Comparison

Standard Notes vs Proton Drive

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

Head to head
About

Standard Notes

Securely capture and sync your thoughts across all devices with end-to-end encryption. This app offers a simple, lasting place for all your notes, from personal thoughts to sensitive information, with robust privacy features.

Highlights
  • End-to-end encryption
  • Cross-device syncing
  • Offline access
  • Passcode and biometric lock
  • Tagging system
  • Open-source code
  • Optional productivity editors and themes
Features
Read full description

Standard Notes is a private and secure end-to-end encrypted notes app. It allows you to write and sync your notes across all your devices, including your iPhone, iPad, Mac, and web browser. Private means your notes are end-to-end encrypted, so only you can read your notes. Even we can't read the contents of your notes. Simple means it does one job and does it well. Standard Notes is a safe and lasting place for your life's work. Our focus is making it easy to write notes wherever you are and syncing them with encryption to all your devices. Our users love us for: • Personal Notes • Tasks & Todos • Passwords & Keys • Code & Technical Procedures • Private Journal • Meeting Notes • Cross-platform Scratchpad • Books, Recipes, & Movies • Health & Fitness Log Standard Notes comes free with: • Seamless sync across all your devices, with easy to use applications on iPhone, iPad, Mac, web browsers, and other platforms. • Offline access, so you can access your downloaded notes even without a connection. • No limit on number of devices. • No limit on number of notes. • Passcode lock protection, along with Touch ID and Face ID protection. • A tagging system to organize your notes (like #work, #ideas, #passwords, #crypto). • The ability to pin, lock, protect, and move notes to trash, which allows you to recover deleted notes until the trash is emptied. Standard Notes is completely open-source, which means when we say your notes are encrypted with industry-leading XChaCha-20 encryption, and that only you can read your notes, you don't have to take our word for it. Our code is open to the world to audit. We made Standard Notes simple because longevity is important to us. We want to make sure we're here, protecting your notes, for the next hundred years. You shouldn't have to find a new notes app every year. To sustain our development, we offer optional paid subscriptions which give you access to powerful tools like: • Productivity editors (like Markdown, Code, Spreadsheets) • Beautiful themes (like Midnight, Focus, Solarized Dark) • Powerful cloud tools including daily backups of your encrypted data delivered to your email inbox every day, or backed up to your cloud provider (like Dropbox and Google Drive). We're always happy to talk, whether it be a question, thought, or issue. Please feel free to email us any time at help@standardnotes.com. When you take the time to send us a message, we'll be sure to do the same. EULA: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Proton Drive

Securely store and back up your files and photos with end-to-end encryption. Access your content across devices, share securely with password protection, and enjoy peace of mind with Swiss privacy laws. Offers free storage with upgrade options.

Highlights
  • End-to-end encrypted storage
  • Automatic photo and video backup
  • Secure link sharing with passwords
  • PIN/biometric protection
  • Offline file access
  • File version history
Features
Read full description

Proton Drive provides private and secure storage for your files and photos. With Proton Drive you can protect important documents, automatically back up cherished memories, and access your content across devices. All Proton Drive accounts come with 5 GB of free storage and you can upgrade to up to 1 TB of storage at any time. Trusted by over 100 million users, Proton Drive gives you an end-to-end encrypted vault where only you—and the people you choose—can access your files and photos. Proton Drive features: - Secure storage - Get 5 GB of free encrypted cloud storage with no file size limits. - Share content using secure links with password and expiration settings. - Keep your files and photos safe with PIN or biometric protection. - Access important files and photos even if your device is lost or damaged. Easy to use - Automatically back up photos and videos in their original quality. - Securely organize your cherished memories into albums. - Rename, move, and delete your personal files securely within the app. - Create, edit and collaborate on docs. - View your important files and memories – even when offline. - Restore files with version history. Advanced privacy - Stay private with end-to-end encryption – even Proton can’t view your content. - Secure your metadata, including filenames, sizes, and modification dates. - Protect your content with Swiss privacy laws, the strongest in the world. - Trust in our open-source code that is public and verified by experts. Secure up to 5 GB of free storage for your personal files, photos, and videos with Proton Drive.  Stay ahead with our releases and updates by connecting with us! - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/protonprivacy - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/protonprivacy/ - X/Twitter: https://x.com/ProtonDrive - Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/ProtonDrive/ Terms of Service: https://proton.me/legal/terms Privacy Policy: https://proton.me/legal/privacy

Screenshots

Standard Notes4 screens
Proton Drive4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Standard Notes at 4.7 against Proton Drive's 4.1. Standard Notes also leads on review sentiment (63% vs 37%) and ratings volume (3.7K vs 1.1K). On price, update cadence, ads 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. Standard Notes sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $119.99 per year and Proton Drive sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Standard Notes holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.1. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3.7K and 1.1K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 63% of Standard Notes's written reviews are positive against 37% of Proton Drive's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Standard Notes ships an update every 2 weeks, Proton Drive fortnightly. Both last shipped on September 22, 2026.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Standard Notes versus Proton Drive: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStandard NotesProton Drive
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (3.7K ratings) — better4.1 (1.1K ratings)
Positive reviews63.4% of reviews — better36.9% of reviews
Number of ratings3.7K — better1.1K
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS13.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size92 MB235 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperStandard Notes Ltd.Proton AG

Customer experience

Standard Notes

All ratings3,714 ratings
Positive92.5%
Neutral2.3%
Negative5.3%
Written reviews580 reviews
Positive63.4%
Neutral10.7%
Negative25.9%

Proton Drive

All ratings1,148 ratings
Positive74.2%
Neutral9.0%
Negative16.8%
Written reviews876 reviews
Positive36.9%
Neutral21.9%
Negative41.2%

User reviews

Standard Notes

From 3.7K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Fast and reliable sync
  • 🔒 Excellent privacy and security
  • 👍 Simple and intuitive interface
  • 📚 Great for organizing notes
  • 💻 Cross-platform availability

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional bugs and crashes
  • 🔑 Frustrating login/authentication issues
  • 💰 Expensive premium subscription
  • 📱 Limited features in free version
  • 🖍️ Lack of formatting options

Proton Drive

From 1.1K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Fast and efficient
  • 🔒 Secure and private
  • 👍 Simple and intuitive UI
  • 💡 Integrated with iOS Files app

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Buggy and unreliable
  • 🔋 High battery consumption
  • 📥 Slow upload/download speeds
  • 🗂️ Lacking key features like search and sorting

Bugs and requests

Standard Notes

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Notes disappearing or getting deleted unexpectedly
  • Sync issues between devices
  • Keyboard and UI bugs on mobile
  • Compatibility problems with older iOS versions

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add support for images and attachments
  • Implement a more robust search function
  • Introduce a dark mode option
  • Allow for better note organization (folders, nested tags)
  • Add undo/redo functionality

Proton Drive

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Frequent crashes and errors
  • Inconsistent file syncing across devices
  • Unable to access files uploaded from desktop
  • Issues with offline file access

Requested features

4 requests
  • Automatic photo/video backup
  • Ability to edit documents within the app
  • Seamless integration with other apps for file sharing
  • Linux desktop client

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Standard Notes

Subscriptions1
  • Professional Plan7 Days trial$119.991 Year
9 purchases

Proton Drive

Subscriptions7
  • Drive Lite 1 month$0.991 Month
  • Drive Plus 1 month$4.991 Month
  • Drive Plus 1 TB (1 month)$9.991 Month
Show 4 more
  • Proton Unlimited 1 month$14.991 Month
  • Drive Plus 1 year$47.901 Year
  • Drive Plus 1 TB (1 year)$95.991 Year
  • Proton Unlimited 1 year$119.001 Year
One-time2
  • Drive Plus$59.99
  • Proton Unlimited$149.99

Questions

Is Standard Notes free?
Standard Notes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Proton Drive free?
Proton Drive is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Standard Notes or Proton Drive?
Standard Notes is rated higher. Standard Notes averages 4.7 out of 5 from 3.7K ratings, while Proton Drive averages 4.1 from 1.1K ratings.
Do Standard Notes or Proton Drive have ads?
Neither Standard Notes nor Proton Drive shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Standard Notes or Proton Drive?
Standard Notes ships an update every 2 weeks, and Proton Drive fortnightly. Most recently, Standard Notes was updated on September 22, 2026 and Proton Drive on September 22, 2026.

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