# Notebook vs Joplin

The clearest difference is rating: Notebook at 4.7 against Joplin's 4.1. Notebook also leads on update cadence (every 6 days vs monthly) and ratings volume (24K vs 473). Joplin's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 8). On price, review sentiment, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Notebook sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $2.49 per month. Joplin asks for nothing beyond the download.

Notebook holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Notebook has 24K ratings behind it against 473, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 65% of Notebook's written reviews are positive against 67% of Joplin's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Notebook ships an update every 6 days, Joplin monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 20, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Notebook | Joplin |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.7 (24K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/notebook-ai-notes-notepad/id973801089/reviews)** | [4.1 (473 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/joplin/id1315599797/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **24K** | 473 |
| Positive reviews | 64.7% of reviews | **66.6% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 6 days** | Monthly |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Free** |
| Size | 220 MB | 73 MB |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | **15.6** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Zoho Corporation](https://appshunter.io/developer/388384807) | [Laurent Cozic](https://appshunter.io/developer/1315599796) |

## What reviewers say

### Notebook

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/notebook-ai-notes-notepad/id973801089)

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:** Safari Extension, Siri integration, Apple Watch app, iMessage stickers, Vision Pro support, SharePlay

**In-app purchases (7)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Notebook Pro | $2.49 | per month |
| Notebook Pro Plus | $3.99 | per month |
| Notebook AI | $4.99 | per month |
| Notebook Personal | $14.99 | per year |
| Notebook Pro | $24.99 | per year |
| Notebook Pro Plus | $39.99 | per year |
| Notebook AI | $49.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

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

**What reviewers complain about**

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

**Reported bugs**

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

**Requested features**

- 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


### Joplin

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/joplin/id1315599797)

A privacy-focused note-taking and to-do application that allows you to capture multimedia notes, organize them with notebooks and tags, and sync across devices. It offers end-to-end encryption and an offline-first approach for secure and accessible information management.

**Highlights:** Capture multimedia notes (speech, photos, videos, PDFs), Organize notes with notebooks and tags, Create to-dos and set reminders, End-to-end encryption for privacy, Cross-device synchronization (Joplin Cloud, Dropbox, OneDrive), Offline-first access, OCR search for text within images and PDFs

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Great app
- 🔒 End-to-end encryption
- 👍 Excellent cross-platform support
- 👍 Intuitive Markdown support
- 👍 Flexible sync options (Dropbox, OneDrive, WebDAV)

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Sync issues, especially on iOS
- 🐛 Buggy UI, especially on iOS
- 🐛 Crashes and freezes
- 🐛 Slow performance at times
- 🐛 Confusing interface, not very intuitive

**Reported bugs**

- Sync issues with WebDAV and Dropbox
- Crashes when creating new notes
- Keyboard issues, text getting obscured
- Rendering problems in dark mode
- Compatibility issues with older iOS versions

**Requested features**

- Add web clipper functionality on iOS
- Implement nested notebooks on iOS
- Allow password/biometric protection for notes
- Improve text editing experience on mobile
- Add more font and formatting options


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Notebook free?

Notebook is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Joplin free?

Joplin is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Notebook or Joplin?

Notebook is rated higher. Notebook averages 4.7 out of 5 from 24K ratings, while Joplin averages 4.1 from 473 ratings.

### Do Notebook or Joplin have ads?

Neither Notebook nor Joplin shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Notebook or Joplin?

Notebook ships an update every 6 days, and Joplin monthly. Most recently, Notebook was updated on September 25, 2026 and Joplin on September 20, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*