Comparison

Dark Draft vs Minimal | Notes

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

Head to head
About

Dark Draft

Focus on your writing without distractions or self-doubt. This app helps you generate more content and track your word count to meet deadlines. Easily export your drafts for use anywhere.

Highlights
  • Distraction-free writing environment
  • Integrated word counter
  • Secure on-device storage
  • Easy content export
  • Focus on quantity for quality
Read full description

Free from Distraction Get back to writing and free yourself from self-doubt or being stuck on a single word. This is one of those times that quantity typically produces better quality content. Who's Counting? Have a deadline and need to make sure you hit the minimum count? - We've integrated a simple word counter to help you know exactly where you're at and how much more you have left to go. Sharing is Caring Whether you use Dark Draft to start your thesis paper or use it for a breakup text, we want it to be easy to take that information with you. All your data, is your content - drafts are securely held on device and we don't want to know anyway. Take control of your writing with Dark Draft and try something new

About

Minimal | Notes

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
Read full description

Write with focus. Open your mind with Minimal, a meditation-inspired notes and writing app. Minimal combines thoughtful, modern design with powerful features to deliver a spacious, beautiful writing environment. • Note Lifetime • Collaborative writing • Publish notes as websites • Add Todos to the Calendar app • Beautiful formatting • Sync everywhere: Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch Minimal is a simple yet powerful notes app. Inspired by meditation, nature, and architectural design, Minimal provides a beautiful space to think, write, and organize projects. NOTE LIFETIME The Note Lifetime keeps your notebook fresh and reflective of the present moment. When a note goes unedited for a duration you choose in settings, you’ll be gently notified. This is an opportunity to review the note, act on it, or let it go. COLLABORATIVE WRITING Share notes with friends, family, and teammates. With a gentle design, writing remains focused and tranquil, even as thoughts merge and ideas multiply. Everyone receives changes as notes evolve, and multiple people can make edits at the same time without conflict. FOCUSED + SPACIOUS DESIGN Minimal is designed so only one element is ever in focus. We love the beauty of a blank page – abundant empty space allows for an ease of creative expression. PUBLISH AS WEBSITE Transform notes into beautifully-formatted websites in microseconds. TODO LISTS Todo lists are an effective way to organize projects and complete tasks. Sync with the Calendar app, get things done, and check everything off. BEAUTIFUL FORMATTING Minimal combines Markdown-style formatting with elegant typography. The result is simple, expressive notes that make it easy to think and write. SYNC EVERYWHERE Bring focus to your favorite devices. Minimal is designed for Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch. Cloud Sync is fast, reliable, and invisible. SHARE, EXPORT, IMPORT You’re in control of your notes. Share directly in iMessage, export as PDF or HTML, and use the system share mechanism to take notes anywhere. Importing links + prose into Minimal is just as easy. CUSTOMIZE EVERYTHING The best notebook is personal. We made everything in Minimal customizable, from fonts + themes to sorting notes + note actions. You can also build custom workflows using the Shortcuts app. A LITTLE GIFT Wow, thanks for reading. As a little gift for tuning in, these are our favorite musicians -> Somi, Snarky Puppy, and London Grammar. They’re jazzy and introspective, just how we like it. Enjoy. —— For help, write us at team@minimal.app or on Twitter at @minimalnotesapp. To learn about our terms + approach to privacy, visit https://minimal.app/terms. We offer a long free trial and make cancellation easy. After that, Minimal costs $4.99 per month or $49.99 per year. These prices are in USD and may vary by region. Cancel in your iTunes account settings at least 24 hours before renewal.

Screenshots

Dark Draft3 screens
Minimal | Notes4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Minimal | Notes at Free against Dark Draft's $0.99. Minimal | Notes also leads on rating (4.7 vs 4.0) and review sentiment (81% vs 50%). Dark Draft's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0).

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

Minimal | Notes is free to download; Dark Draft costs $0.99 up front. Minimal | Notes sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Dark Draft asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Minimal | Notes holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Minimal | Notes has 298 ratings behind it against 8, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 50% of Dark Draft's written reviews are positive against 81% of Minimal | Notes's.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
Dark Draft versus Minimal | Notes: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDark DraftMinimal | Notes
Price$0.99Free — better
Rating4.0 (8 ratings)4.7 (298 ratings) — better
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews81.4% of reviews — better
Number of ratings8298 — better
Update frequency—Monthly
Ads—No
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaid — betterSubscription
Devices—iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size1 MB59 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMikey KriegerTimeless

Customer experience

Dark Draft

Written reviews4 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral25.0%
Negative25.0%

Minimal | Notes

All ratings294 ratings
Positive91.8%
Neutral3.1%
Negative5.1%
Written reviews376 reviews
Positive81.4%
Neutral6.4%
Negative12.2%

Bugs and requests

Dark Draft

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Minimal | Notes

Reported bugs

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

Requested features

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

In-app purchases

None

Dark Draft

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Minimal | Notes

Subscriptions3
  • Minimal Monthly14 Days trial$4.991 Month
  • Minimal Annual14 Days trial$49.991 Year
  • Minimal Family Plan14 Days trial$79.991 Year

Questions

Is Dark Draft free?
Dark Draft costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Minimal | Notes free?
Minimal | Notes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Dark Draft or Minimal | Notes?
Minimal | Notes is rated higher. Dark Draft averages 4.0 out of 5 from 8 ratings, while Minimal | Notes averages 4.7 from 298 ratings.

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