Comparison

Gladys vs NeatNotes

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

Head to head
About

Gladys

This app acts as a drag-and-drop shelf to temporarily store various types of information, like links, text, and images, from any app. It allows for quick saving without switching contexts and offers features like search, annotation, and iCloud syncing. It also supports collaboration and advanced data manipulation for technical users.

Highlights
  • Drag-and-drop item saving
  • Search and Spotlight integration
  • Home screen/Today widget access
  • Item annotation and tagging
  • iCloud syncing
  • Collaborative editing
  • Hex viewer for technical users
Read full description

Gladys is a drag-and-drop shelf that holds things you want to set aside, such as links, text snippets, map locations, contacts, images, photos, emails, messages and much more (even if the application that the information came from is removed) It works with any app that supports drag-and-drop, and helps keep you focused by letting you quickly set something aside, without having to consider where it needs to be dropped, or having to constantly switch between apps. • Works with any app that supports drag-and-drop, but also provides an extension for apps that don't yet support it, as well as the ability to paste items to & from the clipboard. • Quickly search for items inside the app or via Spotlight. Access your top items from the home screen / Today widget, your Apple Watch, and even iMessage. • Annotate items with notes, custom titles, and tag items with labels that allow you to easily categorise, browse, and sort your collection. • Take your collection with you on your iPhone, and keep it updated by turning on automatic iCloud syncing. • Invite friends to keep items from your own collection in their own collections, and, if you give permission, even collaboratively annotate and edit them. • Import/export/merge collection archives simply by dragging. • Ideal for bookmarking between apps: For example you can quickly return to dropped email items by selecting 'Open' in their info view, quickly share links between different browsers, or use Siri shortcuts to copy often-used items to and from your clipboard. • Experienced users can get details on dropped items and extract or modify specific data components (e.g. extract the URL of an image link, instead of the whole item, add a new image, or edit the title). • Technical users can inspect binary data using the in-built hex viewer, download items pointed to by web links, and even archive web pages. • Contains no analytics, ratings prompts, or noise.

About

NeatNotes

Organize and take notes quickly with a clean interface. See full note previews, customize note styles, and set reminders. Features smart grouping and automatic link title generation.

Highlights
  • Full note previews
  • Customizable note styles (plain, sticky, lined)
  • Home screen widgets
  • Paragraph-based reminders
  • Smart Stacks for automatic note grouping
  • Readable link titles
  • Photo integration
Features
Read full description

Less is more, when it’s done right. NeatNotes gives you only what you need to organize and take notes quickly. While other apps show you a really tiny preview, with NeatNotes you can see the real note before you open it. This makes the app more fun and easier to find your notes. Make your notes personal with three different note styles. * A plain note, with extensive formatting options. * A sticky note, with large fonts, colors and checklists. * A lined note for that nostalgic yellow pad. Mini Spreadsheets. No Tables. NeatNotes lets you perform spreadsheet-like calculations directly in your notes. Type a simple math expression and the answer is suggested underneath it. Reuse a number by dragging and dropping it elsewhere in your note. This creates a reference, so when you change the original number, every reference and related calculation updates automatically. Make a list of numbers and the total is suggested above the keyboard. You can then calculate splits and averages or count the lines in a list. You can also use units of measurement for length, volume, weight and temperature in your calculations. Convert between more than 150 fiat currencies, popular cryptocurrencies, gold and silver using the latest available exchange rates. Widgets that make sense. You can see your notes on your Home Screen with widgets. You can navigate your note by paragraph, check off checklist items, open links and even see photos in your notes. Create Multiple Reminders. Make any paragraph a reminder. Just tap the bell icon on the keyboard and you can set the date and time of the reminder. It will ring and notify you on the lock screen. When you tap the reminder, it will open the note and take you to the paragraph where you set it. Smart Stacks. All notes apps let you search your notes, but Smart Stacks takes it to the next level. 
 Smart Stacks automatically groups notes that share a trait, into one stack — like notes with contact info, or notes with checklists. You can also enter any word, and it’ll create a stack, with all the notes that contains the word. Photos and Readable links. You can add photos to your notes from your phone camera or photo library. You can even copy and paste them from another app like Safari. When you copy and paste a link, it automatically gets a readable title. So instead of seeing a complicated URL you see the title. This makes it easier for you to understand what the link is about rather than having to visit the link every time. No account needed. Use iCloud to Store and Sync. You don’t need to create another account. Just download the app and start using it. All your notes are automatically stored in iCloud and synced to other devices in your account. Privacy Your notes are extremely personal and we can't see them. In fact we don't even store them. Apple does in iCloud. We recommend that you turn on "Advanced Data Protection" in your iCloud settings, if you wish to prevent even Apple from having access to your notes.

Screenshots

Gladys4 screens
NeatNotes4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Gladys at none against NeatNotes's shown. Gladys also leads on ratings volume (149 vs 37) and device support (4 vs 2). NeatNotes's advantage is update cadence (every 4 days vs every 2 months) and monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). On price 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. Gladys sells 5 one-off in-app purchases and NeatNotes sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

NeatNotes holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 149 and 37 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 84% of Gladys's written reviews are positive against 100% of NeatNotes's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Gladys ships an update every 2 months, NeatNotes every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on July 27, 2026 and September 17, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
Gladys versus NeatNotes: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGladysNeatNotes
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (149 ratings)5.0 (37 ratings) — better
Positive reviews83.5% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings149 — better37
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 4 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Vision Pro — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.0 — better18.2
Further details — not scored
Size22 MB32 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPavlos TsochantarisFusion Engineering

Customer experience

Gladys

All ratings149 ratings
Positive91.3%
Neutral5.4%
Negative3.4%
Written reviews79 reviews
Positive83.5%
Neutral6.3%
Negative10.1%

NeatNotes

All ratings37 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews7 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

5 purchases

Gladys

One-time5
  • Smile Tip$0.99
  • Blush Tip$1.99
  • Hug Tip$4.99
Show 2 more
  • Gasp Tip$9.99
  • Scream Tip$19.99
1 purchases

NeatNotes

One-time1
  • Lifetime Unlock$7.99

Questions

Is Gladys free?
Gladys is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is NeatNotes free?
NeatNotes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Gladys or NeatNotes?
NeatNotes is rated higher. Gladys averages 4.7 out of 5 from 149 ratings, while NeatNotes averages 5.0 from 37 ratings.
Do Gladys or NeatNotes have ads?
NeatNotes shows ads; Gladys does not.
Which is updated more often, Gladys or NeatNotes?
Gladys ships an update every 2 months, and NeatNotes every 4 days. Most recently, Gladys was updated on July 27, 2026 and NeatNotes on September 17, 2026.

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