
  • Export journal entries
  • Dark mode support
  • Face ID/Touch ID lock
Features
Read full description

Transform your voice into searchable journal entries instantly. Speak your thoughts, TalkJournal writes them down. TalkJournal is the voice-first diary app that makes journaling effortless. Simply tap and speak - your words become organized, searchable text entries automatically. VOICE-FIRST JOURNALING Speak naturally, get instant text transcription. No typing required - perfect for busy lifestyles. Voice recognition works offline for complete privacy. 5x faster than mobile typing. PRIVATE & SECURE Face ID and Touch ID app lock protection. Your data stays on your device - we never see it. Optional iCloud sync across your devices only. No accounts, no servers, complete privacy. BEAUTIFULLY SIMPLE Clean, distraction-free interface designed for daily use. Calendar view to browse past entries. Full-text search across all your thoughts. PERFECT FOR Daily reflection and mindfulness practice. Capturing ideas during commutes or walks. Busy parents and professionals who think faster than they type. Anyone who wants journaling to feel natural, not like work. FEATURES Voice-to-text transcription using native speech recognition. Mix voice entries with typed text seamlessly. Export your journal entries. Dark mode support. Works completely offline. Free version includes one journal entry. Upgrade to Pro for unlimited entries, advanced search, calendar views, and premium features. Start speaking your thoughts today. Download TalkJournal and discover how natural journaling can be. Privacy Policy: https://talkjournal.app/privacy Terms of Service: https://talkjournal.app/terms EULA: https://talkjournal.app/eula

Screenshots

Noteshelf4 screens
TalkJournal4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ratings volume: Noteshelf at 7.2K against TalkJournal's 15. Noteshelf also leads on review sentiment (58% vs 33%) and update cadence (every 3 days vs every 10 days). TalkJournal's advantage is iOS requirement (15.1 vs 18.0). On price, rating, 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. Noteshelf sells 17 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days and TalkJournal sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. 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 — 4.5 for Noteshelf against 4.5 for TalkJournal. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Noteshelf has 7.2K ratings behind it against 15, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 58% of Noteshelf's written reviews are positive against 33% of TalkJournal's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Noteshelf ships an update every 3 days, TalkJournal every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Noteshelf versus TalkJournal: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNoteshelfTalkJournal
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (7.2K ratings) — better4.5 (15 ratings)
Positive reviews57.5% of reviews — better33.3% of reviews
Number of ratings7.2K — better15
Update frequencyEvery 3 days — betterEvery 10 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFreemium
Best chart rank#200 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS18.015.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size557 MB45 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperFluid Touch Pte. Ltd.Rays Health Technologies LLC

Customer experience

Noteshelf

All ratings7,201 ratings
Positive88.5%
Neutral3.3%
Negative8.2%
Written reviews1,104 reviews
Positive57.5%
Neutral10.3%
Negative32.2%

TalkJournal

All ratings15 ratings
Positive86.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative13.3%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive33.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative66.7%

Bugs and requests

Noteshelf

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Notebooks failing to open or sync correctly
  • Handwriting recognition not working as expected
  • Imported PDFs losing formatting or functionality
  • Unexpected loss of data or notes
  • Compatibility issues with older devices or operating systems

Requested features

6 requests
  • Add ability to create folders within notebooks
  • Improve page organization and navigation
  • Implement a more intuitive color picker and pen customization
  • Introduce a history/undo feature for linked pages
  • Add support for custom stickers and templates
Show 1 more
  • Optimize performance and reduce loading times

TalkJournal

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

17 purchases

Noteshelf

Subscriptions15
  • Noteshelf 3 Weekly Premium$4.997 Days
  • Noteshelf 3 Weekly Premium3 Days trial$4.997 Days
  • Noteshelf 3 Weekly Premium$7.997 Days
Show 12 more
  • Noteshelf3 Weekly Premium3 Days trial$7.997 Days
  • Noteshelf3 Monthly Premium$9.991 Month
  • Noteshelf3 Monthly Premium$19.991 Month
  • Noteshelf 3 Yearly Premium3 Days trial$19.991 Year
  • Noteshelf3 Yearly Premium3 Days trial$29.991 Year
  • Noteshelf3 Yearly Premium$39.991 Year
  • Noteshelf 3 Yearly Premium3 Days trial$39.991 Year
  • Noteshelf Premium Yearly$49.991 Year
  • Noteshelf3 Yearly Premium3 Days trial$49.991 Year
  • Noteshelf 3 Yearly Premium1 Month trial$69.991 Year
  • Noteshelf3 Yearly Premium$79.991 Year
  • Premium3 Days trial$99.991 Year
One-time2
  • Premium for Noteshelf 2 users$9.99
  • Noteshelf 3 Premium - Lifetime$14.99
3 purchases

TalkJournal

Subscriptions2
  • TalkJournal$1.991 Month
  • TalkJournal$11.991 Year
One-time1
  • TalkJournal$11.99

Questions

Is Noteshelf free?
Noteshelf is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is TalkJournal free?
TalkJournal is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Noteshelf or TalkJournal?
Noteshelf is rated higher. Noteshelf averages 4.5 out of 5 from 7.2K ratings, while TalkJournal averages 4.5 from 15 ratings.
Do Noteshelf or TalkJournal have ads?
Neither Noteshelf nor TalkJournal shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Noteshelf or TalkJournal?
Noteshelf ships an update every 3 days, and TalkJournal every 10 days. Most recently, Noteshelf was updated on November 3, 2026 and TalkJournal on October 25, 2026.

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