Comparison

Simple Notes. vs Notes and Folders

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

Head to head
About

Simple Notes.

This app offers a straightforward way to create, manage, and share text-based notes. It focuses on essential features like character counting and sorting, with seamless integration for sharing via messaging apps.

Highlights
  • Create text notes
  • Character count display
  • Sort notes
  • Widget support
  • Instant sharing via Messages
  • Automatic saving
Features
Read full description

Simple Notes. is exactly what it sounds like: a simple app for taking notes. It focuses on everyday essentials. No grids, camera, or audio—just text, with easy ways to organize and share it. Write a note and it saves automatically as you type. The first line becomes its title. Search your notes, star favorites, sort by favorites, date, or title, and tap the counter to switch between character and word counts. Keep notes close with widgets. Show a note you choose or browse a list of recent notes. Tap a note in a widget to open it in the app. FEATURES - Create and automatically save text notes - Count characters or words - Search, star, and sort notes - View a selected note or recent notes with widgets - Share notes as text or as a .txt file - Add a note to a Messages conversation, with the option to include its title - Create or retrieve notes with Shortcuts app - Create note or search using Siri HOW TO USE Create a note: Tap “Create New Note” and start typing. Your changes save automatically. Delete a note: Swipe left on it and tap Delete. Sort notes: Tap the menu button and choose Favorites, Date, or Title. Share in Messages: Open Simple Notes. from the Messages app drawer, choose a conversation and a note, then tap Send. Use the switch at the top to include or leave out the title. Have a suggestion? Please leave a review on the App Store or send feedback through the app.

About

Notes and Folders

Organize your thoughts and memories with this note-taking app. Create nested folders for notes and photos, lock sensitive entries with a passcode, and easily search your content. It also includes a built-in web browser for capturing online information.

Highlights
  • Nested folder organization
  • Attach multiple photos to notes
  • Passcode lock with Face/Touch ID
  • Auto-save functionality
  • Built-in web browser
  • Searchable notes
  • Share Extension support
Features
Read full description

Over 240,000 downloads worldwide! Notes and Folders is a simple notepad that lets you organize notes and photos with folders. You can also lock your notes with a passcode. FOLDERS - Organize your notes with folders - Create folders inside folders NOTES - Attach multiple photos to a note - Character count - Auto-save while editing - Editing buttons: copy & paste, undo, select, and arrow keys - Built-in web browser to add text and screenshots of web pages to your notes DIARY - Write a diary entry for any date - Read a whole month of entries at once OTHERS - Widget - Passcode lock (Face ID and Touch ID supported) - Search notes - Share notes to other apps - Save text and images from other apps (Share Extension) - Theme colors - Adjustable text size - iPad support - Backup with Dropbox - Backup with a computer URL SCHEME notesandfolders:// BACKUP You can back up your notes with Dropbox, or with a computer (Finder on Mac, or the Apple Devices app or iTunes on Windows). For details, see FAQ > "About Backup" in the app's settings. ADS This app shows banner ads, and a full-screen ad only once a day (every 24 hours). Ads are not shown after purchasing ad removal.

Screenshots

Simple Notes.4 screens
Notes and Folders4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Simple Notes. at none against Notes and Folders's 1. Simple Notes. also leads on ads (none vs shown) and iOS requirement (15 vs 18.0). Notes and Folders's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs every 2 months) and ratings volume (304 vs 65). On price, rating, review sentiment and device support 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. Notes and Folders sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Simple Notes. asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Simple Notes. against 4.5 for Notes and Folders. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 65 and 304 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 79% of Simple Notes.'s written reviews are positive against 80% of Notes and Folders's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Simple Notes. ships an update every 2 months, Notes and Folders fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and November 11, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Simple Notes. versus Notes and Folders: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSimple Notes.Notes and Folders
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (65 ratings) — better4.5 (304 ratings)
Positive reviews78.6% of reviews80.4% of reviews — better
Number of ratings65304 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size6 MB17 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperYuto IwakamiKinkumaDesign

Customer experience

Simple Notes.

All ratings64 ratings
Positive92.2%
Neutral4.7%
Negative3.1%
Written reviews14 reviews
Positive78.6%
Neutral14.3%
Negative7.1%

Notes and Folders

All ratings304 ratings
Positive87.5%
Neutral5.9%
Negative6.6%
Written reviews97 reviews
Positive80.4%
Neutral12.4%
Negative7.2%

In-app purchases

None

Simple Notes.

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Notes and Folders

One-time1
  • Remove Ads$3.99

Questions

Is Simple Notes. free?
Simple Notes. is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Notes and Folders free?
Notes and Folders is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Simple Notes. or Notes and Folders?
Simple Notes. is rated higher. Simple Notes. averages 4.7 out of 5 from 65 ratings, while Notes and Folders averages 4.5 from 304 ratings.
Do Simple Notes. or Notes and Folders have ads?
Notes and Folders shows ads; Simple Notes. does not.
Which is updated more often, Simple Notes. or Notes and Folders?
Simple Notes. ships an update every 2 months, and Notes and Folders fortnightly. Most recently, Simple Notes. was updated on November 2, 2026 and Notes and Folders on November 11, 2026.

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