# Standard Notes — user reviews > 432 indexed App Store user reviews of Standard Notes by Standard Notes Ltd., rated 4.70/5 from 3,696 ratings. - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/standard-notes/id1285392450/reviews - App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/standard-notes/id1285392450.md - Rating breakdown: 5★ 3,115 · 4★ 303 · 3★ 84 · 2★ 45 · 1★ 149 ## What do users think of Standard Notes? Overall sentiment: positive **Pros** - 🚀 Fast and reliable sync - 🔒 Excellent privacy and security - 👍 Simple and intuitive interface - 📚 Great for organizing notes - 💻 Cross-platform availability **Cons** - 🐛 Occasional bugs and crashes - 🔑 Frustrating login/authentication issues - 💰 Expensive premium subscription - 📱 Limited features in free version - 🖍️ Lack of formatting options **Commonly reported bugs** - Notes disappearing or getting deleted unexpectedly - Sync issues between devices - Keyboard and UI bugs on mobile - Compatibility problems with older iOS versions **Most requested features** - Add support for images and attachments - Implement a more robust search function - Introduce a dark mode option - Allow for better note organization (folders, nested tags) - Add undo/redo functionality ## Newest reviews (17 of 432) ### 3/5 — Slow in lockdown mode *2026-08-19, version 3.202.0* Takes a looong time to load on start. More than 10 seconds on wifi. Turning off lockdown mode helped, but that's a security risk. ### 4/5 — pretty good *2026-08-11, version 3.201.27* I’ve been using this for years and there are definitely positives. But… I wish so much for keyboard shortcuts to move between notes and lists and tags. (I’m on OSX and iPhone using either the standalone app or web app in Safari, depending on which one is working at the moment). Positives: semi-securely syncs across devices, ability to tag and organize, robust default note types, but support for independent modules, searchable notes (but not available _inside_ some independent note types. I’m looking at you Markdown Alternative) Issues: security (some temporary files can be found in ~/Library/Containers/com.standardnotes.standardnotes/Data are plain text notes!), feature bloat (the unfortunate cost of success), non-adjustable tiny font size (specifically OSX standalone), and inability to export a proper markdown file from their officially supported note type. Overall still worthwhile, but cleaner apps are starting to flood the stage… which is frustrating since I just want to keep using StandardNotes. ### 3/5 — Buggy *2026-08-11, version 3.201.27* Paid for 5 years, app is buggy on iOS. Unable to use “Super Note” from phone as curser gets stuck first position it is placed (web is ok for this). Only plain text notes can be used Reported bug over 2 months ago, support responded but no updates since then and no follow ups. ### 2/5 — Can't type/edit long notes / Inadvertent logouts *2026-06-16, version 3.201.27* UPDATE: Removing another star. Keyboard still blocks editing. Since last updates, I'm now also logged out , inadvertently, way too often -- in the midst of trying to edit notes. This is becoming untenable. Update: The last update, again, broke the ability to scroll when composing/editing a note, making it impossible to see the part of the note covered by the keyboard. I’m now removing 2 stars, as this bug severely impacts functionality. PREVIOUSLY: Love this app! I recently subscribed in order to easily share end-to-end encrypted data between devices. Sharing works great, but until recently, it was difficult to compose/edit because the keyboard covered the bottom of the note on Apple devices and scrolling to bring it into view wasn't possible. (This limited utility, although it was still worth it to me for the amazing security in synching short notes.) Now, the problem has been FIXED, with a recent update!! I had also been unable to log in with my iPhone and had been limping along, only able to sync with my iPad and laptop. (That has been corrected now, too!!) THANK YOU, devs! ### 4/5 — Great app! Missing rich text though. *2026-06-07, version 3.201.27* I’m really happy with this app. My one gripe is that you need to upgrade to get rich text formatting. Subscriptions to upgrade are a bit pricey for someone who only really has about five notes at a given time. I tend to make a lot of lists and checklists, so rich text or markdown would make a big difference. ### 4/5 — Hard to do text search *2026-05-10, version 3.201.21* Seems secure but it’s hard to do a text search to find previous entries. ### 2/5 — UI ist nicht gut *2026-05-05* Die Übersichtlichkeit fehlt wenn man viele notes hat, das UI benötigt ein Update. Bei den geladenen Dateien fehlt eine direkte Information, der Name der Datei ist nur oben zu sehen. ### 2/5 — A Bit Overpriced… 💰 *2026-05-01, version 3.201.21* The free version of the 'Standard Notes' app is relatively useless—it offers absolutely no formatting options. In order to utilise rich text formatting, the user must pay a prohibitively expensive yearly subscription fee. ### 4/5 — Great app *2026-04-28, version 3.201.21* Great app but I wish it has option to have folders and within the folders, have option to group notes into days, weeks, months and or years! Plus have time stamp too. Every time you start a notes, has time shows either on top or bottom or next to it with the day year etc… ### 4/5 — consider supporting Simplified Chinese *2026-04-28, version 3.201.21* Your interface already supports dozens of languages. Why not consider supporting Simplified Chinese? ### 3/5 — Secure (and fixed)!! *2026-04-08, version 3.201.21* Update: The last update, again, broke the ability to scroll when composing/editing a note, making it impossible to see the part of the note covered by the keyboard. I’m now removing 2 stars, as this bug severely impacts functionality. Previously: Love this app! I recently subscribed in order to easily share end-to-end encrypted data between devices. Sharing works great, but until recently, it was difficult to compose/edit because the keyboard covered the bottom of the note on Apple devices and scrolling to bring it into view wasn't possible. (This limited utility, although it was still worth it to me for the amazing security in synching short notes.) Now, the problem has been FIXED, with a recent update!! I had also been unable to log in with my iPhone and had been limping along, only able to sync with my iPad and laptop. (That has been corrected now, too!!) THANK YOU, devs! ### 5/5 — A notes app I can actually trust *2026-03-30, version 3.201.21* I've been looking for a solid notes app that takes privacy seriously without making the experience painful and Standard Notes checks all the boxes. The interface is clean, syncing works reliably across my iPhone, iPad and Mac and I never have to worry about my notes being readable by anyone but me. What really convinced me was the self-hosting option. I now run it on my own server and the apps connect to it without any issues. The iOS, iPadOS and macOS experience/sync is smooth and consistent across all three. Been using it daily for a while now and haven't looked back! ### 2/5 — Doesn’t work on the iPhone 15 *2026-03-30, version 3.201.21* Works on old iPhone SE, Mac, Linux, but can’t get passed the login screen on an iPhone 15. ### 5/5 — Secure (and fixed)!! *2026-03-20, version 3.201.21* Love this app! I recently subscribed, in order to easily share end-to-end encrypted data between my devices. It works great for that but until recently was difficult to compose in because the keyboard covered the bottom of the composition window on Apple devices and scrolling to bring the covered text into view wasn't possible. (This limited its utility, although the app was still worth it to me for the amazing security.) Now, I'm really excited to discover that the problem has been FIXED, with a recent update!! ((I had also been completely unable to log in with my iPhone and had been limping along with only my iPad and laptop able to sync. That works now, too!!) THANK YOU, devs! ### 3/5 — So much potential *2026-03-19, version 3.201.21* As a Proton user, I’d love to love Standard Notes but two things make it unusable. First is the cost. On top of the Proton suite I buy, the paid version feels like price gauging. The second is the UI on iPhone. It’s clunky but more importantly, font sizes can’t be increased - a total accessibility fail. Come on Proton, surely you can do better than this. ### 5/5 — Unable to write notes *2026-03-19, version 3.201.21* Unable to write anything ### 5/5 — My Favorite Notes App *2026-03-14, version 3.201.3* I know the free version of this app is pretty bare bones, but that’s exactly what I love about it. Having fewer formatting options means I spend more time writing. Also love the modern style UI. Only issue is that dark mode makes it nearly impossible to see the time, WiFi status etc. ## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated) ### 1/5 — No undo?!?!? *2026-08-07, version 3.201.27* It’s absolutely bonkers that this app doesn’t have an undo button. I just accidentally deleted a bunch of text from a note, and there’s no way to undo that. I’ll be switching to an app with that basic feature! ### 1/5 — Can you share and co-edit in it? *2026-07-28, version 3.201.27* I don’t know if you can. I wish it had it. And if it has it, I wish the user interface was more intuitive to where I could find it easily. ### 1/5 — Terrible Price. *2026-05-23, version 3.201.27* Will never pay for this and honestly am just astounded by the price. $119 a year! For notes… let that sink in. Completely insane and out of touch pricing by the developer. It’s NOTES. For a basic writing app that isn’t even flashy and could use quite a modern design update compared to other apps. ### 1/5 — Sinnvolle Nutzung nur mit Pro *2026-03-01* Leider nervt das sehr. Selbst wenn ich einen Server selbst hoste, brauche ich die Pro Version um sinnvoll damit umgehen zu können. ### 1/5 — Can’t login *2026-01-21, version 3.201.3* Can’t login into existing account. It just freezes and my screen goes black. ### 1/5 — Couldn’t even sign up *2026-01-18, version 3.201.3* Explain this ### 1/5 — Text in UI too small to even get started *2025-11-14, version 3.199.0* Impossible to even test because the text in the interface is microscopic. ### 1/5 — Can't handwrite notes? *2025-11-03, version 3.199.0* It forces OCR transcription of all notes. I'd prefer to just record notes as i write/draw them. This is a solution in search of a problem. Why is it impossible nowadays to find a simple app without 100 clunky 'smart' features? ### 1/5 — No checkbox *2025-10-01, version 3.199.0* Can't even add a checkbox without paying. ### 1/5 — Subscription not activating after payment *2025-08-15, version 3.198.15* Still waiting to use the paid version but never even activates after days of waiting for subscription to just activate. Cancelling and deleting this. Sorry, not worthy of being sorry for ## Most praised reviews (10 highest-rated) ### 5/5 — Standard Notes app *2026-07-24, version 3.201.27* Great end to end encrypted notes great way to keep your notes and to see the time and date when you have a note for future references. ### 5/5 — Very good vs Joplin *2026-07-21, version 3.201.27* Because Gboard is completely unusable in joplin, now. ### 5/5 — Exactly how a note taking app should be. *2026-07-14, version 3.201.27* It gets out of my way and lets me take notes on a secure and simple environment. Everything feels like it has a purpose and meaning behind its inclusion. Doesn’t try and bait you with grandiose productivity claims. Simple and secure and just lets me take notes. That’s it and that’s all I need. ### 5/5 — Great app but not after update - search no longer works *2026-06-21, version 3.201.27* So glad I found this app. Secure and notes accessible on all devices. I cloud lost my notes in two devices. ### 5/5 — Best encrypted app for notes and syncing across devices is near instant. *2026-05-10, version 3.201.21* I tried a lot of encrypted apps as I need to store client data securely and also often jump between mobile and desktop. Standard notes is by far the most reliable. The downside, depending on what you want is the free version is literally just for notes. But if that’s all you need then this is the go to. But the paid version does come with file storage and really useful ways of adding tags to notes and also links. For me, I store my customers shipping details and switch between pc and mobile a lot. And it syncs almost instantly. But I can also attach additional information. For example, I can create a link connected to the post code, then have the tracking number attached. I can then archive that days note. Then if ever I need to retrieve the tracking number I can search the postcode and it will find any notes including that info then I can quickly retrieve the tracking number for the customer. This is so handy. I do use Proton for file storage too as it had a broader scope for use. But I have recently discovered that proton now own Standard Notes now and will likely at some point merge it into their system. I really hope if they do, that they don’t change the way Standard Note functions as it’s great the way it is. And I also really hope they add the scan document into the options for SN. Also SN is slightly faster at syncing between devices that proton so I really hope they don’t lose that if they merge. But between Standard Notes and Proton drive, you have all you need and if/when they merge, I don’t think there is a single competitor in the space that will rival them. ### 5/5 — Exceptional Encrypted Notes App *2026-04-24, version 3.201.21* Standard Notes is the best app that I’ve used for note-taking - bar none. It ticks all the boxes for me. It offers end to end encryption, local backups, offline mode, and a bunch more that I can’t say I’ve found in any other app I’ve tried. If you’re looking for a secure and user-first notes app, this is the one I would absolutely recommend. ### 5/5 — Free version is cool *2026-04-16, version 3.201.21* One of the best-made, most cross-platform compatible apps for secure info that exists in 2026–and it’s free. Yes I wrote this in my own words and it’s my own opinion. Makes me want to get the paid version just to support them ### 5/5 — Great! *2026-04-12, version 3.201.21* Very useful! ### 5/5 — Best encrypted app for notes and syncing across devices is near instant. *2026-04-09, version 3.201.21* I tried a lot of encrypted apps as I need to store client data securely and also often jump between mobile and desktop. Standard notes is by far the most reliable. The downside, depending on what you want is the free version is literally just for notes. But if that’s all you need then this is the go to. You can pay for the premium and get file storage and a host of other benefits. So it depends on what you need. I use this app daily and I love it. My only real criticism is I feel the premium version is a little overpriced for what you get. Although they do have some great feature like tags that helps to organise and find notes. But there’s other apps that have a wider range of features for the same price. I think they should drop their price by at least 20-25%. But then again, I still paid it because they may be a little overpriced and not as feature rich. But if all the apps I’ve used that are beyond question the most reliable. Syncing is instant, never lost any data. Never experienced a single bug. And I’ve been using it for a year now. Hands down the most reliable and easy to use app. But not for everyone depending on your needs. ### 5/5 — Apple notes but not tied to apple *2026-04-02, version 3.201.21* Much easier to keep in sync with non apple devices --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-29.*