# Joplin vs Minimal | Notes

The clearest difference is rating: Minimal | Notes at 4.7 against Joplin's 4.1. Minimal | Notes also leads on review sentiment (81% vs 67%). Joplin's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and iOS requirement (15.6 vs 17.0). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Minimal | Notes sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Joplin asks for nothing beyond the download.

Minimal | Notes holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.1. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 473 and 290 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 67% of Joplin's written reviews are positive against 81% of Minimal | Notes's.

Joplin ships an update monthly, Minimal | Notes every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 20, 2026 and September 19, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Joplin | Minimal | Notes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.1 (473 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/joplin/id1315599797/reviews) | **[4.7 (290 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/minimal-notes/id1442727443/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **473** | 290 |
| Positive reviews | 66.6% of reviews | **81.3% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Monthly | **Every 3 weeks** |
| Monetization | **Free** | Subscription |
| Size | 73 MB | 59 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.6** | 17.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | **iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Laurent Cozic](https://appshunter.io/developer/1315599796) | [Timeless](https://appshunter.io/developer/1183067513) |

## What reviewers say

### 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


### Minimal | Notes

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/minimal-notes/id1442727443)

This app offers a distraction-free writing environment inspired by meditation. It features collaborative writing, note expiration, and the ability to publish notes as websites. Organize tasks with integrated to-do lists and sync across all your Apple devices.

**Highlights:** Note Lifetime reminders, Collaborative writing, Publish notes as websites, Todo lists sync with Calendar, Beautiful formatting, Sync across Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch

**Features:** Family Sharing, Apple Watch app, iMessage stickers, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Minimal Monthly | $4.99 | per month |
| Minimal Annual | $49.99 | per year |
| Minimal Family Plan | $79.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Excellent note-taking app
- 👍 Beautiful and simple design
- 🚀 Seamless syncing across devices
- 👍 Customizable appearance and formatting
- 🚀 Responsive and helpful developer

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Crashes and stability issues
- 🔒 Lack of password protection or locking for notes
- 💰 Expensive subscription model

**Reported bugs**

- Crashes when using certain formatting or pasting content
- Syncing issues between iOS and macOS versions
- Incompatibility with older macOS versions

**Requested features**

- Add ability to insert images or attachments
- Improve iCloud sync reliability
- Implement a folder-based organization system
- Add a word/character count feature


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Joplin free?

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

### Is Minimal | Notes free?

Minimal | Notes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Joplin or Minimal | Notes?

Minimal | Notes is rated higher. Joplin averages 4.1 out of 5 from 473 ratings, while Minimal | Notes averages 4.7 from 290 ratings.

### Do Joplin or Minimal | Notes have ads?

Neither Joplin nor Minimal | Notes shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Joplin or Minimal | Notes?

Joplin ships an update monthly, and Minimal | Notes every 3 weeks. Most recently, Joplin was updated on September 20, 2026 and Minimal | Notes on September 19, 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.*