Comparison

Serious Notebook vs Noteday

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

Head to head
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.

About

Noteday

Features
Read full description

Noteday is the notebook that feels like paper and thinks like a study partner. Write with buttery, low-latency Apple Pencil ink at up to 120Hz — pressure, tilt, and shapes that snap into place. Then let Noteday AI turn what you wrote into summaries, flashcards, quizzes, and even images, right on the page. WRITE THAT FEELS LIKE PAPER • Ultra-responsive 120Hz ink with real pressure • Straight-line snap and instant shape recognition • Partial eraser, lasso select, and a laser pointer for presenting • Zoom-write box and a ruler for precise work PAGES BUILT FOR REAL LIFE • Add text, images, stickers, sticky notes, and tables to any page • Organize with folders and search your typed content • Reorder, duplicate, and manage pages with ease • Record audio right alongside your notes • Set local reminders so nothing slips TEMPLATES MADE TO BE USED • Free hero planners, to-do lists, Cornell notes, and more built in • A growing marketplace of à-la-carte packs — productivity, student, finance, fitness, medical, music, travel and more • Buy once, own forever — apply any template as a page in any notebook COVERS WORTH COLLECTING • Museum-art covers from Hokusai, Van Gogh, Klimt, Monet, William Morris, and İznik masters • Full Gold, Full Silver, and Rose Gold metal covers with a live, moving gleam • Personalize with your name, monogram, and font • Import your own PDF or PNG as a cover NOTEDAY AI THAT STUDIES WITH YOU • Ask your notes and get answers with page references • Summarize, outline, make flashcards, build quizzes, and rewrite • Turn a description into an image placed straight onto your page • Start with 25 welcome credits, top up with credit packs anytime EXPORT & SHARE • Export any notebook as PDF or image to share anywhere NOTEDAY PRO Go unlimited with Noteday Pro: • Unlimited notebooks (free plan includes 2) • No ads • Premium stickers • 1,000 AI credits every month Noteday Pro is $2.99/month or $19.99/year with a 7-day free trial. • Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. • Subscriptions renew automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. • Your account is charged for renewal within 24 hours before the end of the current period. • Manage or cancel anytime in your Apple Account settings. • Any unused portion of a free trial is forfeited when you buy a subscription. • Templates, covers, and credit packs are one-time purchases you own forever. Privacy Policy: https://getnoteday.com/privacy Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Questions? getnoteday.com/support

Screenshots

Serious Notebook4 screens
Noteday4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Noteday at every 2 weeks against Serious Notebook's every 3 weeks. On price, ads, 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. Serious Notebook sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Noteday sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

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

Scorecard1 real difference · 8 level
Serious Notebook versus Noteday: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSerious NotebookNoteday
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size6 MB34 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBILGESU KADANGambit Global LTD

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Serious Notebook

One-time1
  • Lifetime Unlock$24.99
10 purchases

Noteday

One-time10
  • Project Plan$0.99
  • Contraction Timer$0.99
  • Baby Feeding Log$0.99
Show 7 more
  • Milestone Tracker$0.99
  • Exam Study Planner$0.99
  • Class Schedule$0.99
  • Pregnancy Appointments$0.99
  • Pregnancy Journal$0.99
  • Invoice Log$0.99
  • Client / CRM$0.99

Questions

Is Serious Notebook free?
Serious Notebook is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Noteday free?
Noteday is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Serious Notebook or Noteday have ads?
Neither Serious Notebook nor Noteday shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Serious Notebook or Noteday?
Serious Notebook ships an update every 3 weeks, and Noteday every 2 weeks. Most recently, Serious Notebook was updated on October 31, 2026 and Noteday on November 5, 2026.

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