Notebook vs Simple Q&A 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
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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.
Simple Q&A Diary
This journaling app simplifies tracking your life by having you answer a set of questions instead of writing long entries. Customize your questions to focus on habits, productivity, mood, or fitness, making journaling faster and more consistent.
- Answer questions instead of writing essays
- Fully customizable questions
- Entries viewable by day or grouped by question
- Export data as plain text
- Track habits, productivity, mood, and fitness
- Numeric answers visualized as graphs
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In this journaling app you answer a set of questions regularly. This makes journaling faster, more focused, and easier to stick with. You decide what to track - and you can change your questions at any time. Want to lose weight? Add questions like “What did I eat today?” or “How many miles did I run?” Want to improve your habits, productivity, or mood? Just ask the right questions. Answering the same questions daily (or weekly) helps you stay aware, consistent, and goal-oriented. Key ideas - You journal by answering questions, not writing essays - Questions are fully customizable - Entries can be viewed by day or grouped by question - All data can be exported as plain text, so you always own it Free features - One question list with up to 2 questions - Edit your questions at any time (existing entries stay intact) - Text, numeric, and yes/no question types - Skip questions and answer them later — entries remember unanswered questions - Edit or delete any entry - Create entries gradually throughout the day (perfect for gym workouts, habit tracking, or quick notes) - Group entries by question - Search your entire diary - View numeric answers as graphs - Export your diary as plain text and copy it anywhere - Import, export, back up, and restore entries via email - iCloud backup - Custom URL scheme (to open the app from a launcher): simpleqadiary:// Paid features - One template (or list of questions) with unlimited number of questions - Unlimited templates (multiple question lists for different goals) Simple Q&A Diary is ideal for habit tracking, self-reflection, fitness logs, productivity monitoring, and anyone who wants a structured, low-friction journaling system. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Simple Q&A Diary at none against Notebook's shown. Simple Q&A Diary also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 72%) and rating (5.0 vs 4.7). Notebook's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 2 months) and ratings volume (14K vs 5). On price, 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 Simple Q&A Diary sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Simple Q&A 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 5, 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 100% of Simple Q&A Diary's.
Notebook ships an update weekly, Simple Q&A Diary every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 27, 2026 and October 22, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Notebook | Simple Q&A Diary |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (14K ratings) | 5.0 (5 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 72.5% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 14K — better | 5 |
| Update frequency | Weekly — better | Every 2 months |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 15.6 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 25 MB | 12 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Koji Ito | Karen Grigorian |
Customer experience
Notebook
Simple Q&A 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
Simple Q&A Diary
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Notebook
- Remove Ads$6.99
Simple Q&A Diary
- One Template$1.991 Month
- Unlimited Templates (monthly)$3.991 Month
- Unlimited Templates (yearly)$34.991 Year
- Unlimited templates$69.99









