Comparison

iNote vs Plain Note

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

Head to head
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.

About

Plain Note

This app allows you to create and organize notes with customizable tags and icons. It offers lock screen and home screen widgets for quick access and supports character/line counting. Personalize your experience with themes, app icons, and fonts.

Highlights
  • Organize notes with tags
  • Customizable tag icons and colors
  • Character and line counting
  • Lock screen and home screen widgets
  • Customizable themes, app icons, and fonts
  • Archive and organize notes
Features
Read full description

"Plain Note" is a simple notes app. You can organize your notes by adding tags, and it supports lock screen and home screen widgets. It can be used on iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Features • You can categorize your notes with tags. • Customize tag icons and colors. • You can count the number of characters and lines. • Archive and organize your notes. • Widgets can be added to the lock screen and home screen. • Customize themes, App icons, and fonts. (Some features are available for a fee.) Premium (in-app purchase) • Sync data with iPhone, iPad, and Mac via iCloud. This can also be used as a backup. • All themes and App icons are available. • All tag icons are available. • All font customizations are available. *Prices may vary by country or region. Please check in the app. *Some features may not be available in all languages or regions. Terms of Use: https://monelyze.app/en/terms/ Privacy Policy: https://monelyze.app/en/privacy

Screenshots

iNote4 screens
Plain Note4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Plain Note at 4.6 against iNote's 4.1. Plain Note also leads on ads (none vs shown) and review sentiment (62% vs 49%). iNote's advantage is iOS requirement (15.6 vs 26.0). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and in-app purchases 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 and Plain Note sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Plain Note holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.1. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2.4K and 1.1K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 49% of iNote's written reviews are positive against 62% of Plain Note's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

iNote ships an update every 2 weeks, Plain Note every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on September 28, 2026 and October 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
iNote versus Plain Note: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameteriNotePlain Note
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.1 (2.4K ratings)4.6 (1.1K ratings) — better
Positive reviews49.1% of reviews62.3% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2.4K — better1.1K
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 9 days — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac — better
Requires iOS15.6 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size18 MB31 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperCONG DUC TRANMonelyze Inc.

Customer experience

iNote

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

Plain Note

All ratings1,079 ratings
Positive90.5%
Neutral3.6%
Negative5.9%
Written reviews106 reviews
Positive62.3%
Neutral13.2%
Negative24.5%

User reviews

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

Plain Note

From 1.1K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Simple and clean design
  • 💡 One-time payment model
  • 🚀 Beautifully designed notes app
  • 🚀 Intuitive and easy to use
  • 👍 Customizable tags and icons

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Notes sometimes don't save properly
  • 🐛 Slow and unreliable synchronization
  • ❌ No text formatting options (bold, italics, etc.)
  • ❌ No ability to insert photos or videos
  • ❌ No option to export notes

Bugs and requests

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

Plain Note

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Notes sometimes get deleted after updates
  • Widget not working as expected, showing wrong note

Requested features

7 requests
  • Ability to swipe widget to display another note
  • Subfolders for better organization
  • Export function to backup notes
  • Option to change app colors
  • Support for multiple notes in one widget
Show 2 more
  • Text formatting options (bold, italics, headings)
  • Ability to insert photos and videos

In-app purchases

1 purchases

iNote

One-time1
  • ColorNote Premium$4.99
3 purchases

Plain Note

Subscriptions2
  • Premium - Monthly7 Days trial$2.991 Month
  • Premium - Yearly7 Days trial$19.991 Year
One-time1
  • Premium - Lifetime$29.99

Questions

Is iNote free?
iNote is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Plain Note free?
Plain Note is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, iNote or Plain Note?
Plain Note is rated higher. iNote averages 4.1 out of 5 from 2.4K ratings, while Plain Note averages 4.6 from 1.1K ratings.
Do iNote or Plain Note have ads?
iNote shows ads; Plain Note does not.
Which is updated more often, iNote or Plain Note?
iNote ships an update every 2 weeks, and Plain Note every 9 days. Most recently, iNote was updated on September 28, 2026 and Plain Note on October 1, 2026.

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