# IoT OnOff vs Joplin

The clearest difference is rating: Joplin at 4.1 against IoT OnOff's 3.5. Joplin also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 3) and ratings volume (480 vs 14). IoT OnOff's advantage is iOS requirement (11.0 vs 15.6). On price, update cadence, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. IoT OnOff sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Joplin asks for nothing beyond the download.

Joplin holds the better App Store score, 4.1 against 3.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Joplin has 480 ratings behind it against 14, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 48% of IoT OnOff's written reviews are positive against 66% of Joplin's.

IoT OnOff ships an update every 3 weeks, Joplin monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | IoT OnOff | Joplin |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [3.5 (14 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/iot-onoff/id1267226555/reviews) | **[4.1 (480 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/joplin/id1315599797/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 14 | **480** |
| Positive reviews | 48.5% of reviews | **66.5% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 3 weeks** | Monthly |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Free** |
| Size | 19 MB | 73 MB |
| Requires iOS | **11.0** | 15.6 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Kris Van Hoye](https://appshunter.io/developer/1267226554) | [Laurent Cozic](https://appshunter.io/developer/1315599796) |

## What reviewers say

### IoT OnOff

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/iot-onoff/id1267226555)

Monitor and control your Internet of Things projects with this app. It offers interactive widgets for data presentation and in-app configuration. Supports JSON formatted MQTT messages and includes a demo configuration for immediate use.

**Highlights:** Interactive widgets for IoT data, In-app configuration, JSON formatted MQTT message handling, Customizable themes, Multiple dashboards, Auto reconnect to MQTT broker, Topic builder with autocomplete

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Premium edition | $2.99 | one-time |
| JSON parser | $2.99 | one-time |
| Storage Manager | $2.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Works well with MQTT
- 🚀 Fast and responsive GUI
- 👍 Configurable interface
- 👍 Good for prototyping
- 👍 Works with local brokers

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Inconsistent responsiveness
- 🐛 UI issues on modern iPhones
- 🐛 Buttons hard to tap
- 🐛 Graph widgets limited
- 🐛 Lacks documentation

**Reported bugs**

- Icons sometimes not working
- App does not respond to screen clicks
- Cannot save groups or add items
- Storage Manager does not see saved configs
- Interface forces users to keep tapping

**Requested features**

- Add shortcuts for voice commands
- Add momentary push button widget
- Add more colorful widgets
- Add datalogger widget
- Add ability to connect to multiple brokers simultaneously


### Joplin

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/joplin/id1315599797)

A privacy-focused note-taking and to-do application that allows you to capture multimedia notes, organize them with notebooks and tags, and sync across devices. It offers end-to-end encryption and an offline-first approach for secure and accessible information management.

**Highlights:** Capture multimedia notes (speech, photos, videos, PDFs), Organize notes with notebooks and tags, Create to-dos and set reminders, End-to-end encryption for privacy, Cross-device synchronization (Joplin Cloud, Dropbox, OneDrive), Offline-first access, OCR search for text within images and PDFs

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Great app
- 🔒 End-to-end encryption
- 👍 Excellent cross-platform support
- 👍 Intuitive Markdown support
- 👍 Flexible sync options (Dropbox, OneDrive, WebDAV)

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Sync issues, especially on iOS
- 🐛 Buggy UI, especially on iOS
- 🐛 Crashes and freezes
- 🐛 Slow performance at times
- 🐛 Confusing interface, not very intuitive

**Reported bugs**

- Sync issues with WebDAV and Dropbox
- Crashes when creating new notes
- Keyboard issues, text getting obscured
- Rendering problems in dark mode
- Compatibility issues with older iOS versions

**Requested features**

- Add web clipper functionality on iOS
- Implement nested notebooks on iOS
- Allow password/biometric protection for notes
- Improve text editing experience on mobile
- Add more font and formatting options


## Frequently asked questions

### Is IoT OnOff free?

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

### Is Joplin free?

Joplin is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, IoT OnOff or Joplin?

Joplin is rated higher. IoT OnOff averages 3.5 out of 5 from 14 ratings, while Joplin averages 4.1 from 480 ratings.

### Do IoT OnOff or Joplin have ads?

Neither IoT OnOff nor Joplin shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, IoT OnOff or Joplin?

IoT OnOff ships an update every 3 weeks, and Joplin monthly. Most recently, IoT OnOff was updated on October 24, 2026 and Joplin on October 29, 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.*