Comparison

Notes Me vs Serious Notebook

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

Head to head
About

Notes Me

This app offers a private, distraction-free environment for creating and organizing notes. It supports offline writing, iCloud synchronization, and features like custom categories, pinned notes, and file attachments. Enjoy a clean interface with customizable themes for enhanced productivity.

Highlights
  • Distraction-free editor
  • iCloud sync
  • Offline writing
  • Custom categories
  • Pinned notes
  • File and media attachments
  • Trash recovery
Features
Read full description

Big screen. Bigger ideas. Meet the new Notes Me. Built to make the most of iPhone Duo—and everything you want to remember. MADE FOR IPHONE DUO • Unfold for more room to write and a compact two-column notes grid. • Open two notes side by side on unfolded Duo or landscape iPad. • Keep your current note open as you fold and unfold. YOUR NOTES, AT A GLANCE • Add cover images from your photo library or choose a picture already inside your note. • Keep your latest three notes on your Home Screen with the medium widget. • Pin important notes to the top and find what you need with text search. EVERYTHING IN ONE PLACE • Create custom categories for travel, work, books, personal plans, and more. • Bring ideas together with text, photos, documents, and checklists. • Plan trips, save places, compare options, and keep useful details close. • Write offline and keep working wherever inspiration finds you. A CLEANER WAY TO WRITE • Enjoy a minimalist editor with notes that slide in from the right. • View large images across the available note width and resize them proportionally. • Make text your own with headings, bold, italic, underline, lists, and links. • Adjust text size, Home Screen titles, and line spacing. • Set reminders for notes or checklist tasks, and revisit previous versions. Plus, refined iPad layouts and performance improvements when browsing and resizing notes. Your notes. Your space. No AI. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Serious Notebook

A private digital notebook for handwriting, typing, and annotating documents. Import PDFs, scan paper, and organize your thoughts with customizable tools. Keep your work securely on your device with no accounts or tracking.

Highlights
  • Handwrite and sketch with Apple Pencil
  • Type notes and highlight on iPhone
  • Import and annotate PDFs
  • Scan paper into notebooks
  • Insert text boxes, sticky notes, photos, and scans
  • Export notebooks as PDF
Read full description

Your handwriting, PDFs, and ideas. A quieter place to think. Write naturally with Apple Pencil on iPad. Type notes and highlight pages on iPhone. Import a PDF planner, annotate a worksheet, or scan paper into a notebook you can keep working in. Serious Notebook keeps your work on your device, with no account, ads, tracking, or subscription. WRITE, STUDY, AND PLAN • Handwrite and sketch on iPad with pen, pencil, highlighter, and eraser tools. Apple Pencil works on compatible iPads. • Type notes and highlight with your finger on iPhone. • Choose blank, ruled, grid, or dot-grid paper in soft white or cream. • Give each notebook its own title and cover. MAKE DOCUMENTS YOUR OWN • Import PDFs as notebooks and annotate their pages. • Scan paper on supported camera-equipped devices, review the pages, then start writing. • Add text boxes and sticky notes. With lifetime access, insert photos, PDF pages, and scans into your notes. • Move, resize, and rotate inserted objects. • Export a notebook or selected pages as PDF to save or share. NEW IN 3.0 Scan several pages straight into your open notebook as movable objects with lifetime access. Take multiple photos, review them, and add them together. On iPad, a clearer top toolbar leaves more room to write. TRY YOUR OWN NOTES The free workspace includes one handwritten notebook plus one separate PDF or scan notebook, up to 10 pages each. Try the included example without using either allowance. ONE LIFETIME PURCHASE Unlock unlimited notebooks, pages, PDF imports, camera scans, and photo insertion with a single non-consumable purchase. No recurring payments. Existing lifetime customers and eligible original paid-app customers keep access. Restore Purchases is available in Settings. PRIVATE, ON YOUR DEVICE Notes, imported documents, photos, and scans stay on the device where you create them. No app account or document upload is required. Notebooks do not automatically sync between devices. Export PDFs regularly to keep a copy of your work. Purchase and restoration use Apple's App Store services. For class notes, project ideas, PDF planners, and everyday thinking on iPhone and iPad.

Screenshots

Notes Me4 screens
Serious Notebook4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Notes Me at every 2 weeks against Serious Notebook's every 3 weeks. On price, rating, ratings volume and ads 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. Notes Me sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month and Serious Notebook sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. 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 — 5.0 for Notes Me against 5.0 for Serious Notebook. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 1 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Notes Me ships an update every 2 weeks, Serious Notebook every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Notes Me versus Serious Notebook: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNotes MeSerious Notebook
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings11
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size16 MB6 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperEcologicalm UABBILGESU KADAN

Customer experience

Notes Me

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Serious Notebook

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Notes Me

Subscriptions2
  • NotebookPró Plus$3.991 Month
  • NoteBookPró Plus (Yearly)$29.991 Year
1 purchases

Serious Notebook

One-time1
  • Lifetime Unlock$24.99

Questions

Is Notes Me free?
Notes Me is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Serious Notebook free?
Serious Notebook is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Notes Me or Serious Notebook?
Notes Me and Serious Notebook are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 1 and 1 ratings respectively.
Do Notes Me or Serious Notebook have ads?
Neither Notes Me nor Serious Notebook shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Notes Me or Serious Notebook?
Notes Me ships an update every 2 weeks, and Serious Notebook every 3 weeks. Most recently, Notes Me was updated on November 5, 2026 and Serious Notebook on October 31, 2026.

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