Comparison

Simplify Notes 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

Simplify Notes

Capture and organize handwritten notes, notebooks, and PDFs in one place. Create unlimited notebooks, draw naturally with Apple Pencil, and import PDFs to study, plan, or research. Reduce clutter and enhance focus with a calm, organized system.

Highlights
  • Unlimited notebooks
  • Natural handwriting and drawing
  • Apple Pencil support
  • PDF import and annotation
  • Folder organization
  • Add images and tags
  • Quick search and PDF export
Features
Read full description

CAPTURE EVERY IDEA. ORGANIZE EVERY SUBJECT. Simplify Notes brings handwritten notes, notebooks and PDFs together in one calm, organized place. Write naturally with Apple Pencil, create notebooks for every subject, organize your work into folders and keep important ideas easy to find. Whether you’re studying for an exam, attending a lecture or planning a personal project, everything stays clear and connected. BUILT FOR THE WAY YOU STUDY • Create unlimited notebooks • Write and draw naturally • Use Apple Pencil on iPad • Import and work with PDFs • Organize notebooks into folders • Add images to your notes • Mark important content with tags and favorites • Search and find notes quickly • Export your work as PDF • Choose from multiple paper formats • Keep courses, projects and ideas together LESS CLUTTER. MORE FOCUS. Simplify Notes helps you reduce the mental load of scattered files, loose pages and disconnected ideas. Give every course, subject or project its own place, so you can focus on learning instead of searching. PERFECT FOR • College and university students • Lecture and class notes • Exam preparation • Research and assignments • Engineering and MBA studies • Personal projects • Everyday ideas and planning No account required. No subscription. Just open the app and start writing. Your ideas deserve a place you’ll actually remember.

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

Simplify Notes2 screens
Serious Notebook4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Simplify Notes at none against Serious Notebook's 1. Simplify Notes also leads on update cadence (weekly vs every 3 weeks) and ratings volume (3 vs 1). Serious Notebook's advantage is ads (none vs shown). On price, rating, device support and iOS requirement 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. Serious Notebook sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Simplify Notes asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Simplify Notes against 5.0 for Serious Notebook. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3 and 1 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Simplify Notes ships an update weekly, Serious Notebook every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 4 level
Simplify Notes versus Serious Notebook: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSimplify NotesSerious Notebook
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (3 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings)
Number of ratings3 — better1
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationAd-supported — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size13 MB6 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMario GuzmanBILGESU KADAN

Customer experience

Simplify Notes

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

Serious Notebook

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

In-app purchases

None

Simplify Notes

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Serious Notebook

One-time1
  • Lifetime Unlock$24.99

Questions

Is Simplify Notes free?
Simplify Notes is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Serious Notebook free?
Serious Notebook is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Simplify Notes or Serious Notebook?
Simplify Notes and Serious Notebook are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 3 and 1 ratings respectively.
Do Simplify Notes or Serious Notebook have ads?
Simplify Notes shows ads; Serious Notebook does not.
Which is updated more often, Simplify Notes or Serious Notebook?
Simplify Notes ships an update weekly, and Serious Notebook every 3 weeks. Most recently, Simplify Notes was updated on October 31, 2026 and Serious Notebook on October 25, 2026.

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