Comparison

Notes vs iNote

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

iNote

Organize your thoughts, tasks, and lists using a vibrant color-coding system. Add images, set reminders, and sync across devices with iCloud. View notes in various layouts and even pin them to your Today Board widget.

Highlights
  • Organize notes by color
  • Attach photos to notes
  • iCloud sync and backup
  • Checklist notes for to-do lists
  • Reminders and calendar view
  • Pin notes to Today Board widget
Features
Read full description

iNote Free is a simple and quick sticky notepad app. This helps you organize your notes, memos, messages, emails, shopping lists, check lists and to-do lists by COLOR. Taking color notes with iNote is never easier than before. MANAGE NOTE BY COLOR Each note has a main color so you can group these notes by a color-category in a professional way like: memos, to-do lists, shopping lists, emails, travels, and ideas... ADD IMAGES TO NOTE Notes now can attach photos. All photos are sync with iCloud too. DISPLAY NOTE WITH MANY OPTIONS You can view your notes in grid (like sticky note), quick list, or detail list. This app helps you sort notes by color, remind time, updated time, created time, or title name. So you can view these note quickly and super easily. SYNC WITH ICLOUD, NEVER LOST YOUR NOTE Your notes is sync with your iCloud account, so you can take note on iPhone and use on your iPad and vise versa. You will never lost note because your data is saved on iCloud. BACKUP & IMPORT EASILY You can backup your data, send via email then import them on all of your devices when ever you want. This app supports importing notes from ColorNote app on other devices, so you will never miss your notes. FAST CREATE TODO LIST In the checklist mode, you can take note quickly and re-arrange to-do items easily. When clicking on each item, you can check or un-check as done by a quick tap. Checked item will be slashed like the way you check them on your notebook. REMIND AND CALENDAR With each note, you can add a reminder. Then the app will notify you when the even happens. You can also repeat these events daily, weekly, monthly or yearly depend on your settings. And you can view these events in calendar mode. It will help you have a quick view of events on specific month and day. PIN ON TODAY BOARD WIDGET You now can pin notes on to Today Board up to 12 notes, then you can access these note every where, at any time you need from Notification Center. KEY FEATURES: - Organize notes by color, display with many layout options - Attach photos to note - Sync with iCloud, backup and import notes - Checklist notes for To do list and Shopping list - Remind notes and calendar - Pin notes on Today Board iNote supports up to 12 languages: English, Vietnamese, Spanish, Japanese, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, German, French, Turkish, Portuguese, Russian, Italian. The list will be continue updated.

Screenshots

Notes4 screens
iNote4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Notes at 4.8 against iNote's 4.1. Notes also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ads (none vs shown). iNote's advantage is update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 9 months). On price, review sentiment 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. iNote sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Notes asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Notes holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Notes has 663K ratings behind it against 2.4K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 52% of Notes's written reviews are positive against 49% of iNote's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Notes ships an update every 9 months, iNote every 2 weeks. Both last shipped on November 1, 2026.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Notes versus iNote: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNotesiNote
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (663K ratings) — better4.1 (2.4K ratings)
Positive reviews51.8% of reviews — better49.1% of reviews
Number of ratings663K — better2.4K
Update frequencyEvery 9 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch, Vision Pro — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.0 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size6 MB18 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAppleCONG DUC TRAN

Customer experience

Notes

All ratings660,569 ratings
Positive96.4%
Neutral1.4%
Negative2.2%
Written reviews5,098 reviews
Positive51.8%
Neutral10.7%
Negative37.5%

iNote

All ratings2,352 ratings
Positive77.8%
Neutral6.5%
Negative15.7%
Written reviews821 reviews
Positive49.1%
Neutral14.3%
Negative36.7%

User reviews

Notes

From 663K 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

iNote

From 2.4K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 💡 Color-coded notes for organization
  • 🔒 Ability to lock individual notes
  • 👍 Simple and easy to use
  • 🚀 Seamless syncing across devices

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and app freezes
  • 🔍 Difficulty finding and editing notes
  • 💸 Excessive ads in free version
  • 🔋 Drains battery quickly

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

iNote

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Notes disappearing after updates
  • White text on white background making notes unreadable
  • Inability to rearrange items in checklists

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add undo/redo functionality
  • Improve search and filtering options
  • Allow custom font and text formatting
  • Provide backup and restore options

In-app purchases

None

Notes

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

iNote

One-time1
  • ColorNote Premium$4.99

Questions

Is Notes free?
Notes is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is iNote free?
iNote is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Notes or iNote?
Notes is rated higher. Notes averages 4.8 out of 5 from 663K ratings, while iNote averages 4.1 from 2.4K ratings.
Do Notes or iNote have ads?
iNote shows ads; Notes does not.
Which is updated more often, Notes or iNote?
Notes ships an update every 9 months, and iNote every 2 weeks. Most recently, Notes was updated on November 1, 2026 and iNote on November 1, 2026.

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