Comparison

Standard Notes vs Lumo AI by Proton

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

Lumo AI by Proton

This AI assistant prioritizes your privacy, offering help with productivity, curiosity, and staying informed. Developed by the team behind trusted encrypted services, it ensures your data remains secure.

Highlights
  • Privacy-first AI assistant
  • Boost productivity
  • Satisfy curiosity
  • Stay informed
  • Secure data handling
Read full description

Lumo is a zero-access encrypted AI assistant that keeps every conversation private. Your data is never logged, shared, or used to train models. Your chats are yours, and yours alone. Built by Proton, the privacy brand trusted by over 100 million people and the team behind Proton Mail, VPN, Drive, and Pass. THOUGHTFUL HELP FOR ANY TASK Lumo handles everything from quick questions to more complex work. Choose Fast for quick answers or Thinking for multi-step reasoning. FAST, POWERFUL WEB SEARCH Get precise, real-time answers in seconds. Lumo cites live sources so you can verify facts, dig deeper, and stay current on news, events, financial data, and more. CREATE AND REFINE IMAGES AND FILES Work with images and files just by telling Lumo what you need, from generating and editing images to analyzing documents. Connect your Proton Drive account for seamless access to stored files. AI THAT EVOLVES OVER TIME Lumo gets better every time you use it. Memory retains context and preferences across sessions, and you can set tones and styles to get the exact Lumo experience you want. STAY PRODUCTIVE AND ORGANIZED Projects give you dedicated encrypted spaces for tasks that span multiple chats, files, and instructions, while Custom Lumos let you create assistants tailored for specific tasks. Switch between light and dark modes for a more comfortable experience throughout the day. GHOST MODE For conversations where you want maximum privacy, choose Ghost Mode. Chats are instantly deleted once you close them for greater peace of mind. PRIVACY YOU CAN VERIFY Lumo is founded on zero-access encryption with no server-side chat logs, and never uses your data for profit or model training. Like all Proton products, Lumo is built and hosted in Europe and is fully open-source. Lumo helps you stay productive, curious, and informed — without ever compromising your privacy. Start a confidential chat for free today. For more information, visit our website: https://lumo.proton.me/about Terms of service: https://lumo.proton.me/legal/terms Terms of use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Our open-source code base: https://github.com/ProtonLumo/ios-lumo

Screenshots

Standard Notes4 screens
Lumo AI by Proton4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Standard Notes at 4.7 against Lumo AI by Proton's 3.8. Standard Notes also leads on review sentiment (63% vs 46%) and ratings volume (3.7K vs 525). Lumo AI by Proton's advantage is chart position (#186 vs unranked). 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 Lumo AI by Proton sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $12.99 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 3.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Standard Notes has 3.7K ratings behind it against 525, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 63% of Standard Notes's written reviews are positive against 46% of Lumo AI by Proton's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Standard Notes ships an update every 2 weeks, Lumo AI by Proton every 11 days. Both last shipped on September 22, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Standard Notes versus Lumo AI by Proton: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStandard NotesLumo AI by Proton
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (3.7K ratings) — better3.8 (525 ratings)
Positive reviews63.4% of reviews — better45.6% of reviews
Number of ratings3.7K — better525
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 11 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank—#186 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS13.0 — better17.6
Further details — not scored
Size92 MB96 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%

Lumo AI by Proton

All ratings525 ratings
Positive66.5%
Neutral11.0%
Negative22.5%
Written reviews540 reviews
Positive45.6%
Neutral19.1%
Negative35.4%

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

Lumo AI by Proton

From 525 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Sophisticated knowledge base
  • 🚀 Rapid evolution with quality
  • 💡 Potential for vision-enabled model

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Inability to answer basic questions
  • 🔒 Privacy concerns with data processing
  • 🐛 Inconsistent responses
  • 🐛 Frequent sign-outs
  • 🐛 Dark mode issues

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

Lumo AI by Proton

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Slow sign-in page
  • Lack of real-time data access

Requested features

5 requests
  • Dynamic Type support for adjustable font size
  • Secure access to Proton Drive files
  • Ghost mode to ensure no chat history is saved
  • Intuitive history clearing option
  • App mode

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Standard Notes

Subscriptions1
  • Professional Plan7 Days trial$119.991 Year
2 purchases

Lumo AI by Proton

Subscriptions2
  • Lumo Plus (1 month)$12.991 Month
  • Lumo Plus (12 months)$119.991 Year

Questions

Is Standard Notes free?
Standard Notes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Lumo AI by Proton free?
Lumo AI by Proton is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Standard Notes or Lumo AI by Proton?
Standard Notes is rated higher. Standard Notes averages 4.7 out of 5 from 3.7K ratings, while Lumo AI by Proton averages 3.8 from 525 ratings.
Do Standard Notes or Lumo AI by Proton have ads?
Neither Standard Notes nor Lumo AI by Proton shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Standard Notes or Lumo AI by Proton?
Standard Notes ships an update every 2 weeks, and Lumo AI by Proton every 11 days. Most recently, Standard Notes was updated on September 22, 2026 and Lumo AI by Proton on September 22, 2026.

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