Comparison

Notebook vs My Diary

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

My Diary

This app serves as a digital notebook for recording daily life and creative thoughts. It offers powerful editing tools, customizable backgrounds, and a decision-making turntable to help with everyday choices. Enhance your entries with unique fonts and special effects.

Highlights
  • Journal editing with cute maps and pattern fonts
  • Decision turntable for daily choices
  • Brush function with Apple Pencil support
  • Theme special effects for vivid entries
  • Customizable stationery backgrounds
Features
Read full description

My diary is a necessary creative manual accounting software for manual accounting control. Take an electronic notebook with you to record your daily life. Small decision turntable, choose a good helper for difficulties, press it gently, and solve it easily! 【Journal Editing】 -Powerful diary editing function, carefully record every day; -Cute map, healing cute style; -Pattern font, personalize your diary; -The selected stationery background makes it easier and more convenient to edit the manual account. 【More Functions】 -Brush function, support Apple pencil, stimulate your creative potential; -Small decision turntable, easy to help solve daily tangled little things; -Theme special effects make your diary more vivid and special. More functions are improving. Thank you for your support and encouragement! This subscription will be automatically renewed through your iTunes account, and the renewal fee will be deducted according to your package within 24 hours before the end of the current subscription period. You can manage or cancel automatic renewal at the account setting office. Cancellation of automatic renewal should be made at least 24 hours before the end of the current subscription period. If your trial has not ended, the remaining days will automatically expire after you start your subscription. To open the subscription, you need to agree to the following Terms of service : https://linwenlong001.github.io/posts/linwenlong/fuwu Privacy terms : https://linwenlong001.github.io/posts/linwenlong/privacy

Screenshots

Notebook4 screens
My Diary4 screens

Verdict

The call

Notebook and My Diary both sit at 4.7 stars, but that hides the real split: 100% of My Diary's written reviews are positive against 65% of Notebook's. My Diary also leads on iOS requirement (13.0 vs 16.0). Notebook's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (24K vs 134). On price, rating, update cadence 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 My Diary sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $3.49 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 4.7 for My Diary. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Notebook has 24K ratings behind it against 134, 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 100% of My Diary's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Notebook ships an update every 6 days, My Diary every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on September 26, 2026 and September 15, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Notebook versus My Diary: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNotebookMy Diary
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (24K ratings) — better4.7 (134 ratings)
Positive reviews64.7% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings24K — better134
Update frequencyEvery 6 days — betterEvery 8 days
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS16.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size220 MB47 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperZoho Corporation晋荣 梁

Customer experience

Notebook

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

My Diary

All ratings133 ratings
Positive91.0%
Neutral4.5%
Negative4.5%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

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

My Diary

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

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
4 purchases

My Diary

Subscriptions3
  • 月度订阅3 Days trial$3.491 Month
  • 季度订阅3 Days trial$7.493 Months
  • Year Version3 Days trial$13.491 Year
One-time1
  • 永久会员$7.99

Questions

Is Notebook free?
Notebook is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is My Diary free?
My Diary is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Notebook or My Diary?
Notebook is rated higher. Notebook averages 4.7 out of 5 from 24K ratings, while My Diary averages 4.7 from 134 ratings.
Do Notebook or My Diary have ads?
My Diary shows ads; Notebook does not.
Which is updated more often, Notebook or My Diary?
Notebook ships an update every 6 days, and My Diary every 8 days. Most recently, Notebook was updated on September 26, 2026 and My Diary on September 15, 2026.

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