Comparison

Notebook vs memono 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

Record your days like turning the pages of a book. A simple, elegant note-taking and diary app designed to make journaling feel natural. Over 2 million downloads worldwide. Average rating 4.7 from over 21,000 reviews. Notebook is a simple and elegant note-taking and diary app that lets you flip through your digital journal like a real book. Each day’s notes are automatically organized on one page, ready to revisit anytime with a smooth page-turning effect. ■ Your day on one page Keep your daily notes and thoughts neatly organized. You can easily look back on yesterday, last week, or even last month. Swipe or tap to turn the page and rediscover your memories like reading a personal journal. ■ Simple and ready to use Tap the Compose button to write a new note. Change dates by tapping the date field, or adjust the font size with one tap. Copy or print your entries directly — everything is intuitive, no manual required. ■ iCloud sync and backup support Keep your data secure with iCloud synchronization and backup. Access your notes across multiple devices, and restore them easily when you get a new iPhone. No complicated setup needed. ■ Private and secure Protect your personal diary with a passcode lock (Face ID / Touch ID supported). Deleted notes can be recovered within 30 days from “Recently Deleted” in settings. ■ Premium for a distraction-free experience All basic features are free. Upgrade once to Premium (one-time purchase) to remove ads and enjoy a calm, focused writing experience. Your purchase can be restored anytime, even after changing devices. Features • Page-turning effect for a realistic book-like feel • One page per day for simple organization and review • iCloud sync and backup support • Passcode lock (Face ID / Touch ID) for privacy • Dark mode, search, and font adjustment • Ad-free with Premium (one-time purchase) • Restore deleted notes within 30 days • Copy, print, or share all notes at once Capture your everyday moments, one page at a time — in your own private notebook.

About

memono Journal

Create rich multimedia journal entries with text, photos, audio, and location data. Organize notes with color categories, set reminders, and share them easily. Secure your entries with a lock and fingerprint access.

Highlights
  • Multimedia notes (text, photos, audio)
  • Location tagging
  • Color-coded organization
  • Reminders and notifications
  • Secure lock with Touch ID
  • iCloud synchronization
  • Note sharing
Features
Read full description

Multimedia journal and notes application for iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch and Apple Watch. ** SAE Alumni Award 2015 WINNER ** TEXT Add a title and text to your note. Phone numbers, addresses, web links and email addresses can be used interactive from inside memono. PHOTOS Take a photo with the camera or choose one from the photo library and add it to your note. View the photo fullscreen and zoom into it. Save multiple images per note. PHOTO FILTERS Choose from many different photo filter effects and apply them to your photo. Remove the filter effects at any time to reuse the original photo. AUDIO RECORDING Record a voice message for every note. LOCATION Add a location to your note or let memono do it automatically. DATE The date will be added automatically to each note and can also be edited. COLOR CATEGORIES Assign different colors to your notes to organize them. SHARE NOTE Share your note via email, SMS, Twitter, Facebook, Sina Weibo or save a custom designed memono note to your photo library. REMINDER ALERT Set a reminder alert for each note and receive a notification. ICLOUD Use iCloud to synchronize your notes across all your devices and to save a backup in iCloud. LOCK Lock your memono app by defining a touch pattern gesture to protect your notes and keep them private. Use Touch ID to unlock memono with your fingerprint. SEARCH & SPOTLIGHT SEARCH Notes can be filtered by doing a text search. 3D TOUCH Quick actions, peek and pop. APPLE WATCH Use Apple Watch to create a note. View your notes on Apple Watch. Receive notifications from memono on Apple Watch. memono Pro is offered as a one-time purchase or as a subscription either 3-montly or yearly. You can cancel subscriptions at any time through your App Store account settings. Subscriptions automatically renew if they are not canceled within 24 hours of the end of the current period. Subscriptions can be managed by the user and auto-renewal can be turned off in the user's account settings after purchase. For more information, see our privacy policy and our terms and conditions. http://appinghouse.com/memono-privacy.html http://appinghouse.com/memono-terms.html

Screenshots

Notebook4 screens
memono Journal4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: memono Journal at none against Notebook's shown. memono Journal also leads on review sentiment (85% vs 73%) and device support (4 vs 1). Notebook's advantage is update cadence (every 9 days vs every 6 weeks) and ratings volume (14K vs 299). On price, rating, 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 memono Journal sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per 3 months. 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 — 4.7 for Notebook against 4.6 for memono Journal. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Notebook has 14K ratings behind it against 299, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 73% of Notebook's written reviews are positive against 85% of memono Journal's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Notebook ships an update every 9 days, memono Journal every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 20, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Notebook versus memono Journal: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNotebookmemono Journal
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (14K ratings) — better4.6 (299 ratings)
Positive reviews72.7% of reviews85.2% of reviews — better
Number of ratings14K — better299
Update frequencyEvery 9 days — betterEvery 6 weeks
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS17.015.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size10 MB52 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperKoji ItoDennis Ebbinghaus

Customer experience

Notebook

All ratings14,310 ratings
Positive94.1%
Neutral3.2%
Negative2.8%
Written reviews271 reviews
Positive72.7%
Neutral12.2%
Negative15.1%

memono Journal

All ratings299 ratings
Positive88.6%
Neutral7.4%
Negative4.0%
Written reviews900 reviews
Positive85.2%
Neutral6.8%
Negative8.0%

User reviews

Notebook

From 14K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Simple and easy to use
  • 🔒 Password protection
  • 💡 Convenient for journaling and note-taking
  • 🚀 Smooth and responsive
  • 👍 Organized by date

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes or glitches
  • 🚫 Unable to insert photos or attachments
  • 🚫 Limited formatting options
  • 🚫 No cloud sync or backup
  • 🚫 Not compatible with iPad

memono Journal

From 299 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 🔒 Password protection
  • 📷 Ability to add photos
  • 🎵 Voice recording support
  • 📍 Location tracking

Room to improve

  • 💸 Ads are too frequent
  • 🔍 Difficulty finding/searching notes
  • 🔤 Small font size
  • 📁 Limited organization options

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

memono Journal

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Photos disappearing after saving
  • Syncing issues between devices
  • Crashes and freezes on certain devices

Requested features

4 requests
  • Ability to change font size and style
  • Option to add multiple photos per note
  • Folder/category organization
  • Improved search and sorting functionality

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Notebook

One-time1
  • Remove Ads$6.99
3 purchases

memono Journal

Subscriptions2
  • 3 months$0.993 Months
  • 1 Year$2.991 Year
One-time1
  • One-time purchase$4.99

Questions

Is Notebook free?
Notebook is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is memono Journal free?
memono Journal is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Notebook or memono Journal?
Notebook is rated higher. Notebook averages 4.7 out of 5 from 14K ratings, while memono Journal averages 4.6 from 299 ratings.
Do Notebook or memono Journal have ads?
Notebook shows ads; memono Journal does not.
Which is updated more often, Notebook or memono Journal?
Notebook ships an update every 9 days, and memono Journal every 6 weeks. Most recently, Notebook was updated on September 24, 2026 and memono Journal on September 20, 2026.

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