Cloud Outliner vs Calamus Ideas
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Cloud Outliner
This app helps you structure your thoughts and tasks into clear, organized lists. It offers visual organization, synchronization across devices, and rich editing features for easy management of your ideas and plans. Share your organized content easily with others.
- Multi-level document management
- Drag & drop reordering
- Swipe to indent
- Rich text formatting
- iCloud synchronization
- Export to PDF and OPML
- Password protection
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Cloud Outliner helps you turn ideas and tasks into clear, structured lists. Capture thoughts instantly, organize them visually, and keep everything synchronized across your Mac, iPhone, and iPad with iCloud. With rich editing, intuitive gestures, and easy sharing, staying organized has never been easier. Install Cloud Outliner and bring clarity to your work and life. Key Features Organize and Protect • Multi-level document manager • Color tags for quick highlights • Password protection • Custom templates • Duplicate documents Powerful Outline Editor • Drag & drop to reorder • Swipe to change indentation • Multi-select for bulk actions • Checkboxes and auto-numbering • Notes for list items • Rich text formatting and highlighting • Collapse or expand any level • Filters, undo/redo, copy/paste • Link and phone number detection • Read-only mode • Wireless keyboard support with shortcuts Sync and Share • Sync across iPhone, iPad, and Mac with iCloud* • Mac version available • Export to PDF, OPML, plain text • Import OPML files • Print via AirPrint • Share by email or messenger Extra • Light and Dark mode • Clean, intuitive design • Portrait and landscape support * Sync with Mac requires Cloud Outliner Pro for macOS, sold separately.
Calamus Ideas
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Calamus Ideas is a notes and writing-tracker app for novelists and anyone working on a long project. WRITE THE NOTE BEFORE YOU LOSE IT Open the app, type, save. There is no project to pick and no file to name. Share an article from Safari and the link is attached to the note for you. FILE IT SO YOU CAN FIND IT Every note can carry a category, a pen name, and a book title. Eight categories are built in: Book Title, Character Name, Concept, Article, Phrase, Design, Musing, Other. Add your own. Create pen names and book titles inside the app. You do not have to set them up somewhere else first. COLLECT QUOTES Save lines from what you read, and from your own books. Quotes are grouped by pen name and book. Share a quote to any app on your phone. The book title and your buy link go with it. Quoting somebody else? Record who said it. FOCUS TIMER A Pomodoro timer for writing sittings. Set 5 to 90 minutes, in 5 minute steps. Put your own photograph behind the clock. Choose how it tells you time is up: a sound, a screen flash, or a vibration. Set it in Settings. When you finish, send the sitting to your writing log and add a note about what you got done. WRITING LOG Words written and words cut are counted as two separate numbers, because a day spent cutting is still a day of work. See both, by day. Keep a daily streak. Assign any session to a pen name and a book, or leave it unassigned. Log a session by hand, or send one straight from the Focus timer. WORKS WITH CALAMUS Everything saves to your account. The same notes, quotes, and log are on your Mac, your iPad, and in the browser. A note assigned to a book is waiting with that book when you sit down to write. Already own Calamus? Calamus Ideas is included. Sign in with the same account. SUBSCRIPTION Calamus Ideas, $4.99 per month, auto-renewing. Payment is charged to your Apple Account automatically unless you turn off auto-renew at least 24 hours before the period ends. Manage or cancel it in your Apple Account settings. Terms of Use: https://calamusapp.com/terms Privacy Policy: https://calamusapp.com/privacy Without an active subscription you can still read everything you wrote, take a full copy of it, and delete any of it. You cannot make changes.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Calamus Ideas at every 8 days against Cloud Outliner's every 6 months. Cloud Outliner's advantage is device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, ads 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
Both are free to download. Cloud Outliner sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Calamus Ideas sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Cloud Outliner ships an update every 6 months, Calamus Ideas every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Cloud Outliner | Calamus Ideas |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (755 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 80.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 755 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 6 months | Every 8 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 23 MB | 3 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Denys Ievenko | Calamus LLC |
Bugs and requests
Cloud Outliner
Reported bugs
3 issues- Crashes and freezes on certain devices
- Issues with restoring Pro purchases on new devices
- Inconsistent syncing behavior between iOS and macOS versions
Requested features
5 requests- Add support for attaching files and images
- Improve export options beyond OPML
- Introduce a true dark mode with black text on dark background
- Add keyboard shortcuts for common actions
- Enhance the ability to move and reorganize outline items
Calamus Ideas
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Cloud Outliner
- Unlock Pro Features$4.99
Calamus Ideas
- Calamus Ideas$4.991 Month
Questions
Is Cloud Outliner free?
Is Calamus Ideas free?
Do Cloud Outliner or Calamus Ideas have ads?
Which is updated more often, Cloud Outliner or Calamus Ideas?
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