Choosing a New York notary journal: an honest comparison
"Competitor A" is the market-leading notary eJournal app; "Competitor B" is a long-established multi-state journal app. Their details reflect published pricing and materials as of July 2026 — verify current terms on their sites. We built NY Notary Pro, so read accordingly; but every claim below about us is contractual or visible in the product.
| NY Notary Pro | Competitor A | Competitor B | Paper journal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $9.99/mo or $79/yr — Pro+Photos $12.99/mo or $99/yr | $19/mo (~$168/yr) per published pricing | Tiered plans; entry-limited at lower tiers | $15–40 one-time |
| Free trial | 30 days, every feature, no credit card | Short trial per published terms | Limited free tier | — |
| Your records if you stop paying | Guaranteed in our Terms: viewing, print & export stay free forever | Depends on their subscription policies — check before you commit | Depends on their subscription policies | You keep the book (and the 10-year duty) |
| Built for NY law (19 NYCRR §182.9) | Yes — every required field enforced; the app won't save a legally incomplete entry; NY fee caps built in | Multi-state generic journal | Multi-state generic journal | Only if you remember every field, every time |
| ID barcode scan / auto-fill | Yes — parsed on your device; license number NEVER stored | Yes | Yes — full scans stored on their cloud | No |
| Commission renewal reminders | Automatic: in-app + email at 120/90/60/30 days, with the correct NY DOS renewal process | Limited | Limited | No |
| Yearly logbook delivered automatically | Yes — emailed as a single file with retention warnings (10-year rule) | Manual export | Manual export | It's the book itself |
| Appointments + remote notarization workflow | Yes — scheduler, Google Calendar, signer invites, draft entries, RON session recording storage | Limited | No | No |
| NY law guide, how-to-become guide & news | Built in and updated | No | No | No |
| Works on phone + laptop, synced | Yes — installable app + web, one account | Yes (native apps) | Yes | One physical book, one place |
The three questions that actually matter
1. Will every entry be legally complete? Since January 25, 2023, New York requires specific fields for every notarial act (19 NYCRR §182.9). A generic 50-state journal — or a paper book — leaves it to you to remember New York's list. NY Notary Pro refuses to save an incomplete entry.
2. What happens to your records if you cancel? These are legal records you must retain for 10 years. Our Terms of Service guarantee your journal stays viewable, printable, and exportable even with no subscription — forever. Before choosing any journal app, ask the same question of them.
3. Where does the signer's ID data go? We parse the license barcode on your device, fill in the name and address, and never store the license number — no honeypot of scanned IDs in the cloud with your name attached.
Try NY Notary Pro free for 30 daysNo credit card. Cancel anytime — your records stay yours.