Simple Notes. vs PhotoNote
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Create text notes
- Character count display
- Sort notes
- Widget support
- Instant sharing via Messages
- Automatic saving
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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.
PhotoNote
Capture information visually by taking photos instead of typing. Organize your visual notes with tabs and colored tags. Photos are stored within the app, preventing clutter in your device's photo gallery.
- Capture notes via camera
- Organize with tabs
- Categorize with colored tags
- Internal photo storage
- Reorder notes and tags
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Instead of typing letters on the keyboard, I'm sure there are times when I take a picture and use it as a note instead. However, there is a risk that the photo folder will be flooded with notes. It is this application that is useful in such a case. All you have to do is take a picture with the built-in camera. You can organize the notes you have taken with tabs. In addition, the photos you took will be saved in the app, so you won't clutter up your photo folder! Usage examples: - Receipt - Timetable - Cooking Recipes - Deadline for reports written on the blackboard - Organize the screenshot. In addition, you can separate the notes you took with colored tags for each category. Tags can be added, deleted, and reordered from the pre-prepared colors. You can also reorder your notes.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Simple Notes. at none against PhotoNote's 1. Simple Notes. also leads on ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (65 vs 2). PhotoNote's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.7) and review sentiment (100% vs 79%). On price 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
Both are free to download. PhotoNote sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $3.99 per month. Simple Notes. asks for nothing beyond the download.
PhotoNote holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Simple Notes. has 65 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 79% of Simple Notes.'s written reviews are positive against 100% of PhotoNote's.
Simple Notes. ships an update every 2 months, PhotoNote every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Simple Notes. | PhotoNote |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (65 ratings) | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 78.6% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 65 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 6 MB | 56 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Yuto Iwakami | Satoshi Kobayashi |
Customer experience
Simple Notes.
PhotoNote
In-app purchases
Simple Notes.
No in-app purchases
PhotoNote
- Pro plan$3.991 Month
Questions
Is Simple Notes. free?
Is PhotoNote free?
Which has better reviews, Simple Notes. or PhotoNote?
Do Simple Notes. or PhotoNote have ads?
Which is updated more often, Simple Notes. or PhotoNote?
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