Comparison

Notes vs Notes

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

Notes

Capture ideas, plan events, and manage tasks with this versatile note-taking app. Organize notes with custom views, filters, and priority pinning. Enjoy voice notes, file attachments, and secure local accounts.

Highlights
  • Voice notes
  • Checklist creation
  • File attachments
  • Drag and drop organization
  • Board and list views
  • Local accounts
  • Day/night modes
Features
Read full description

Notes — simple notes, reminders and ideas in one app Capture ideas, plan events and keep important lists in one place. Notes helps you stay organized — from quick thoughts to important tasks with reminders. Write, draw and organize everything your way. At home, at work or on the go — your notes are always with you. Main features: • Notes with reminders • Drawing and sketch notes • Easy organization with lists • Board and list views • Filters and pinning • Simple drag-and-drop controls • Local accounts without restrictions • Light and dark modes Pro features: • Voice notes • Unlimited file attachments • Checklists inside notes • Full backup and restore • App lock • Note forwarding and sharing • Printing No ads or annoying pop-ups — just a clean and intuitive interface. Works offline for better privacy, security and stability. Download Notes and manage your ideas, plans and daily tasks with ease. Terms of Use: https://calenhub.com/note_terms_of_use.html

Screenshots

Notes4 screens
Notes4 screens

Verdict

The call

Notes and Notes both sit at 4.8 stars, but that hides the real split: 100% of Notes's written reviews are positive against 51% of Notes's. Notes also leads on update cadence (every 3 months vs every 9 months). Notes's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and ratings volume (641K vs 8). On price, rating, 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. Notes sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.49 per month. Notes asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Notes against 4.9 for Notes. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Notes has 641K ratings behind it against 8, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 51% of Notes's written reviews are positive against 100% of Notes's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Notes ships an update every 9 months, Notes every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Notes versus Notes: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNotesNotes
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (641K ratings)4.9 (8 ratings) — better
Positive reviews51.2% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings641K — better8
Update frequencyEvery 9 monthsEvery 3 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch, Vision Pro — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.0 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size6 MB155 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperApplePlanning Technologies LLC

Customer experience

Notes

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

Notes

All ratings8 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

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

Notes

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Notes

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Notes

Subscriptions2
  • Full Access for a Month$1.491 Month
  • Full Access for a Year7 Days trial$11.991 Year
One-time1
  • Full Access Forever$24.99

Questions

Is Notes free?
Notes is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Notes free?
Notes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Notes or Notes?
Notes is rated higher. Notes averages 4.8 out of 5 from 641K ratings, while Notes averages 4.9 from 8 ratings.
Do Notes or Notes have ads?
Neither Notes nor Notes shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Notes or Notes?
Notes ships an update every 9 months, and Notes every 3 months. Most recently, Notes was updated on September 24, 2026 and Notes on September 21, 2026.

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