Comparison

Simpletext vs Strongbox Zero

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

Head to head
About

Simpletext

This app offers a minimalist writing experience, focusing solely on plain text. It provides a distraction-free environment with beautiful typography and native performance across Apple devices. Ideal for those who want to concentrate on their words without unnecessary features.

Highlights
  • Zero clutter interface
  • Beautiful typography with professional fonts
  • Plain text only support
  • Fully native Apple app
  • Supports custom fonts
Features
Read full description

The Simplest Writing App for Mac, iPad and iPhone There are many writing apps for you to choose from today, so why bother with yet another one? Because Simpletext is simpler. Its single-minded commitment to simplicity means you’ll get a no-frills writing app that works well and looks great, forever. Simpletext started as a passion project because I couldn’t find what I was looking for. Most apps were trying to do too much and ended up bloated with features I never needed. So I built Simpletext based on a simple premise — what if there’s an app that refuses to do more, choosing instead to do just one thing, and do it well? For Simpletext, that one thing is writing. Why Simpletext? Most people would say Simpletext is lacking in features, and they’re right. In fact, Simpletext began the opposite way — by listing down everything I didn’t want in a writing app. The goal is to create a dumbed-down writing app that inspires you to do nothing else but write. In order to achieve this, I designed Simpletext around four cornerstone principles: 1. Zero Clutter Simpletext is unobtrusive. It provides a blank canvas to write with absolutely nothing to distract you from writing. There’s no visual clutter — the intent is to create a quiet space that helps you connect with your voice, get into the flow, and simply write. With zero clutter, Simpletext lets your words take centre stage. 2. Beautiful Typography Simpletext comes with three professional fonts for you to choose from, handpicked to provide the finest writing experience. They are: (1) Akkurat Mono by Lineto (Monospaced); (2) Graphik by Commercial Type (Sans Serif); and (3) Tiempos Text by Klim Type Foundry (Serif). And if you have a personal favourite font, you can use it in Simpletext too. 3. Plain Text Only Simpletext supports only plain text, which is fast, lightweight and platform-independent. It will never have formatting options, so your files will never be filled with unnecessary attributes. Plain text also ensures your files are always accessible on any device, now and in the future. 4. Fully Native Simpletext is a fully native app developed in Swift and runs natively on Apple silicon. It uses only Apple’s framework and UI components, just as they were intended to be used without any custom workarounds. This approach results in less code, less bugs and better overall performance. Here's What Others Have to Say “I just wanted to thank you for developing Simpletext. It’s perfect. I’ve enjoyed its simplicity and smoothness for quite some time, but now that I can use my favourite font in it (Sina Nova, free on Fontspring) it has truly become not just the best app to write in, but my favourite app period. Thank you for creating and maintaining it.” - Bart “This app does everything it says on the tin. It is not meant to do a lot, but what it does it does very well. It is well designed and suits well those who want to focus on writing and avoid dealing with formatting, proprietary file types and hidden saving locations. It produces and edits .txt files, which will probably be around for as long as there are computers, and saves them in plain sight. Five stars.” - Fernando “I’ve tried all sorts of writing apps but Simpletext is definitely the best of all. So grateful for your dedication and those productivity tips in the blog post are so good. Simpletext is such a joy to use.” - LWL Art Studio “A writing app that is as simple as stated, beautiful to write with and opens and closes wherever you want. Simple tweaks are easily accessible, if required, and only add to the minimalistic perfection. Good job.” - Tuntle Get Back to Basics In a world full of feature-rich, subscription-based apps, I wanted to create something that goes back to basics. Simpletext is intentionally simple, yet it has everything you need. It’s an app I use every single day. I hope you will too. Best wishes, Yeow Jin P.S. Simpletext comes with a promise — find out more at simpletext.app/promise

About

Strongbox Zero

This app securely stores and protects your passwords with a master password. It supports open-source formats and offers advanced security features like biometric unlock and hardware token protection. It's designed for users who prefer a local-only password management solution.

Highlights
  • Local-only password storage
  • Biometric and PIN unlock
  • YubiKey hardware token protection
  • Military-grade cryptography
  • Password auditing for weak passwords
  • Secure document attachment viewer
  • Import/Export via Files app and Email
Features
Read full description

Strongbox Zero is a version of the well known and loved Strongbox with all of the networking code and as many third party libraries stripped out as we could! Think of it as the Drag Racer version of Strongbox! If you're a fan of Local Only password managers this could be the right choice for you. We recommend you get to know (and love!) the regular Strongbox first through the Freemium app. Once you're happy and sure you want to go local only, go for Strongbox Zero... Strongbox Zero is an application for keeping all your passwords safely stored and protected by one master password. Supporting the open source Password Safe and KeePass formats. *** Features *** - Face ID/Touch ID Unlock for the ultimate in convenience, security and speed. - PIN Code Unlock with a Duress PIN option for those tricky situations. - YubiKey protection - secure your databases with a hardware token. - Secure - protected by time tested military grade cryptography. - Private - Isolated In-App attachments viewer for your sensitive documents, photos & videos. - Audit your passwords - Automatically check your database for weak passwords - Search your entire set of passwords and secrets instantly and powerfully, with deep search. Autocomplete new entries, and auto generate secure passwords. - Compatible - Import/Export by Files app, Email, CSV, iTunes File Sharing - Standards compliant - using the time tested Password Safe and KeePass formats so you can import any existing password safe you have. - Features galore - Incredibly configurable password generation including Diceware (XKCD) & regular passwords. - Timed Auto Clear Clipboard. - Entry History. - KeePass Field References, Tags & Custom Icons. - Two Factor Authentication codes (TOTP) - QR Code, Steam & Manual. --------------------------------------------------------------------- • Payment will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase • Strongbox Privacy Policy may be found here: https://strongboxsafe.com/privacy-policy/ • Strongbox Terms of Use may be found here: https://strongboxsafe.com/terms/

Screenshots

Simpletext4 screens
Strongbox Zero4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Simpletext at $14.99 against Strongbox Zero's $99.99. Strongbox Zero's advantage is update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 3 months) and rating (4.3 vs 4.1). On review sentiment, ratings volume, 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

Simpletext costs $14.99 and Strongbox Zero $99.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Strongbox Zero holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 4.1. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 23 and 21 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 73% of Simpletext's written reviews are positive against 75% of Strongbox Zero's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Simpletext ships an update every 3 months, Strongbox Zero every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Simpletext versus Strongbox Zero: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSimpletextStrongbox Zero
Price$14.99 — better$99.99
Rating4.1 (23 ratings)4.3 (21 ratings) — better
Positive reviews73.3% of reviews75.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings23 — better21
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, MaciPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS17.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size4 MB96 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperYeow Jin GanPhoebe Code Limited

Customer experience

Simpletext

All ratings23 ratings
Positive73.9%
Neutral8.7%
Negative17.4%
Written reviews30 reviews
Positive73.3%
Neutral13.3%
Negative13.3%

Strongbox Zero

All ratings21 ratings
Positive85.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative14.3%
Written reviews20 reviews
Positive75.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative25.0%

In-app purchases

None

Simpletext

No in-app purchases

None

Strongbox Zero

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Simpletext free?
Simpletext costs $14.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Strongbox Zero free?
Strongbox Zero costs $99.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Simpletext or Strongbox Zero?
Strongbox Zero is rated higher. Simpletext averages 4.1 out of 5 from 23 ratings, while Strongbox Zero averages 4.3 from 21 ratings.
Do Simpletext or Strongbox Zero have ads?
Neither Simpletext nor Strongbox Zero shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Simpletext or Strongbox Zero?
Simpletext ships an update every 3 months, and Strongbox Zero every 2 weeks. Most recently, Simpletext was updated on November 2, 2026 and Strongbox Zero on November 3, 2026.

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