Comparison

Nextcloud Notes vs Notebooks

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

Head to head
About

Nextcloud Notes

This app allows you to create, edit, and organize notes on your mobile device. It syncs seamlessly with a Nextcloud server, ensuring your notes are accessible across all your devices and the web interface. Supports plain text and markdown formatting for versatile note-taking.

Highlights
  • Syncs with Nextcloud server
  • Create and delete notes
  • Organize notes in categories
  • Plain text editing
  • Markdown formatting
  • Export notes
Features
Read full description

Note: Access to a Nextcloud server with the Notes app installed is required to use this app. Visit https://nextcloud.com for more information. Nextcloud Notes is a notes editor that syncs with the Notes app (https://github.com/nextcloud/notes/releases) on your server. Once you have logged in to your server, all notes will be kept in sync between devices and also the web interface. Optionally supports sync on startup. You can create and delete notes directly on the device. Notes can be organized in categories. Edit as plain text or use markdown for rich formatting. Notes can be copied or exported to other apps or services in several formats. If you have a sync client (optional) installed on your desktop computer all notes will be there too, and can be edited with any text editor.

About

Notebooks

This app helps you write, organize, and manage documents, tasks, and files. It offers flexible writing modes, robust organization tools, and task management features, all while ensuring your data remains accessible and under your control.

Highlights
  • Formatted text, plain text, and Markdown writing
  • Create documents with styles, tables, and attachments
  • Organize with nested hierarchies and 'books'
  • Task management with due dates and checklists
  • Wiki-style linking and backlinks
  • Full-text search
  • Cross-device synchronization
Features
Read full description

Own your notes — forever. Notebooks is a writing and organization app with no subscription, no lock-in, and no worries. Your documents are stored as standard files you can always access, export, or move freely. Pay once. Use for life. Use Notebooks as a personal wiki, Zettelkasten, document archive, task manager, or long-term writing space. Capture quick notes, turn them into actionable tasks, combine text fragments into chapters, organize research, or keep business documents separate from personal journals — without ever switching apps. Designed to help you stay focused and work at your own pace, Notebooks grows with your needs and is always ready to support you. WRITE AND CREATE Create beautifully formatted documents with styles, attachments, tables, checklists, and optional tables of contents. Choose from ready-made styles or design your own. Write in different ways: Formatted text (WYSIWYG) Plain text, with smart handling of lists, automatic character pairing, and a focused writing view Markdown, supporting MultiMarkdown and Discount, with syntax highlighting, dedicated keyboard keys, wiki-style links, and interactive checklists Sketch ideas or annotate images and PDFs using Apple Pencil. STORE AND ORGANIZE Notebooks stores all documents as regular files in standard formats. You always remain in control — no lock-in, no export worries, fully compatible across devices and over time. Organize your work in books and nested hierarchies without limits. Import PDFs, emails, web pages, MS Office and iWork documents, images, audio, video, and more. Use full-text search to find even the most deeply nested document. PLAN AND ACT Turn books into project lists and documents into tasks. Assign due dates and alerts, create nested projects, and track progress naturally — right where your work lives. Use simple checklists in formatted documents or Markdown for lightweight task tracking. STAY FOCUSED Link documents together to build knowledge over time. Use wiki-style links, backlinks, contexts, and smart books to keep everything connected and within reach. When you rename or move documents, links stay intact. A PLACE YOU CAN RELY ON Sync your documents between iPhone, iPad, Mac, and PC. Work on documents stored in other apps, compile selections into PDFs or eBooks, scan documents and extract text using OCR, and trust that your data stays accessible — now and in the future. With time, Notebooks often becomes the one place users rely on to keep everything that matters close at hand. WHAT USERS SAY “Notebooks is a wonderful app — sophisticated in an unassuming way. I feel more productive without spending time managing the app itself.” “You are GTD in every way that makes it efficient — and makes me efficient.”

Screenshots

Nextcloud Notes4 screens
Notebooks4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Notebooks at 83% against Nextcloud Notes's 27%. Notebooks also leads on rating (4.7 vs 2.2) and ratings volume (1.1K vs 94). Nextcloud Notes's advantage is price (Free vs $17.99) and in-app purchases (none vs 4). On update cadence, ads, 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

Nextcloud Notes is free to download; Notebooks costs $17.99 up front. Notebooks sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Nextcloud Notes asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Notebooks holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 2.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Notebooks has 1.1K ratings behind it against 94, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 27% of Nextcloud Notes's written reviews are positive against 83% of Notebooks's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Nextcloud Notes ships an update every 6 weeks, Notebooks every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 17, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Nextcloud Notes versus Notebooks: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNextcloud NotesNotebooks
PriceFree — better$17.99
Rating2.2 (94 ratings)4.7 (1.1K ratings) — better
Positive reviews27.3% of reviews82.6% of reviews — better
Number of ratings941.1K — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksEvery 5 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterPaid
Best chart rank—#135 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS17.016.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size15 MB47 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNextcloud GmbHAlfons Schmid

Customer experience

Nextcloud Notes

All ratings94 ratings
Positive26.6%
Neutral6.4%
Negative67.0%
Written reviews231 reviews
Positive27.3%
Neutral9.1%
Negative63.6%

Notebooks

All ratings1,056 ratings
Positive94.1%
Neutral2.6%
Negative3.3%
Written reviews207 reviews
Positive82.6%
Neutral5.8%
Negative11.6%

User reviews

Nextcloud Notes

From 94 App Store ratings

What we love

  • ✅ Successfully syncs with Nextcloud instances
  • ⚡ Improving performance and reliability over time
  • 📝 Simple, lightweight note-taking interface
  • 🔒 Privacy-focused with self-hosted option
  • 📱 Cross-platform availability (iOS, Android)

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent data loss and note deletion issues
  • 🔌 Unreliable synchronization with server
  • 🔐 Login and authentication failures
  • ⚠️ Poor handling of connection interruptions
  • 📉 App crashes and force-closes required

Notebooks

From 1.1K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Powerful and flexible organization
  • 🔒 Respects user data and privacy
  • 👍 Reliable and stable
  • 👍 Responsive and helpful developer
  • 👍 Elegant and intuitive interface

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes and sync issues
  • 🐛 Formatting and editing limitations
  • 🐛 Steep learning curve for some users

Bugs and requests

Nextcloud Notes

Reported bugs

19 issues
  • Notes randomly appear empty and lose content
  • Empty files being saved to server
  • Login resets to default server address
  • 404 errors when getting settings
  • Sync fails with large note collections
Show 14 more
  • Navigation menu disappears after editing
  • Keyboard covers input area
  • Search field disappears after closing notes
  • Cursor jumps to top of note while typing
  • App disconnects during editing
  • Session timeout errors with non-dismissible dialogs
  • Conflict resolution interface unreadable
  • Cannot switch between markdown and preview modes
  • Notes don't upload from mobile to server
  • Inconsistent note naming behavior
  • App overwrites server files without checking versions
  • Login fails with self-hosted servers
  • App password authentication not supported
  • Slow text input with 100ms delay per character

Requested features

17 requests
  • Text formatting options (bold, underline, italics)
  • File and image attachment support
  • Note categorization and organization
  • Pin important notes to top
  • Ability to rename notes easily
Show 12 more
  • Offline mode with local caching
  • Multi-account/profile switching
  • Real-time collaborative editing
  • Undo/redo functionality
  • App-specific password support
  • End-to-end encryption support
  • Checkbox functionality in reading mode
  • Share to Notes from other apps
  • App lock with biometric authentication
  • Direct note opening to preview page
  • Remember app state on restart
  • Mac app availability

Notebooks

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Data loss after iOS upgrades
  • Compatibility issues with newer iOS versions

Requested features

4 requests
  • Improved Markdown support
  • More font and color customization options
  • Better Apple Watch integration
  • Export to Word format

In-app purchases

None

Nextcloud Notes

No in-app purchases

4 purchases

Notebooks

One-time4
  • Small Tip$0.99
  • Custom Storage Locations$2.99
  • Medium Tip$2.99
Show 1 more
  • Generous Tip$4.99

Questions

Is Nextcloud Notes free?
Nextcloud Notes is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Notebooks free?
Notebooks costs $17.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Nextcloud Notes or Notebooks?
Notebooks is rated higher. Nextcloud Notes averages 2.2 out of 5 from 94 ratings, while Notebooks averages 4.7 from 1.1K ratings.
Do Nextcloud Notes or Notebooks have ads?
Neither Nextcloud Notes nor Notebooks shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Nextcloud Notes or Notebooks?
Nextcloud Notes ships an update every 6 weeks, and Notebooks every 5 weeks. Most recently, Nextcloud Notes was updated on September 17, 2026 and Notebooks on September 23, 2026.

Other comparisons