Comparison

Notes Writer 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

Notes Writer

This app is a comprehensive note-taking and PDF editing solution for mobile devices. It allows users to write, format, and organize notes, annotate PDFs, fill forms, and scan documents. The app offers advanced editing tools, powerful search, and seamless sharing and export options.

Highlights
  • Write and format notes
  • Annotate PDFs and fill forms
  • Organize with unlimited notebooks
  • Powerful full-text search
  • Document scanning
  • Sync with cloud services
  • Export to multiple formats
Features
Read full description

Every note. Every format. Unlimited Digital Notebooks. Like paper, but better. Take lecture notes, prepare for exams and develop your research. Bring the same tools to manuscripts, interviews, lesson plans, meetings and creative projects. Notes Writer keeps your work together on iPad, iPhone and compatible Apple silicon Macs. Designed for students and anyone who wants to learn, create and stay organized—including teachers, writers, journalists, doctors, architects, illustrators, mathematicians, researchers and business professionals. WRITE & CAPTURE • Handwriting, sketching & painting Take handwritten notes with Apple Pencil, type a document or explore a concept through drawing. Use dedicated sketching, watercolor and oil painting tools for illustrations and creative work. • PDF annotation Review lecture slides, medical literature and professional reports. Highlight PDFs, add comments, images and shapes, fill forms and sign documents. Keep your annotations beside the source material. • Recording & transcription Record lectures, business meetings and interviews, transcribe the audio and search the transcript for the detail you need. Add recordings to PDF notes and whiteboards, then listen back at your own pace. STUDY & RESEARCH • Courses, manuscripts & research projects Choose an optional project tree to arrange topics, sources and drafts in a Study Project. Use the Binder for structure, the Corkboard to plan sections and compilation to assemble a document or ebook. • Whiteboards, diagrams & outlines Create whiteboards with notes, images, recordings and tables. Build flowcharts and diagrams to explain a process, compare findings or plan a lesson or project. Use Outline Notes when your ideas need a hierarchy. • Flashcards & review Create flashcards with text, handwriting and images, or generate them from notes and PDFs with optional AI tools. Review with spaced repetition, answer by typing or speaking, and track your progress. MATH & SCIENCE • Calculations, Python & charts Math Notebooks combine written reasoning, symbolic calculations and Python cells. Plot results, explore a model and present your data in editable Chart documents. • LaTeX & technical PDFs Write technical papers in LaTeX and compile them to PDF with a preview of the result. For plans and technical drawings, set a scale and measure distances, perimeters and areas directly on the PDF. ORGANIZE & SHARE • Notebooks, folders & templates Create and customize folders, subfolders and notebooks. Choose names, covers and paper templates that suit each course or project. Scan handouts, search your collection and manage documents with sorting, moving and grouping tools. • Documents side by side Open documents in tabs and work with your reading and draft side by side. Create a study planner, lesson plan, research journal or manuscript within the same library. • Formats for your work Work across PDF, Microsoft Word (DOCX), EPUB, RTF, Markdown, plain text (TXT), HTML, LaTeX and OPML outlines. Edit formatted documents, read ebooks and export supported documents as PDF, DOCX, RTF, HTML or EPUB. Export options vary by document type. • Sync, backup & privacy Sync with iCloud and work with Dropbox and Google Drive files through the Files app, with changes synced by your provider. Set up automatic document backups, use autosave and recovery, and protect the app and folders with a passcode. OPTIONAL AI ASSISTANT Ask questions about your notes and documents, simplify an explanation, summarize a reading or refine your writing. Use translation, grammar and tone tools when they help. Review every suggestion and decide what belongs in your work. Start a notebook. Study, create and work your way. Privacy Policy http://www.noteswriter.com/Kairoos_Privacy_Policy.html Terms of Use https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

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

Notes Writer4 screens
Minimal | Notes4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: Notes Writer at free with in-app purchases against Minimal | Notes's subscription. Notes Writer also leads on update cadence (every 4 days vs monthly) and ratings volume (7.3K vs 297). Minimal | Notes's advantage is review sentiment (81% vs 45%) and device support (4 vs 2). On price, rating, 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

Both are free to download. Notes Writer sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per 7 days and Minimal | Notes sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Minimal | Notes holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Notes Writer has 7.3K ratings behind it against 297, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 45% of Notes Writer's written reviews are positive against 81% of Minimal | Notes's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Notes Writer ships an update every 4 days, Minimal | Notes monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 27, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Notes Writer versus Minimal | Notes: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNotes WriterMinimal | Notes
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (7.3K ratings)4.7 (297 ratings) — better
Positive reviews45.2% of reviews81.4% of reviews — better
Number of ratings7.3K — better297
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterSubscription
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS26.017.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size660 MB59 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperKairoos Solutions SLTimeless

Customer experience

Notes Writer

All ratings7,332 ratings
Positive86.8%
Neutral5.1%
Negative8.1%
Written reviews959 reviews
Positive45.2%
Neutral15.1%
Negative39.7%

Minimal | Notes

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

User reviews

Notes Writer

From 7.3K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Smooth writing experience
  • 💡 Versatile note-taking features
  • 🔒 Good privacy
  • 👍 Useful for various purposes (notes, PDF annotations, etc.)

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes and freezes
  • 🔒 Limiting free version with paywalls
  • 🐛 Bugs with erasing, page management, and file corruption
  • 🐛 Laggy performance and slow loading times

Minimal | Notes

From 297 App Store ratings

What we love

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

Room to improve

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

Bugs and requests

Notes Writer

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Notes randomly disappearing or getting corrupted
  • Inability to recover deleted documents
  • Unexpected behavior when adding/deleting pages
  • Syncing issues and broken links between documents

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add more brushes and pen customization options
  • Improve the clipping/selection tool
  • Implement OCR and handwriting search
  • Provide a Mac version

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

8 purchases

Notes Writer

Subscriptions3
  • Weekly$1.997 Days
  • Notes Writer Unlock All and AI3 Days trial$3.991 Month
  • Notes Writer Unlock All and AI3 Days trial$14.991 Year
One-time5
  • Full Version Unlock Pro$3.99
  • Full Version Unlock Pro$4.99
  • Full Version Unlock Pro2 variants$5.99
Show 2 more
  • Full Version Unlock Pro$6.99
  • Lifetime Pro Full Unlock$14.99
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 Notes Writer free?
Notes Writer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Minimal | Notes free?
Minimal | Notes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Notes Writer or Minimal | Notes?
Minimal | Notes is rated higher. Notes Writer averages 4.5 out of 5 from 7.3K ratings, while Minimal | Notes averages 4.7 from 297 ratings.
Do Notes Writer or Minimal | Notes have ads?
Neither Notes Writer nor Minimal | Notes shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Notes Writer or Minimal | Notes?
Notes Writer ships an update every 4 days, and Minimal | Notes monthly. Most recently, Notes Writer was updated on October 29, 2026 and Minimal | Notes on October 27, 2026.

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