Comparison

Colored Notes Simple vs Sticky Widgets

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Colored Notes Simple

Organize your thoughts and reminders with a vibrant and intuitive note-taking experience. Customize your notes with colors and set timely notifications to never miss an appointment or task. Enjoy a simple yet engaging way to manage your daily information.

Highlights
  • Colorful note customization
  • Appointment and meeting tracking
  • Customizable notification reminders
  • Checklist functionality
  • Intuitive user interface
Features
Read full description

Colorful notes, shopping lists and reminders in one simple, fast app. Color Notes makes writing things down a pleasure: every note has its own color, you spot it at a glance in the grid, and reminders make sure you never forget anything. - Colors: give each note a color - groceries, work, ideas, home. - Checklists: turn a note into a list with one tap and tick off what is done. - Reminders: pick a date and time and get a notification at the right moment. - Pinned notes: keep the important ones always at the top. - Search: find any word in an instant. - 14 themes: gradients that change the look of the whole app. - Widget: your notes on the Home Screen, with a plus button to start a new one. - Text size: small, medium or large. - Sharing: send a note or a list with one tap. - Privacy: everything stays on your iPhone and iPad, no account needed. Remembering things has never been so much fun. Color Notes is free to download and use. Some extra features are available through an optional one-time in-app purchase: pay once and keep it forever, with no subscription and nothing that renews. Purchases are handled by the App Store and can be restored on any device signed in with the same Apple ID. Privacy: https://sites.google.com/site/termofuseapp/ Terms: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Sticky Widgets

Easily add customizable sticky notes to your home screen and lock screen. Sync notes across devices with iCloud and integrate with Siri and Shortcuts for quick access and updates. Personalize your notes with various fonts, colors, and styles.

Highlights
  • Home screen sticky notes
  • Lock screen pinning (premium)
  • iCloud sync
  • Customizable appearance (color, font, size)
  • Siri and Shortcuts integration
  • Multiple widget sizes
Features
Read full description

"It's perfect, honestly." - Myke Hurley, Connected "What makes Sticky Widgets great is the simplicity of the experience." - Ryan Christoffel, MacStories "This is a great concept." - Dave Mark, The Loop Welcome to Sticky Widgets, the absolute easiest way to put a sticky note on your home screen and edit it quickly. Add as many Sticky Widgets as you'd like, in every widget size. It's simple! It works on iPad! You can even pin notes to your Lock Screen with a premium subscription so they're visible even when your phone is locked! 1. Add a Sticky Widget to your home screen 2. Tap on the widget to edit it 3. That's about it! But that's not all. Once you have a widget in place, you can customize it: change color, background, font, alignment, size, even rotation! And your widgets now sync to your iCloud account, meaning you can put a note on multiple devices logged into the same Apple ID and they'll stay in sync. Sticky Widgets supports deep system integration with Siri, Shortcuts, the Dynamic Island, and more so there are even more ways to view and update your notes and lists. Sticky Widgets is free to download and use. You get unlimited widgets, three classic background colors, three fonts, iCloud sync, Siri and Shortcuts integration, and full control over alignment, size, and rotation: all without paying a thing. An optional upgrade unlocks everything else: the full color picker with any color you want, gradients and mesh gradients, hundreds of additional fonts, custom text colors, Lock Screen pinning, separate styling for light and dark mode, saved presets, the ability to restore archived notes, scheduled reminders, and no ads. Premium features can be accessed with a monthly, quarterly, or annual subscription, or with a one-time purchase. The Sticky Widgets Terms of Use and Privacy Policy can be found at https://www.tylerhillsman.com/privacy-sw/. The Apple EULA can be found at https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Colored Notes Simple4 screens
Sticky Widgets4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Sticky Widgets at 4.6 against Colored Notes Simple's 2.4. Sticky Widgets also leads on review sentiment (40% vs 0%) and ads (none vs shown). Colored Notes Simple's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 5). On price, device support and iOS requirement 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Sticky Widgets sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $1.49 per month. Colored Notes Simple asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Sticky Widgets holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 2.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Sticky Widgets has 30K ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 0% of Colored Notes Simple's written reviews are positive against 40% of Sticky Widgets's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Colored Notes Simple ships an update every 6 months, Sticky Widgets every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Colored Notes Simple versus Sticky Widgets: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterColored Notes SimpleSticky Widgets
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.4 (5 ratings)4.6 (30K ratings) — better
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews40.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings530K — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationAd-supported — betterFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Vision Pro — better
Requires iOS16.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size6 MB93 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developerluca calciano1881 Digital, LLC

Customer experience

Colored Notes Simple

All ratings5 ratings
Positive20.0%
Neutral40.0%
Negative40.0%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral40.0%
Negative60.0%

Sticky Widgets

All ratings29,517 ratings
Positive88.9%
Neutral4.0%
Negative7.1%
Written reviews922 reviews
Positive40.5%
Neutral11.0%
Negative48.6%

Bugs and requests

Colored Notes Simple

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Sticky Widgets

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Notes randomly disappearing
  • Editing issues where changes don't save
  • Widgets not updating properly
  • Crashes and freezes after recent updates

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add checklist functionality
  • Improve syncing across devices
  • Allow rearranging of notes
  • Provide better note organization options
  • Add support for more languages

In-app purchases

None

Colored Notes Simple

No in-app purchases

5 purchases

Sticky Widgets

Subscriptions3
  • Upgrade - Monthly7 Days trial$1.491 Month
  • Upgrade - Quarterly7 Days trial$2.993 Months
  • Upgrade - Annual7 Days trial$8.991 Year
One-time2
  • Classic$2.99
  • Upgrade - One-Time Option$19.99

Questions

Is Colored Notes Simple free?
Colored Notes Simple is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Sticky Widgets free?
Sticky Widgets is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Colored Notes Simple or Sticky Widgets?
Sticky Widgets is rated higher. Colored Notes Simple averages 2.4 out of 5 from 5 ratings, while Sticky Widgets averages 4.6 from 30K ratings.
Do Colored Notes Simple or Sticky Widgets have ads?
Colored Notes Simple shows ads; Sticky Widgets does not.
Which is updated more often, Colored Notes Simple or Sticky Widgets?
Colored Notes Simple ships an update every 6 months, and Sticky Widgets every 2 weeks. Most recently, Colored Notes Simple was updated on September 22, 2026 and Sticky Widgets on September 24, 2026.

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