Notebook vs Secret Diary
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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
Read full descriptionHide 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.
Secret Diary
Securely record your daily life and protect your privacy with this easy-to-use digital journal. Customize entries with beautiful fonts and quickly find past notes using content search. It offers password protection for exclusive access.
- Password protection
- Secure diary entries
- Customizable fonts
- Content search
- User-friendly interface
- Privacy protection
Read full descriptionHide full description
Secret Diary is a private journal for iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Write personal notes, daily reflections, travel memories, study logs, or work journals in a calm SwiftUI interface designed for long-term writing. Your diary stays local on your device. Secret Diary does not upload your diary text or password to external servers. A local password lock helps protect private writing, and the data management tools let you export readable JSON backups when you want to keep your own copy. Free features: 1. Fast daily writing: create and edit diary entries (up to 30 entries; upgrade to Pro to unlock unlimited). 2. Local search: find entries by keyword, date, weekday, Markdown text, and Pinyin initials. 3. On This Day: rediscover entries written on the same date in previous years. 4. Writing reminders: receive local notifications at the time you choose. 5. Reminder styles: choose discreet, gentle, concise, or encouraging reminder copy. 6. Writing statistics: review diary count, word count, recent activity, and streaks. 7. Typography options: customize reading and writing fonts across diary content. 8. Keyboard shortcuts: use faster workflows on iPad and Mac. 9. Data control: export, import, merge, and delete local diary data with clear safeguards. Pro features: 1. Unlimited diaries: lift the 30-entry limit to write and save as many entries as you want. 2. Markdown preview: view rendered headings, lists, links, images, and formatting. Secret Diary is built for people who want a private, offline-first place to write and revisit their own memories. --- Subscription Information: Subscription payments will be charged to your iTunes account upon confirmation of purchase. Subscriptions automatically renew unless auto-renewal is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current subscription period. --- Privacy Policy: https://secretdiary.gewill.org/en/privacy Terms Of Use: https://secretdiary.gewill.org/en/terms Contact: 531sunlight@gmail.com
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Secret Diary at none against Notebook's shown. Secret Diary also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.7) and device support (4 vs 1). Notebook's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 3 months) and ratings volume (14K vs 1). On price, review sentiment, 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
Both are free to download. Notebook sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Secret Diary sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Secret Diary holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Notebook has 14K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 72% of Notebook's written reviews are positive against 70% of Secret Diary's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Notebook ships an update weekly, Secret Diary every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Notebook | Secret Diary |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (14K ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 72.5% of reviews — better | 70.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 14K — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Weekly — better | Every 3 months |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 15 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 25 MB | 66 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Koji Ito | 伟 葛 |
Customer experience
Notebook
Secret Diary
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
Secret Diary
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Notebook
- Remove Ads$6.99
Secret Diary
- Lifetime Premium$2.99
Questions
Is Notebook free?
Is Secret Diary free?
Which has better reviews, Notebook or Secret Diary?
Do Notebook or Secret Diary have ads?
Which is updated more often, Notebook or Secret Diary?
Other comparisons















