# Notebook vs Simple Q&A Diary

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.

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.

## The numbers

| Metric | Notebook | Simple Q&A Diary |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.7 (14K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/notebook-diary-and-journal-app/id654645301/reviews) | **[5.0 (5 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/simple-q-and-a-diary/id948320402/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **14K** | 5 |
| Positive reviews | 72.5% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | **Weekly** | Every 2 months |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Size | 25 MB | 12 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | **15.6** |
| Devices | iPhone | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Koji Ito](https://appshunter.io/developer/334329056) | [Karen Grigorian](https://appshunter.io/developer/948320401) |

## What reviewers say

### Notebook

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/notebook-diary-and-journal-app/id654645301)

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:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Remove Ads | $6.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

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

**What reviewers complain about**

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

**Reported bugs**

- 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**

- 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

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/simple-q-and-a-diary/id948320402)

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.

**Highlights:** 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

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| One Template | $1.99 | per month |
| Unlimited Templates (monthly) | $3.99 | per month |
| Unlimited Templates (yearly) | $34.99 | per year |
| Unlimited templates | $69.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Notebook free?

Notebook is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Simple Q&A Diary free?

Simple Q&A Diary is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Notebook or Simple Q&A Diary?

Simple Q&A Diary is rated higher. Notebook averages 4.7 out of 5 from 14K ratings, while Simple Q&A Diary averages 5.0 from 5 ratings.

### Do Notebook or Simple Q&A Diary have ads?

Notebook shows ads; Simple Q&A Diary does not.

### Which is updated more often, Notebook or Simple Q&A Diary?

Notebook ships an update weekly, and Simple Q&A Diary every 2 months. Most recently, Notebook was updated on October 27, 2026 and Simple Q&A Diary on October 22, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*