Comparison

Notes vs Sticky Notes + Widget Memo

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

Head to head
About

Notes

Capture your thoughts, ideas, and important information with a versatile note-taking app. Attach various file types, scan documents, create checklists, and even sketch directly within your notes. Organize with folders, tags, and smart searches, and collaborate with others on shared notes.

Highlights
  • Add attachments (PDFs, images, links)
  • Scan paper documents
  • Create checklists
  • Sketch with finger or stylus
  • Search text in notes and handwriting
  • Collaborate on shared notes
  • Quick Note feature
Features
Read full description

Notes is the best place to jot down quick thoughts or to save longer notes filled with checklists, images, web links, scanned documents, handwritten notes, or sketches. And with iCloud, it's easy to keep all your devices in sync, so you’ll always have your notes with you. Features Powerful note-taking • Add attachments - PDFs, photos, maps, web links, and more. • Record and transcribe audio directly into a note. • Scan paper documents with the built-in document scanner. • Secure sensitive or personal data in a locked note. • Create checklists. Make a grocery list, a wish list, or a to-do list, then tap to check off items as you go. • Apply different text styles, such as heading or body, bulleted lists, highlighting, and more. • Tap next to section headers to reveal a chevron to collapse text. • Add tables to quickly organize information. • Use your finger, or Apple Pencil on a compatible iPad, to sketch right in your note or an inline PDF. Choose from a variety of brush styles and colors, and add lines and grids to a note for easier writing and drawing. • Take a Quick Note without opening the app - add Quick Note to your Control Center, swipe up from the bottom right corner with an Apple Pencil on iPad, or use Fn-Q on a keyboard. Organize and search • Search for text in notes, your handwriting, and even inside scanned documents and photos like receipts or bills. • Link from one note to another to connect ideas, content, or any information. Try typing >> for a shortcut to add links while writing in your note. • Keep your notes in folders and subfolders, or add tags to categorize them. Type or handwrite tags directly in your note - like #cooking or #expenses. • Automatically organize notes in a Smart Folder based on filters. Create rules to filter for Date Created, Checklists, Attachments, and more. Collaborate • Collaborate on entire shared folders or on specific shared notes. • Mention friends to notify them of important updates and link them directly to a shared note. • See what others added into a shared note while you were away with Activity view, a day-to-day list summary of activity from each collaborator. Notes for Apple Watch • View all of your iCloud notes right from your wrist; you can also pin notes, complete checklist items, or create new notes with dictation or Siri. Certain features are available only in select languages and regions.

About

Sticky Notes + Widget Memo

Organize your thoughts with customizable stickies and widgets. Create typed or handwritten notes, organize them with colored folders, and set reminders. Sync across devices and protect your data with password locks.

Highlights
  • Customizable home screen widgets
  • Colored folders and sub-folders
  • Handwritten and typed notes
  • Note sharing
  • Password protection
  • iCloud sync and backup
  • Customizable backgrounds and icons
Features
Read full description

Boost your productivity with these simple and fun colored notes reminders. Customize your home screen with colorful stickies and folders widgets. Take manual backups to keep your note safe just in case. Organize notes with colored folders and sub-folders to efficiently classify your information. Take hand written notes and doodle along with typed once. Share notes as text or a drawing to other supporting apps. Manage deleted items and restore notes you thought you will not need again. Protect and lock your notes and folders with a password. Search for notes and folders if they are out of your sight. Pop your notes with custom backgrounds, or mark the notes with an icon to specify an importance, to classify the information in it, or just for fun. Sort your notes and folders automatically by various criteria, or move them around manually. Type your notes with custom fonts. Schedule reminders notifications in your notes to be reminded of important events. Sync and backup your notes in your iCloud account, so you will be able to access your notes across your iCloud enabled devices. Enjoy the app with no ads and no subscriptions. Sticky Notes is available to you for free for a trial period of 7 days. Mac floating notes version of the app is sold separately.

Screenshots

Notes4 screens
Sticky Notes + Widget Memo4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Notes at 4.8 against Sticky Notes + Widget Memo's 2.9. Notes also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 7) and ratings volume (641K vs 69). Sticky Notes + Widget Memo's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 9 months). On price, review sentiment, ads 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 Notes + Widget Memo sells 7 one-off in-app purchases. Notes asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Notes holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 2.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Notes has 641K ratings behind it against 69, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 51% of Notes's written reviews are positive against 48% of Sticky Notes + Widget Memo's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Notes ships an update every 9 months, Sticky Notes + Widget Memo every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Notes versus Sticky Notes + Widget Memo: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNotesSticky Notes + Widget Memo
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (641K ratings) — better2.9 (69 ratings)
Positive reviews51.2% of reviews — better47.9% of reviews
Number of ratings641K — better69
Update frequencyEvery 9 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch, Vision Pro — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size6 MB14 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAppleAlina Vetrov

Customer experience

Notes

All ratings640,678 ratings
Positive96.5%
Neutral1.4%
Negative2.2%
Written reviews4,901 reviews
Positive51.2%
Neutral10.9%
Negative37.9%

Sticky Notes + Widget Memo

All ratings69 ratings
Positive43.5%
Neutral10.1%
Negative46.4%
Written reviews411 reviews
Positive47.9%
Neutral16.5%
Negative35.5%

User reviews

Notes

From 641K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 📝 Versatile note-taking app
  • 🔒 Secure with password/biometric lock
  • 🌐 Seamless sync across devices
  • 🚀 Quick and responsive
  • 📂 Organized with folders and tags

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and glitches
  • 🔍 Difficulty finding/retrieving notes
  • 🔋 High battery drain when using Apple Pencil
  • 📝 Limited formatting options (font, color, etc.)
  • 🔒 Password reset issues with locked notes

Sticky Notes + Widget Memo

From 69 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Easy to use
  • 👍 Helpful for organization
  • 🚀 Convenient widget
  • 🚀 Variety of note styles
  • 👍 Simple and intuitive

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Sync issues
  • 💰 Paid features required
  • 🐛 Handwriting recognition problems
  • 🐛 Notes disappearing
  • 🐛 Laggy performance

Bugs and requests

Notes

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Notes randomly disappearing or not syncing
  • Cursor jumping around when editing text
  • Typing lag and performance issues
  • Inconsistent behavior when adding images
  • Formatting problems when pasting content

Requested features

6 requests
  • Add undo/redo functionality
  • Improve table formatting and calculations
  • Allow custom folder colors and icons
  • Implement a page view for longer notes
  • Integrate with Reminders app for to-do lists
Show 1 more
  • Provide more drawing/annotation tools

Sticky Notes + Widget Memo

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Widgets not loading properly
  • Handwriting not registering correctly
  • Notes not saving or syncing
  • Overlapping text and drawings

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add reminders and calendar integration
  • Allow more customization of notes (fonts, colors, layouts)
  • Improve widget functionality and customization
  • Add ability to insert images and files
  • Implement better organization tools (folders, tags, etc.)

In-app purchases

None

Notes

No in-app purchases

7 purchases

Sticky Notes + Widget Memo

One-time7
  • School Theme Pack$0.99
  • Outdoors Theme Pack$0.99
  • Pen Tool Extension$0.99
Show 4 more
  • Fonts Pack$0.99
  • Creepy Theme Pack$0.99
  • iCloud Sync$2.99
  • Sticky Notes Pro$8.99

Questions

Is Notes free?
Notes is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Sticky Notes + Widget Memo free?
Sticky Notes + Widget Memo is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Notes or Sticky Notes + Widget Memo?
Notes is rated higher. Notes averages 4.8 out of 5 from 641K ratings, while Sticky Notes + Widget Memo averages 2.9 from 69 ratings.
Do Notes or Sticky Notes + Widget Memo have ads?
Neither Notes nor Sticky Notes + Widget Memo shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Notes or Sticky Notes + Widget Memo?
Notes ships an update every 9 months, and Sticky Notes + Widget Memo every 3 weeks. Most recently, Notes was updated on September 24, 2026 and Sticky Notes + Widget Memo on September 23, 2026.

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