Comparison

Standard Notes vs Zero

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

Zero

Features
Read full description

Zero-Friction Tasks is the personal task manager for busy individuals who simply want to get things done – without signing up, without a mandatory subscription, and without complexity. New: just speak your task. NEW: VOICE TASKS. SAY IT – IT BECOMES A TASK. Hands full, in the car, on the go, or cooking? Speak a short note and it lands directly in your list. There are three ways to start: • Tap the microphone in the “Add Task” bar • Press and hold the large + button • Assign the iPhone Action Button: Settings > Action Button > Shortcut > “0F Voice Task” Speak your task and tap “Done.” Recording starts immediately and stops automatically after no more than 20 seconds. Only the recognized text is saved – never the audio recording. When iOS supports on-device speech recognition, it runs directly on your iPhone, so your voice never leaves the device. NO ACCOUNT. NO EMAIL. NO PASSWORD. Download and get started in 10 seconds. No registration. No confirmation email. No password to forget. Zero-Friction Tasks respects your time from the very first second. WHY ZERO-FRICTION TASKS? Most task apps demand an account before you can even begin. Many hide essential features behind complicated plans or store your data unencrypted. Zero-Friction Tasks takes a different approach: • No account required – start in seconds with a simple sync code • Free to start – no trial and no credit card required • End-to-end encrypted (AES-256) – the server never sees your tasks in plain text • Offline mode – core functionality remains available without a connection • Real-time sync – iPhone, Android, Windows, web, and macOS FOR INDIVIDUALS, NOT TEAMS. No Kanban boards. No Gantt charts. No collaboration features. Just your tasks – fast, private, and always available. KEY FEATURES: • Voice Tasks on iPhone – speak tasks instead of typing them • Global hotkey on Windows (Alt+Space) – capture tasks without switching apps • iOS widgets for the Home Screen, Lock Screen, and Today View • Lists for work, home, shopping, and anything else • Pinned tasks – keep what matters at the top • One-time and recurring reminders • Dark Mode and offline mode • Drag-and-drop sorting Start for free. No sign-up. Your tasks, your way. Terms of Use (EULA): https://zerofriction.app/terms Privacy Policy: https://zerofriction.app/privacy

Screenshots

Standard Notes4 screens
Zero4 screens

Verdict

The call

Standard Notes and Zero are too close to call on the numbers: across 6 compared parameters — price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.

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 Zero sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Standard Notes ships an update every 5 weeks, Zero monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and October 5, 2026 respectively.

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
Standard Notes versus Zero: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStandard NotesZero
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (3.8K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews64.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings3.8K — better—
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeksMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.115.1
Further details — not scored
Size92 MB46 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperStandard Notes Ltd.Markus Hoefinger

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

Zero

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Standard Notes

Subscriptions1
  • Professional Plan7 Days trial$119.991 Year
3 purchases

Zero

Subscriptions2
  • Pro Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Pro Yearly$44.991 Year
One-time1
  • Pro Lifetime$89.99

Questions

Is Standard Notes free?
Standard Notes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Zero free?
Zero is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Standard Notes or Zero have ads?
Neither Standard Notes nor Zero shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Standard Notes or Zero?
Standard Notes ships an update every 5 weeks, and Zero monthly. Most recently, Standard Notes was updated on October 17, 2026 and Zero on October 5, 2026.

Other comparisons