Minimal | Notes vs NotePlan
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Note Lifetime reminders
- Collaborative writing
- Publish notes as websites
- Todo lists sync with Calendar
- Beautiful formatting
- Sync across Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch
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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.
NotePlan
Organize your tasks, notes, and calendar in one unified app. Quickly plan your day with Markdown, link notes bi-directionally, and stay on top of your to-dos with powerful review and search features. Seamlessly integrates with your existing calendars and syncs across all your Apple devices.
- Unified task, note, and calendar view
- Markdown for quick task and note creation
- Bi-directional note linking
- Calendar integration (iCloud, Google, Exchange)
- Flexible recurring tasks
- Global Command Bar for fast navigation
- Plaintext note storage
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Having trouble planning your day, managing your to-do list, and organizing your notes? Always jumping between apps and losing track of what to do and where you put things? Say hello to NotePlan! NotePlan lets you manage everything in one place: your tasks, notes, and calendar. Perfect for project managers, designers, researchers, writers, students, or anyone who wants to be organized and efficient. QUICKLY PLAN YOUR DAY WITH MARKDOWN • Plan your day by seeing your calendar, notes, and tasks in a single view • Create tasks and notes quickly with Markdown • Add #tags to organize tasks and notes • Use @mentions to find people • Reschedule to-do items easily • Create flexible recurring tasks • Work faster with autocomplete BUILD YOUR NETWORK OF NOTES • Create your own network of notes • Organize any way you want to: from simple folders over P.A.R.A. to a Zettelkasten system • Bi-directional notes: link your calendar and your notes in any direction, automatically • Cross-reference and link notes easily STAY ON TOP OF THINGS WITH REVIEW • Search all tasks and notes, instantly • See all open tasks with the click of a button • Get a list of overdue to-do items • See upcoming tasks at a glance • Create custom filters with your own queries using status, #tags, @mentions, or even text SEAMLESS INTEGRATION WITH YOUR CALENDAR • Create events and reminders right in NotePlan • Support for iCloud, Google, and Exchange calendars • Time-block tasks on your calendar simply by typing AVAILABLE ON MAC, IPHONE & IPAD • Sync everything between your Apple devices • Use any sync method you like: CloudKit or iCloud Drive • A single subscription for all your devices OPEN, PRIVATE & FAST • All your notes are stored in plaintext so you're never locked in • Your information is private and cannot be accessed • Enjoy lightning speed thanks to local files and native apps ANY THEME YOU WANT • Choose from a variety of built-in themes • Work with light or dark versions • Create your own custom theme SHORTCUTS FOR MAXIMUM SPEED • Extended Markdown syntax support with customization options • Move around without ever leaving the keyboard • Find everything with the Global Command Bar NotePlan is developed independently and prioritizes user features and requests. We have long-term roadmaps and listen to customers to improve the apps. - - - - - Price may vary by location. Subscriptions will be charged to your credit card through your iTunes account. Your subscription will automatically renew unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. After purchase, manage your subscriptions in App Store Account Settings. - - - - - Email: hello@noteplan.co Web: noteplan.co Discord: https://discord.gg/D4268MT Twitter: NotePlanApp Reddit: reddit.com/r/NotePlanApp Learn NotePlan course: https://noteplan.eo.page/newsletter Terms of use: http://noteplan.co/tos/ Privacy policy: https://noteplan.co/privacy/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ratings volume: NotePlan at 1.5K against Minimal | Notes's 297. On price, rating, review sentiment and update cadence 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
Both are free to download. Minimal | Notes sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and NotePlan sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Minimal | Notes against 4.8 for NotePlan. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: NotePlan has 1.5K ratings behind it against 297, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 81% of Minimal | Notes's written reviews are positive against 85% of NotePlan's.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 27, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Minimal | Notes | NotePlan |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (297 ratings) | 4.8 (1.5K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 81.3% of reviews | 85.1% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 297 | 1.5K — better |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Monthly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Subscription | Subscription |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch — better | iPhone, iPad, Mac |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 16.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 59 MB | 204 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Timeless | NotePlan LLC |
Customer experience
Minimal | Notes
NotePlan
User reviews
Minimal | Notes
From 297 App Store ratingsWhat 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
NotePlan
From 1.5K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Powerful note-taking and task management
- 👍 Seamless calendar and reminders integration
- 💡 Flexible and customizable workflow
- 🔒 Secure and open-format data storage
- 👍 Responsive and helpful developer
Room to improve
- 💰 Expensive subscription model
- 🐛 Occasional sync and performance issues
- 👤 Limited collaboration and sharing features
Bugs and 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
NotePlan
Reported bugs
2 issues- Inconsistent sync between devices
- Crashes when opening certain files
Requested features
4 requests- Improved iPad and mobile app experience
- Better integration with other productivity apps
- More automation and scripting capabilities
- Weekly or monthly calendar view
In-app purchases
Minimal | Notes
- Minimal Monthly14 Days trial$4.991 Month
- Minimal Annual14 Days trial$49.991 Year
- Minimal Family Plan14 Days trial$79.991 Year
NotePlan
- Personal Weekly$4.997 Days
- Personal Monthly$6.991 Month
- Personal Monthly1 Month trial$11.991 Month
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- Personal Monthly2 variants$12.001 Month
- Personal Annual7 Days trial$59.991 Year
- Personal Annual7 Days trial2 variants$99.991 Year
- Personal Annual1 Month trial$119.991 Year
- Business Class1 Month trial$199.991 Year









