Comparison

Notebook vs Simple Notepad

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

Head to head
About

Notebook

Capture your thoughts, ideas, and tasks with a versatile digital notebook. Create rich notes with text, files, audio, and video. Organize content visually, collaborate in real-time, and access everything across your devices.

Highlights
  • Rich note creation with text, files, audio, and video
  • Checklist creation for task management
  • Bookmark collection and offline reading
  • Kanban-style note organization
  • Real-time collaboration and sharing
  • AI-powered journaling suggestions
  • Cross-device and cloud synchronization
Features
Read full description

Zoho Notebook is a free, ad-free note-taking app for students, teams and researchers: capture, find and reuse what you write down — typed notes, Apple Pencil handwriting, voice recordings with AI transcription, checklists, files and document scans in one note. Syncs across iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and other devices. WHAT PEOPLE USE NOTEBOOK FOR 1. MEETING AND LECTURE NOTES Record with audio or video cards; Notebook AI turns it into searchable text with timestamps, so you jump straight to the decision instead of replaying it. Structured minutes with title, participants, decisions and action points sit in the note beside your highlights. Record screen and self at once; longer videos get chapters. 2. STUDY AND RESEARCH Record lectures and search the transcript weeks later. Scan textbooks and business cards, handwrite and sketch with Apple Pencil, use OCR to find text inside photos and handwritten notes, so nothing you captured becomes unfindable. A long note becomes an AI mind map before an exam. 3. DAILY TO-DOS AND JOURNALING Dedicated checklist cards keep tasks beside your notes, and recurring reminders keep them on schedule. Journaling prompts come from your own activity, easier to keep than a blank page. 4. FILES, SCANS, AND SAVED READING Add PDFs, Word docs and spreadsheets with file cards. Articles, videos, recipes and how-tos become Smart Cards, formatted automatically, readable offline and ad-free. Group it all into nested collections. QUESTIONS PEOPLE ASK Is it free? Yes, with 2GB of free storage and no ads. Notebook Pro adds more storage, longer notes, larger attachments, Email-In to save emails as notes, premium covers, and custom recurring reminders. Can I move my notes from Evernote, Google Keep, or OneNote? Yes, with dedicated migration tools; it arrives organized. Is my data private? Notes are encrypted in transit and at rest. We never sell your data and never show ads. Lock notes or notebooks with a password, Touch ID or Face ID; previews stay hidden until unlocked. Does it work offline? Yes. Create, edit and read offline, then pick up on another device once it syncs to the cloud. What can Notebook AI do? Transcribe audio and video, build mind maps, summarize and simplify, fix grammar, set tone (casual, professional, friendly, direct, or confident), translate into any language, draft notes, checklists, tables, code or a template from a prompt, and suggest tags. Notebook AI is a separate add-on. Does it use on-device AI and Siri? Yes. An on-device Knowledge Graph links ideas across notebooks and answers questions from your own notes. Siri creates and updates notes by voice with the app closed, and On-Screen Awareness summarizes what's on screen without switching apps. Can I share with non-users? Yes. @mention people to collaborate in real time, or publish a public note or video by link. MORE INSIDE - Search by title, content, tag, collaborator, or notebook; filter by any card type, contact, or link; search within one note; sort by date or relevance, with auto-suggestions and recent searches, offline and across languages - iPhone: text-search audio notes, share via iMessage, dictate with Siri, recent notes from the Notification Bar, SharePlay in calls - iPad: drag and drop, split view, slide over, multiple windows, Stage Manager - Apple Watch: record audio, scribble notes, check off lists, add photo notes, record in one tap from a watch face complication - VoiceOver and a dark interface - Roll back to any of a note's last 10 versions Subscriptions auto-renew unless cancelled and are charged to your Apple Account. Prices vary by location. Manage in your account settings. Privacy - https://www.zoho.com/privacy.html Terms - https://www.zoho.com/terms.html

About

Simple Notepad

This app offers a unique note-taking experience with a three-tab system for memos, remarks, and history. Attach photos to your notes and secure them with a password. Organize your thoughts with folder division for efficient management.

Highlights
  • Three-tab note structure (Memo, Remarks, History)
  • Attach images to notes
  • Password security lock
  • Folder division for organization
  • Revision history tracking
  • Additional remarks field
Read full description

"BestNote" is a memo pad application aimed at the highest. As a characteristic feature of "BestNote", the memo creation page is divided into three tabs. It is "memo" "remarks" "history". "Memo" tab is the same function as normal memo pad. "Remarks" "History" is a feature of this application's commitment. In the "Remarks" tab, there is another character input field in addition to the memo, so you can use it in various ways, such as writing a simple draft when writing a note or using it as a remarks column. In addition, it is also possible to attach images on the "Remarks" tab, and it is possible to use it beyond the frame of Notepad depending on the ingenuity. Although it is the "history" tab, contents written in the "memo" tab are accumulated in the history as the name does. (It will be written to the history when you press save button on memo page) With this function, it is possible to recover promptly even in unforeseen circumstances such as mistakenly editing important information accidentally. In addition to the security lock password function. Various functions such as folder division function to make memo easier to manage are carried. Please try downloading it once by all means. ・Terms of Use https://eeggs.jp/terms-of-use-en

Screenshots

Notebook4 screens
Simple Notepad4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Notebook at none against Simple Notepad's shown. Notebook also leads on update cadence (every 6 days vs every 3 weeks) and ratings volume (24K vs 2.8K). On price, rating, review sentiment and in-app purchases 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. Notebook sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $2.49 per month and Simple Notepad sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $3.99 per month. 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 — 4.7 for Notebook against 4.6 for Simple Notepad. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Notebook has 24K ratings behind it against 2.8K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 65% of Notebook's written reviews are positive against 68% of Simple Notepad's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Notebook ships an update every 6 days, Simple Notepad every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 30, 2026 and September 28, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Notebook versus Simple Notepad: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNotebookSimple Notepad
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (24K ratings) — better4.6 (2.8K ratings)
Positive reviews64.6% of reviews68.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings24K — better2.8K
Update frequencyEvery 6 days — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size220 MB32 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperZoho CorporationEasterEggs

Customer experience

Notebook

All ratings23,853 ratings
Positive93.2%
Neutral3.1%
Negative3.7%
Written reviews604 reviews
Positive64.6%
Neutral10.6%
Negative24.8%

Simple Notepad

All ratings2,818 ratings
Positive91.4%
Neutral4.3%
Negative4.3%
Written reviews168 reviews
Positive68.5%
Neutral10.1%
Negative21.4%

User reviews

Notebook

From 24K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Highly organized and customizable
  • 👍 Visually appealing and intuitive
  • 🔒 Secure with password protection
  • 🤳 Seamless cross-device sync
  • 📝 Versatile note-taking features

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional sync and stability issues
  • 🔀 Inconsistent note order after editing
  • 🔍 Limited search functionality
  • 📤 Lack of export/backup options
  • 🔗 Difficulty inserting links in notes

Simple Notepad

From 2.8K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Simple and easy to use
  • 🎨 Customizable colors and themes
  • 🗂️ Folder organization
  • 🔒 Secure with password protection
  • 📝 Good for note-taking and journaling

Room to improve

  • 🙄 Intrusive ads
  • 🐛 Crashes and stability issues
  • 📱 Not optimized for iPad
  • 🖋️ No handwriting support
  • 💾 No backup/sync options

Bugs and requests

Notebook

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Notes disappearing or getting corrupted
  • Freezing and crashing issues
  • Inconsistent behavior when editing notes
  • Syncing problems across devices

Requested features

5 requests
  • Improved sorting and reordering options for notes
  • Enhanced search capabilities
  • Ability to export notes in various formats
  • More customization options for notebook covers
  • Integration with other productivity apps

Simple Notepad

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • App crashes on launch
  • Notes disappearing after updates
  • Vertical orientation not working
  • Unable to recover lost notes

Requested features

5 requests
  • Option to remove ads
  • Ability to sync notes across devices
  • More font and formatting options
  • Print functionality
  • Improved iPad support

In-app purchases

7 purchases

Notebook

Subscriptions7
  • Notebook Pro$2.491 Month
  • Notebook Pro Plus$3.991 Month
  • Notebook AI$4.991 Month
Show 4 more
  • Notebook Personal$14.991 Year
  • Notebook Pro2 variants$24.991 Year
  • Notebook Pro Plus1 Year trial$39.991 Year
  • Notebook AI$49.991 Year
1 purchases

Simple Notepad

Subscriptions1
  • Premium Plan$3.991 Month

Questions

Is Notebook free?
Notebook is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Simple Notepad free?
Simple Notepad is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Notebook or Simple Notepad?
Notebook is rated higher. Notebook averages 4.7 out of 5 from 24K ratings, while Simple Notepad averages 4.6 from 2.8K ratings.
Do Notebook or Simple Notepad have ads?
Simple Notepad shows ads; Notebook does not.
Which is updated more often, Notebook or Simple Notepad?
Notebook ships an update every 6 days, and Simple Notepad every 3 weeks. Most recently, Notebook was updated on September 30, 2026 and Simple Notepad on September 28, 2026.

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