Comparison

Notebook 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

Notebook

This app offers a natural journaling experience by organizing daily notes on a single page, allowing you to flip through your entries like a physical book. It prioritizes simplicity, security with passcode locks, and seamless iCloud synchronization for easy access across devices.

Highlights
  • Realistic page-turning effect
  • One page per day organization
  • iCloud sync and backup
  • Passcode lock with Face ID/Touch ID
  • Dark mode and font adjustment
  • Ad-free Premium option
Features
Read full description

Keep daily notes and diary entries together on one page. Turn pages like a book and revisit your past entries. Search, iCloud sync, and a passcode lock help you organize and access your notes. Core features are free; ad removal is a one-time purchase. ■ Your day on one page See the notes and diary entries you write each day together on one page. Swipe or tap to turn pages and look back on everyday moments and memories. ■ Find past entries Use the contents list or search to find a note you want to revisit. Change a note's date to record plans or past events. ■ Make reading and writing comfortable Adjust the text size or use Dark Mode. Copy, print, or share your notes. ■ Protect access with a passcode Lock access to your diary with a passcode. Face ID / Touch ID is available on supported devices. ■ Sync between devices with iCloud With iCloud sync enabled, notes synchronize automatically between devices using the same Apple Account. iCloud sync is enabled by default for new installations. iCloud Drive and Notebook's iCloud access must be enabled, with available storage and a network connection. Synchronization may take time. iCloud sync and device backups are separate features. Check your sync status and backups before changing devices. ■ Recover deleted notes Recover notes within 30 days of deletion from Recently Deleted in Settings. ■ Remove ads with a one-time purchase Core features are free. Premium removes ads with a one-time purchase, not a subscription. After changing devices, use Restore Purchases with the Apple Account used for your purchase. Over 2 million downloads worldwide. Rated 4.7 out of 5 from over 21,000 ratings across all countries and regions (October 2026). Capture your everyday moments, one page at a time.

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

Notebook4 screens
Basic Journal4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Notebook at 4.7 against Basic Journal's 3.3. Notebook also leads on review sentiment (72% vs 40%) and ratings volume (14K vs 4). Basic Journal's advantage is device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 17.0). 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. Notebook sells 1 one-off in-app purchase 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

Notebook holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Notebook has 14K ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 72% of Notebook's written reviews are positive against 40% of Basic Journal's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Notebook ships an update weekly, Basic Journal every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Notebook versus Basic Journal: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNotebookBasic Journal
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (14K ratings) — better3.3 (4 ratings)
Positive reviews72.5% of reviews — better40.0% of reviews
Number of ratings14K — better4
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 2 weeks
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.011.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size25 MB14 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperKoji ItoJames Hudson

Customer experience

Notebook

All ratings14,314 ratings
Positive94.0%
Neutral3.2%
Negative2.8%
Written reviews276 reviews
Positive72.5%
Neutral12.3%
Negative15.2%

Basic Journal

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

Bugs and requests

Notebook

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Deleting entries causes the app to crash
  • Long entries can cause the app to become unresponsive
  • Password feature doesn't always work as expected

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add ability to insert photos and attachments
  • Implement cloud sync and backup
  • Allow more formatting options (font, size, color, bold, italic, etc.)
  • Develop an iPad version with optimized layout
  • Add a search function to easily find past entries

Basic Journal

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Notebook

One-time1
  • Remove Ads$6.99
1 purchases

Basic Journal

One-time1
  • Remove Ads$0.99

Questions

Is Notebook free?
Notebook 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, Notebook or Basic Journal?
Notebook is rated higher. Notebook averages 4.7 out of 5 from 14K ratings, while Basic Journal averages 3.3 from 4 ratings.
Do Notebook or Basic Journal have ads?
Both Notebook and Basic Journal show ads.
Which is updated more often, Notebook or Basic Journal?
Notebook ships an update weekly, and Basic Journal every 2 weeks. Most recently, Notebook was updated on October 17, 2026 and Basic Journal on October 7, 2026.

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