Comparison

Minimal | Notes vs Trace

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

Head to head
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.

About

Trace

Features
Read full description

Ever listen to a podcast, love what someone says but then just forget it? Trace enables you to remember the moments that matter. Capture exact quotes from podcasts, easily send them to your favourite notes app. Add a timestamp or use a screenshot to save what you hear. Trace finds the moment and turns it into a clean quote you can keep. How it works: 1. Add a podcast and timestamp 2. Or fill details from a screenshot 3. Get the quote from that moment Use Trace to: • Save quotes without rewinding • Copy highlights into your notes • Share moments as quote cards • Build a personal library of ideas

Screenshots

Minimal | Notes4 screens
Trace4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Minimal | Notes at none against Trace's shown. Minimal | Notes also leads on device support (4 vs 2). Trace's advantage is update cadence (every 2 days vs monthly) and iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.0). On price 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. Minimal | Notes sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Trace sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Minimal | Notes ships an update monthly, Trace every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Minimal | Notes versus Trace: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMinimal | NotesTrace
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (298 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews81.4% of reviews—
Number of ratings298 — better—
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 2 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationSubscription—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS17.015.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size59 MB47 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTimelessPeter Healy

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

Trace

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

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
2 purchases

Trace

Subscriptions2
  • Trace Plus Monthly$9.991 Month
  • Trace Plus Annual$89.991 Year

Questions

Is Minimal | Notes free?
Minimal | Notes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Trace free?
Trace is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Minimal | Notes or Trace have ads?
Trace shows ads; Minimal | Notes does not.
Which is updated more often, Minimal | Notes or Trace?
Minimal | Notes ships an update monthly, and Trace every 2 days. Most recently, Minimal | Notes was updated on November 2, 2026 and Trace on October 31, 2026.

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