Standard Notes vs Simple Note
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- End-to-end encryption
- Cross-device syncing
- Offline access
- Passcode and biometric lock
- Tagging system
- Open-source code
- Optional productivity editors and themes
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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/
Simple Note
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Simple Note is a clean, straightforward notepad for everyday notes, lists, reminders, and quick ideas. Ad-free. No tracking. Made in the USA. Open the app and start typing. Your current note is automatically saved as you work, so there is no separate Save button to remember. Features include: • Automatic saving while you type • Dot or numbered Auto Bullets • Adjustable text sizes • Your selected text size stays with the current note • A default text size for newly created notes • Easy sharing through the iOS Share Sheet • Simple Clear and Hide Keyboard controls • Light and Dark Mode support • No advertising • No user tracking • Privacy information and app settings available directly in the app Simple Note is designed to keep note-taking simple: one current note, quick access, and no unnecessary complexity. Important information should always be backed up or shared somewhere safe. See the app’s Important Notice and Privacy Information for additional details. Simple Note is developed in the USA.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Standard Notes at Free against Simple Note's $0.99. Standard Notes also leads on device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.6). Simple Note's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and update cadence (every 8 days vs every 5 weeks). On ads 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
Standard Notes is free to download; Simple Note costs $0.99 up front. Standard Notes sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $119.99 per year. Simple Note asks for nothing beyond the download.
Standard Notes ships an update every 5 weeks, Simple Note every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Standard Notes | Simple Note |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $0.99 |
| Rating | 4.7 (3.8K ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 63.9% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 3.8K — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 5 weeks | Every 8 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 — better | 17.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 92 MB | 2 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Standard Notes Ltd. | Nicholas Milazzo |
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
Simple Note
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Standard Notes
- Professional Plan7 Days trial$119.991 Year
Simple Note
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Standard Notes free?
Is Simple Note free?
Do Standard Notes or Simple Note have ads?
Which is updated more often, Standard Notes or Simple Note?
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