Comparison

Notebook vs Notes for Apple Watch

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

Notes for Apple Watch

Effortlessly create, view, and manage all your notes directly on your Apple Watch. Syncs seamlessly with your iPhone and iPad, offering intuitive organization with color themes and efficient input methods.

Highlights
  • Compose notes on Apple Watch
  • Browse, view, and edit notes
  • Automatic syncing across devices
  • Color themes for organization
  • FlickType Keyboard support
Features
Read full description

Compose and manage all your notes directly on Apple Watch. • Browse, view, edit, and compose notes with a highly intuitive interface optimized for your wrist. • Automatically sync all your notes between your iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch. • Organize your notes with a variety of color themes for easy categorization. • Supports FlickType Keyboard for even more efficient note-taking on the go. Take your notes, anywhere! --------------------- Terms of Service: https://bit.ly/NotesTerms

Screenshots

Notebook4 screens
Notes for Apple Watch4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Notebook at 4.7 against Notes for Apple Watch's 4.3. Notebook also leads on review sentiment (65% vs 40%) and ratings volume (24K vs 2.7K). Notes for Apple Watch's advantage is iOS requirement (14.0 vs 16.0). On price, update cadence, ads 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 Notes for Apple Watch sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Notebook holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Notebook has 24K ratings behind it against 2.7K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 65% of Notebook's written reviews are positive against 40% of Notes for Apple Watch's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Notebook ships an update every 6 days, Notes for Apple Watch weekly. The most recent releases landed on September 28, 2026 and September 26, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Notebook versus Notes for Apple Watch: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNotebookNotes for Apple Watch
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (24K ratings) — better4.3 (2.7K ratings)
Positive reviews64.7% of reviews — better39.7% of reviews
Number of ratings24K — better2.7K
Update frequencyEvery 6 days — betterWeekly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS16.014.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size220 MB17 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperZoho CorporationKpaw, LLC

Customer experience

Notebook

All ratings23,853 ratings
Positive93.2%
Neutral3.1%
Negative3.7%
Written reviews603 reviews
Positive64.7%
Neutral10.4%
Negative24.9%

Notes for Apple Watch

All ratings2,714 ratings
Positive80.8%
Neutral4.8%
Negative14.4%
Written reviews204 reviews
Positive39.7%
Neutral8.3%
Negative52.0%

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

Notes for Apple Watch

From 2.7K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Useful for quick notes
  • 👍 Convenient for Apple Watch
  • 👍 Accurate keyboard
  • 👍 Syncs notes between devices

Room to improve

  • 💰 Subscription required for syncing
  • 💰 Expensive monthly fee
  • 🐛 Crashes and freezes on Apple Watch
  • 🐛 Keyboard issues (can't scroll, delete, etc.)

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

Notes for Apple Watch

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Notes not syncing properly between devices
  • App freezing and becoming unresponsive on Apple Watch
  • Keyboard issues causing typing difficulties

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add ability to edit notes from Apple Watch
  • Implement a one-time purchase option instead of subscription
  • Improve syncing reliability and speed
  • Add more keyboard features (delete word, number pad, etc.)

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 Plus$39.991 Year
  • Notebook AI$49.991 Year
2 purchases

Notes for Apple Watch

Subscriptions2
  • Premium3 Days trial$3.991 Month
  • Premium3 Days trial$5.991 Month

Questions

Is Notebook free?
Notebook is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Notes for Apple Watch free?
Notes for Apple Watch is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Notebook or Notes for Apple Watch?
Notebook is rated higher. Notebook averages 4.7 out of 5 from 24K ratings, while Notes for Apple Watch averages 4.3 from 2.7K ratings.
Do Notebook or Notes for Apple Watch have ads?
Neither Notebook nor Notes for Apple Watch shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Notebook or Notes for Apple Watch?
Notebook ships an update every 6 days, and Notes for Apple Watch weekly. Most recently, Notebook was updated on September 28, 2026 and Notes for Apple Watch on September 26, 2026.

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