# Whale Notes vs Simple Word Memory

The clearest difference is update cadence: Whale Notes at every 5 months against Simple Word Memory's every 14 months. Whale Notes also leads on device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 17.0). On price, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Whale Notes sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per 3 months and Simple Word Memory sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Whale Notes ships an update every 5 months, Simple Word Memory every 14 months. The most recent releases landed on September 28, 2026 and September 29, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Whale Notes | Simple Word Memory |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.8 (34 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/whale-notes/id1025272002/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **34** | — |
| Positive reviews | 50.0% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 5 months** | Every 14 months |
| Monetization | Freemium | — |
| Size | 24 MB | 3 MB |
| Requires iOS | **13.0** | 17.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone |
| Age rating | 4+ | 9+ |
| Developer | [Thi Vo](https://appshunter.io/developer/1020296413) | [复星 张](https://appshunter.io/developer/1756737734) |

## What reviewers say

### Whale Notes

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/whale-notes/id1025272002)

Easily record new vocabulary words, their meanings, and example sentences. Sync notes across devices with cloud backup. Offers tools for word definition lookup to help you build a daily learning habit.

**Highlights:** Record new words and meanings, Add example sentences, Cloud backup and sync, Offline functionality, Word definition lookup, Daily learning habit tracker

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (5)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Premium 3 months | $2.99 | per 3 months |
| Premium 6 months | $4.99 | per 6 months |
| Premium 12 months | $8.99 | per year |
| 200 notes | $1.99 | one-time |
| 500 Notes | $2.99 | one-time |


### Simple Word Memory

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/simple-word-memory/id6695736621)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Lifetime Membership | $0.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Whale Notes free?

Whale Notes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Simple Word Memory free?

Simple Word Memory is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Do Whale Notes or Simple Word Memory have ads?

Neither Whale Notes nor Simple Word Memory shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Whale Notes or Simple Word Memory?

Whale Notes ships an update every 5 months, and Simple Word Memory every 14 months. Most recently, Whale Notes was updated on September 28, 2026 and Simple Word Memory on September 29, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*