Lake Observer vs Lockbook
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Lake Observer
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The Lake Observer application is a tool that empowers citizen scientists to more easily record measurements and observations while working in the field. Lake Observer was designed by members of the Global Lake Ecological Observatory Network (GLEON) as part of a crowdsourcing platform to facilitate the collection and sharing of lake- and water-related information across the globe.
Lockbook
A secure, open-source note-taking app prioritizing user privacy. It encrypts all your data locally, ensuring only you and authorized users can access your notes. Offers seamless syncing and sharing across devices, with a developer-friendly command-line interface.
- End-to-end encryption
- Open-source code
- Cross-device syncing
- Note sharing
- Developer CLI
- No personal data collection
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Lockbook is an end-to-end encrypted notes app for writing, sketching, storing files, syncing across devices, and collaborating in real time. Your notes are encrypted before they leave your device, so even we can't read them. Lockbook is 100% open source: https://github.com/lockbook/lockbook Fast & Native: We built Lockbook for everyday use because we use Lockbook every day. Our native apps feel at home on every platform, with fast sync, offline support, and a polished Markdown editor for serious notes. Secure: Keep your thoughts to yourself. Lockbook encrypts your notes with keys generated on your devices. Only you and the people you share with can access your notes, folders, sketches, and files. Private: Know your customer? We sure don't. We don't collect your email, phone number, or name. We don't need a password. Lockbook is for people with better things to worry about than privacy. Collaborative: Share folders, edit notes together, and see live updates from collaborators without giving up end-to-end encryption. Open: Write in Markdown, sketch in SVG, and keep your work in formats you can actually use. Honest: Be the customer, not the product. We sell a note-taking app, not your data. Developer Friendly: The Lockbook CLI fits right into your favorite chain of piped-together Unix commands. Search your notes with fzf, edit them with vim, and schedule backups with cron. When scripting doesn't cut it, use our Rust library for a robust programmatic interface. Website: https://lockbook.net Terms of Service: https://lockbook.net/tos License Agreement: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://lockbook.net/privacy-policy
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Lake Observer at none against Lockbook's 1. Lake Observer also leads on iOS requirement (12.0 vs 26.0). Lockbook's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 5 weeks). On price, ads 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
Both are free to download. Lockbook sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $2.99 per month. Lake Observer asks for nothing beyond the download.
Lake Observer ships an update every 5 weeks, Lockbook weekly. The most recent releases landed on September 15, 2026 and September 14, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Lake Observer | Lockbook |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | 5.0 (14 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | — | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | — | 14 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 5 weeks | Weekly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | — | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 64 MB | 81 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Inc. | Lockbook LLC |
In-app purchases
Lake Observer
No in-app purchases
Lockbook
- 30GB$2.991 Month









