Comparison

Milanote vs Phantom Focus

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

Head to head
About

Milanote

Organize creative projects by combining notes, images, videos, and sketches visually. Collaborate with teams on shared boards or use it as a private workspace. Save content from any app and sync instantly across all devices.

Highlights
  • Visual project organization
  • Combine notes, images, videos, sketches
  • Team collaboration
  • Save content from any app
  • Instant cross-device syncing
  • Sketching with Apple Pencil
Features
Read full description

Milanote is the tool for organizing your creative projects. Capture ideas & notes on mobile, then organize them visually on Milanote for desktop. SAVE INSPIRATION & IDEAS Easily combine notes, images, videos, sketches, and more. Capture anything that fuels your creativity. ORGANIZE PROJECTS VISUALLY Bring your ideas, tasks, and references together in one place—so you can see the big picture and the details. COLLABORATE WITH YOUR TEAM Milanote boards can be a private place to think, or a shared workspace for collaboration—you control who sees what. SAVE CONTENT FROM ANY APP Clip websites, images, and videos from your browser, photos app, or anywhere else—right into Milanote with a tap. INSTANT SYNCING ACROSS ALL DEVICES Anything you save to Milanote is instantly synced to all your devices. The Milanote iPhone & iPad apps also let you… - Create, view and edit all of your boards - Upload photos, video & files - Sketch with Apple pencil - Get notifications for comments and content updates Privacy policy: https://milanote.com/legal/privacy-policy Terms of use: https://milanote.com/legal/terms-of-service

About

Phantom Focus

Read full description

5 to 6 hours. That is the average time lost to phone screens every day — mostly on autopilot. Phantom Focus is the strict, privacy-first screen time blocker designed to break the doomscrolling loop for good. NO INSTANT OFF-SWITCH Most app blockers fail because turning them off takes one second. Phantom Focus fixes this: disabling protection or removing a guarded app triggers a mandatory 5-minute cooling-off, and raising your budget only takes effect tomorrow. The dopamine urge passes before the timer ends. The shield stays. ONE BUDGET, ZERO LOOPHOLES • Assign a single shared time budget across all distracting apps (Instagram, TikTok, X, YouTube) • When your budget hits zero, the shield locks them all instantly • No per-app allowances to game or cheat FOCUS TIMER Lock the apps you choose — or all of them — for 15 minutes to 2 hours. Make it to the end and celebrate: every session adds to your lifetime focus hours and unlocks new milestones. SCHEDULES Block apps automatically at set times: Work hours, Bedtime, Morning, or your own window with its own app list. Once a window starts, it can't be switched off on a whim. EARN YOUR EXTRA MINUTES Need emergency access? Hold the challenge ring to break through — 10 seconds for the first unlock, 20 for the second, 30 after that. Breaking a focus session or a schedule always costs 30 seconds. Every minute spent becomes a conscious purchase, not a reflex. TRUTH-BASED STREAK Track your resilience with an honest streak counter. One slip a day is your emergency margin. A second breach — or quitting a focus session or schedule early — burns your streak back to day one. BUILT FOR ADHD & DEEP WORK Struggling with impulse control or phone addiction? Phantom Focus acts as an external prefrontal cortex, helping you stay in deep work, reduce anxiety, and regain focus. 100% PRIVATE & ON-DEVICE Powered entirely by Apple's Screen Time framework (Family Controls). Zero accounts, zero analytics, zero ads, and no network connections. Your browsing habits and app selections never leave your device. Stop losing hours to mindless scrolling. Download Phantom Focus and own your attention again.

Screenshots

Milanote4 screens
Phantom Focus4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Phantom Focus at none against Milanote's 2. Milanote's advantage is iOS requirement (16.0 vs 18.0). On price, update cadence, ads and device support 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. Milanote sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $12.49 per month. Phantom Focus asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Milanote ships an update weekly, Phantom Focus every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Milanote versus Phantom Focus: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMilanotePhantom Focus
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (4.1K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews59.8% of reviews—
Number of ratings4.1K — better—
Update frequencyWeeklyEvery 4 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemium—
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS16.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size102 MB10 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMilanoteMaksim Timeshin

Bugs and requests

Milanote

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Crashes when trying to open certain boards
  • Issues with deleting or rearranging notes
  • Image uploads not working consistently

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add iPad app with full desktop functionality
  • Improve mobile app experience and parity with desktop
  • Increase free version storage limit
  • Implement offline mode and better file management
  • Add more customization options for boards and notes

Phantom Focus

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Milanote

Subscriptions2
  • Professional Monthly$12.491 Month
  • Professional Annual$119.991 Year
None

Phantom Focus

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Milanote free?
Milanote is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Phantom Focus free?
Phantom Focus is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Milanote or Phantom Focus have ads?
Neither Milanote nor Phantom Focus shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Milanote or Phantom Focus?
Milanote ships an update weekly, and Phantom Focus every 4 days. Most recently, Milanote was updated on November 2, 2026 and Phantom Focus on October 25, 2026.

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