Comparison

Chournal vs Zency

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Chournal

Capture ideas, track expenses, and manage tasks with a chat-like interface. Supports text, voice, images, sketches, and files, with AI assistance for summaries and reports. Prioritizes privacy with no registration or data collection.

Highlights
  • Chat-like note interface
  • Text, voice, image, location, sketch, file support
  • AI-powered idea summarization
  • AI-generated expense reports
  • AI-created checklists with reminders
  • No registration or data collection
  • iCloud storage
Read full description

Make note-taking as fun as chatting with your bestie! [Message Types] • Text • Voice • Images • Location • Hand-drawn sketches • Files [Use Cases] • Capture creative ideas: Let AI summarize scattered thoughts • Simple expense tracking: AI can generate expense reports • Manage to-dos: AI instantly creates checklists—click to complete, set reminders, and track progress [Data Security & Privacy] • No user registration or login required • No user data collection • All data stored solely in your personal iCloud storage

About

Zency

Features
Read full description

Zency is a private document scanner, OCR scanner, and smart document manager for receipts, invoices, PDFs, contracts, tax documents, business cards, and personal records. Scan paper documents, receipts, and invoices with your camera or import PDFs and images. Zency uses OCR text recognition to make your documents searchable and helps identify useful information such as document dates, total amounts, and tax amounts — so you can organize important records with less manual work. SMART DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT • Scan documents, receipts, invoices, and paperwork with your camera • Import PDFs, images, and files • OCR text recognition for searchable documents • Search across recognized text to quickly find documents • Automatically suggest document dates from recognized content • Detect and suggest total amounts and tax amounts when available • Organize documents with folders, tags, and categories • Create reminders for bills, contracts, renewals, and important dates • Store business cards and contact-related documents • Optional Google Drive backup and sync • Core document management features work offline RECEIPT & INVOICE ORGANIZER Keep receipts, invoices, bills, and purchase records organized in one searchable place. Zency uses OCR to recognize text inside your documents, making it easier to find an old receipt, invoice, contract, or record without manually browsing through folders and images. For supported documents, Zency can also suggest information such as dates, total amounts, and tax amounts to help reduce manual data entry. TAX DOCUMENT ORGANIZATION Keep important receipts, invoices, and tax-related documents together and easier to review. Mark documents that are relevant to your tax records and keep useful information such as dates, amounts, and tax amounts organized for later review and export. Zency helps you organize your records but does not provide tax, accounting, or financial advice. REMINDERS FOR IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS Documents often contain dates you need to remember. Create reminders for bills, insurance documents, contracts, warranties, renewals, subscriptions, and other important records so they are easier to follow up on when needed. BUSINESS CARDS & CONTACTS Save business cards and contact-related documents alongside your other important records. Keep documents connected to the people and businesses they belong to instead of leaving them scattered across photos, downloads, and folders. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Your documents stay on your device for core document management and OCR features. No mandatory account is required. Zency can be used offline, giving you access to your documents even without an internet connection. Google Drive backup and sync are optional, so you decide whether you want your documents backed up or synchronized. USE ZENCY FOR • Receipts and purchase records • Invoices and bills • Tax documents • Contracts and agreements • IDs and personal documents • Insurance documents • Warranties and renewal records • Business cards • Notes and scanned paperwork • Personal and business records WHY ZENCY? Many document apps are built around cloud storage. Zency takes a local-first approach focused on privacy, fast document organization, OCR search, and turning scanned or imported documents into useful, searchable records. Instead of simply storing files, Zency helps you organize them, find information inside them, track important dates, and keep important records under your control. Scan it. Organize it. Find it when you need it.

Screenshots

Chournal4 screens
Zency4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Zency at none against Chournal's shown. Zency also leads on iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, update cadence, in-app purchases and device support 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. Chournal sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month and Zency sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Chournal ships an update every 8 days, Zency every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on September 9, 2026 and September 13, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Chournal versus Zency: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterChournalZency
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews83.3% of reviews—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 8 days — betterEvery 9 days
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS17.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size59 MB72 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNanning Signalling Network Technology Co., LtdTuan Hoang

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Chournal

Subscriptions2
  • SVIP Monthly Renewal$0.991 Month
  • SVIP Yearly Renewal$3.991 Year
One-time1
  • VIP Lfetime$6.99
1 purchases

Zency

One-time1
  • Zency Pro Access$39.00

Questions

Is Chournal free?
Chournal is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Zency free?
Zency is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Chournal or Zency have ads?
Chournal shows ads; Zency does not.
Which is updated more often, Chournal or Zency?
Chournal ships an update every 8 days, and Zency every 9 days. Most recently, Chournal was updated on September 9, 2026 and Zency on September 13, 2026.

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