# Notepad vs Home Screen Widget Notes

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Home Screen Widget Notes at none against Notepad's 1. Home Screen Widget Notes also leads on review sentiment (78% vs 54%) and ratings volume (22 vs 3). Notepad's advantage is update cadence (every 4 days vs monthly) and device support (3 vs 1). On price, rating and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Notepad sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Home Screen Widget Notes asks for nothing beyond the download.

Notepad holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Home Screen Widget Notes has 22 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 54% of Notepad's written reviews are positive against 78% of Home Screen Widget Notes's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Notepad ships an update every 4 days, Home Screen Widget Notes monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 9, 2026 and September 28, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Notepad | Home Screen Widget Notes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[5.0 (3 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/notepad-simplefaceidfolders/id1197879553/reviews)** | [4.8 (22 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/home-screen-widget-notes/id1542308446/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 3 | **22** |
| Positive reviews | 53.8% of reviews | **78.3% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| Update frequency | **Every 4 days** | Monthly |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Free** |
| Size | 30 MB | 20 MB |
| Requires iOS | **13.0** | 17.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Seiji Hashizume](https://appshunter.io/developer/665726532) | [App Palette LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/711326934) |

## What reviewers say

### Notepad

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/notepad-simplefaceidfolders/id1197879553)

A user-friendly notepad app for organizing notes with tabs and protecting your privacy with Face ID/Touch ID. It offers iCloud syncing, photo attachments, and easy sharing options.

**Highlights:** Face ID/Touch ID/Passcode app lock, iCloud sync across devices, Organize notes with customizable tabs, Attach photos to notes, Share notes to other apps, Quick save and reorder functionality

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Full Version | $2.99 | one-time |


### Home Screen Widget Notes

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/home-screen-widget-notes/id1542308446)

Organize your thoughts and ideas into customizable tabs for easy management.  Add images, count characters, and secure your notes with a password lock. Export your data as a text file.

**Highlights:** Home screen widget, Unlimited tabs and memos, Character count, Attach up to four images per note, Change background color, Password lock, Export note data as text file

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Notepad free?

Notepad is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Home Screen Widget Notes free?

Home Screen Widget Notes is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Notepad or Home Screen Widget Notes?

Notepad is rated higher. Notepad averages 5.0 out of 5 from 3 ratings, while Home Screen Widget Notes averages 4.8 from 22 ratings.

### Do Notepad or Home Screen Widget Notes have ads?

Both Notepad and Home Screen Widget Notes show ads.

### Which is updated more often, Notepad or Home Screen Widget Notes?

Notepad ships an update every 4 days, and Home Screen Widget Notes monthly. Most recently, Notepad was updated on September 9, 2026 and Home Screen Widget Notes on September 28, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*