What users complain about in note-taking apps
Core functionality failures in recording and text input matter more to users than backend infrastructure problems like syncing.
2,205 reviews · 12 apps analyzed · Analysis as of June 18, 2026
Recording and transcription failures
Mentioned in 19% of complaints across the 12 apps we analyzed in note-taking apps.
Every complaint, ranked by frequency
01Recording and transcription failures
19%Found in 13 reviews.
“At the most fundamental level, a voice notes app needs to record and trust, once lost, is hard to gain back. In just two weeks of testing Voicenotes, I've lost approximately three hours of very important recordings. First incident (March 11, iPhone): I was recording a note that…”
02Text input and writing functionality broken
17%Found in 12 reviews.
“Unfortunately, after using this app for around 6 years, I have to move on. When I write, a whole bunch of lines appear with almost every stroke causing me to waste time having to erase and start over. Progressively this has gotten worse, with the dock moving when I try to click…”
03Sync, login, and account access problems
16%Found in 11 reviews.
“Update: they updated the app but didn’t fix anything below. Please work on it guys. 1. On WiFi or Cellular, constantly flashes “Cannot Connect, try again later”. It’s not fine, it’s horrible, and incredibly distracting. I mean like 5-10 times per second!!!!!! Obviously a BUG IN…”
04Misleading pricing and poor customer support
16%Found in 11 reviews.
“If you're going to offer a three day trial, then you need to allow access to the app… I was really frustrated because I want to try to see if your app works for my needs and yet you don't allow any access to the app without forcing your customer to end the free trial and to be…”
05App crashes, freezes, and becomes unresponsive
14%Found in 10 reviews.
“update: App randomly decided to crash for no reason and offload all of my notes in the middle of me studying for a midterm. It’s been 12 hours and they still aren’t accessible. How in the world an app I PAID for to take notes just decides to quit doing that, I have no clue, but…”
06Excessive features and confusing interface design
10%Found in 7 reviews.
“On 11.8.25. I stated “soon to be best in class”… Unfortunately, I was wrong and I say this primarily for a few disturbing reasons: 1) this app is advertised as being available on iOS, macOS, and web, but realistically, it is not available at all on Web if you have any level of…”
07App performance slow and laggy
9%Found in 6 reviews.
“I’ve been a loyal Evernote user for 10+ years and ~18k notes. It seems that there is a significant subset of users for whom the iOS app is extremely slow, losing text just entered, causing multiple conflicting versions of notes, and getting “stuck” where pressing the green check…”
Frequently asked
What do users complain about most in note-taking apps?
The most common complaint is "Recording and transcription failures" — 19% of analyzed complaints across 12 apps.
How many reviews did AppImp analyze for note-taking apps?
2,205 real App Store reviews across 12 apps — frequency-ranked and counted, never estimated.
What are the top complaints in note-taking apps?
1. Recording and transcription failures (19%); 2. Text input and writing functionality broken (17%); 3. Sync, login, and account access problems (16%); 4. Misleading pricing and poor customer support (16%); 5. App crashes, freezes, and becomes unresponsive (14%).
This is the what. The Deep Report is the why.
Root causes behind each complaint, which competitor has already solved it, and whether the gap in note-taking appsis still open — the part a model can’t reconstruct.
Run the full reportEvery figure above is counted from real, public App Store reviews — never estimated, never LLM-invented. 2,205 reviews across 12 note-taking apps.