# Minimal | Notes vs Effie

The clearest difference is monetization model: Effie at free with in-app purchases against Minimal | Notes's subscription. Effie also leads on iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). Minimal | Notes's advantage is rating (4.7 vs 4.3) and ratings volume (290 vs 36). On price, review sentiment, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Minimal | Notes sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Effie sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $6.00 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Minimal | Notes holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Minimal | Notes has 290 ratings behind it against 36, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 81% of Minimal | Notes's written reviews are positive against 75% of Effie's.

Minimal | Notes ships an update every 3 weeks, Effie fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Minimal | Notes | Effie |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.7 (290 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/minimal-notes/id1442727443/reviews)** | [4.3 (36 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/effie-write-mindmap-and-note/id1597914599/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **290** | 36 |
| Positive reviews | **81.3% of reviews** | 75.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | **Fortnightly** |
| Monetization | Subscription | **Free with in-app purchases** |
| Size | 59 MB | 53 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | **15.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Timeless](https://appshunter.io/developer/1183067513) | [7S2P Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1593810280) |

## What reviewers say

### Minimal | Notes

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/minimal-notes/id1442727443)

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:** Family Sharing, Apple Watch app, iMessage stickers, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Minimal Monthly | $4.99 | per month |
| Minimal Annual | $49.99 | per year |
| Minimal Family Plan | $79.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

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

**What reviewers complain about**

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

**Reported bugs**

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

**Requested features**

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


### Effie

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/effie-write-mindmap-and-note/id1597914599)

This app helps writers transform ideas into polished articles. It offers AI-powered mind mapping, content generation, and writing tools. Seamlessly sync across devices and export in various formats.

**Highlights:** AI-powered mind mapping, Generate articles from mind maps, Multi-device cloud synchronization, Offline writing support, Markup syntax for formatting, Outline to mind map conversion, Export to PDF, DOCX, Markdown

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (8)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Effie Pro Monthly Plan | $6.00 | per month |
| Effie AI Month Plan | $6.00 | per month |
| Effie Pro AI Monthly Plan | $9.00 | per month |
| Effie Yearly Plan | $29.99 | per year |
| Effie AI Yearly Plan | $72.00 | per year |
| Effie + AI Yearly Plan | $107.99 | per year |
| Effie Monthly Plan | $4.99 | one-time |
| Effie Yearly Plan | $48.00 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Minimal | Notes free?

Minimal | Notes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Effie free?

Effie is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Minimal | Notes or Effie?

Minimal | Notes is rated higher. Minimal | Notes averages 4.7 out of 5 from 290 ratings, while Effie averages 4.3 from 36 ratings.

### Do Minimal | Notes or Effie have ads?

Neither Minimal | Notes nor Effie shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Minimal | Notes or Effie?

Minimal | Notes ships an update every 3 weeks, and Effie fortnightly. Most recently, Minimal | Notes was updated on October 12, 2026 and Effie on October 8, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*