# Changelog vs release notes: what is the difference?

> A changelog is the complete, dated list of changes to a product, newest first. Release notes describe a single release for its users. In practice, a good changelog is a collection of release notes, each written for the people who use the product.

Source: https://shipnoted.com/guides/changelog-vs-release-notes · Updated 2026-11-02

## The short version

| | Changelog | Release notes |
|---|---|---|
| **Scope** | Every release, over time | One release |
| **Shape** | A running, dated list, newest first | A document about one version |
| **Audience** | Anyone following the product | People deciding whether to update, or what is new |
| **Where** | A page that keeps growing | Often an entry in the changelog, an email or a store listing |

## How they relate

Release notes are the content; a changelog is where they live. When you publish notes for a release and keep them in a dated, chronological page, that page is your changelog. Some teams keep both: a terse, complete changelog for developers (every change, linked to commits) and friendlier release notes for customers (the highlights, in plain words).

## Which should you write?

- **A web product with customers:** one customer-facing changelog of release notes, grouped as New, Improved and Fixed. See [changelog best practices](/guides/changelog-best-practices).
- **A library or API:** a developer changelog that lists every change and flags breaking ones, following a convention such as semantic versioning and keeping a human-written summary at the top of each release.
- **An app in a store:** short release notes per version, plus a fuller changelog on your site.

## Writing them

Whichever you write, write for the reader. [How to write release notes](/guides/how-to-write-release-notes) has a template.

## Where Shipnoted fits

Shipnoted publishes release notes as entries of a themed, public [changelog](/features/changelog), with feeds, email and a widget, and can draft them from merged pull requests.

## Questions and answers

### Is a changelog the same as release notes?

Not exactly. A changelog is the running list of all changes over time; release notes describe one release. A good changelog is made of release notes.

### Do I need both a changelog and release notes?

Most web products need one customer-facing changelog made of release notes. Libraries often keep a complete developer changelog and a shorter human summary per release.

### What should a changelog entry look like?

A date, a short title, one sentence of context and grouped lists of what is new, improved, fixed or breaking.

### Where should I publish release notes?

On a public changelog page linked from your product, with a feed and email option, and optionally inside the app with a What's New indicator.