Comparison

Focus Note vs iNote

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

Head to head
About

Focus Note

Organize notes hierarchically with text folding, color coding, and multi-page structures. Enhance writing with LaTeX formulas, icons, and Markdown support. Share notes in various formats and customize themes for a personalized experience.

Highlights
  • Hierarchical note organization
  • Text folding and rainbow notes
  • LaTeX mathematical formulas
  • Markdown and shortcut keys
  • Multi-page note structure
  • Flash highlights for reciting
  • File sharing in multiple formats
Features
Read full description

Focus Note is suitable for learning and writing reading notes, article, diaries and other scenes. It has three characteristics: exquisite and concise, powerful function, and clear note structure. ----- It mainly includes the following functions: #The ability to organize notes by hierarchy: * Text folding: Clicking the paragraph symbols H1, H2, and H3 respectively can help to fold paragraphs of different titles for easy outline reading and text management. * Rainbow notes: For quick distinction, you can choose different color series to modify the text color for different "H1" paragraphs. * Highlight: Focus Note provides 7 different highlight colors for highlighting * Multi-page note structure: Multiple pages in the notebook can be created and easily dragged to change the sort. It can be used to manage different notes chapters. * Bookmarks and links: Bookmarks can be created at key points, and links can be added anywhere in the notebook to jump back there. Of course, hyperlinks can also link to any URL. # Ultra-convenient note writing function * Mathematical formula: LaTeX is used in Focus note to input mathematical formulas. * Icon: Built-in eight sets of icons representing priority, focus, banner, symbol, progress, etc., so that you can mark with graphics. * Markdown and shortcut keys: You can use Markdown's syntax and keyboard shortcuts to improve the efficiency of note writing. * The functions that Focus note should have: references, to-do items, code blocks, bold, italic, underline, underline, superscript, subscript... # Other features * Flash Highlights: Text will be hidden or displayed after using them, which provides a great reciting experience. * Share: Support sharing files with the file extension ".note", Markdown, text, images, PDF files. * Multiple themes: Four different themes are available and can be easily replaced with one click. * Home screen shortcut: You can put a frequently used notebook on the mobile phone desktop, and click it to quickly start the notebook. ----- # Payment plan Some of the features of Focus Note, such as mathematical formulas and colorful notes, can be enjoyed after subscribing or purchasing the full version of the PRO. We offer the following two purchase options: * Yearly subscription: The starting price is $17.49 USD, and the automatic renewal will be made upon expiration. * Monthly subscription: The starting price is $1.99 USD, and the automatic renewal will be made upon expiration. At the same time, you can treat the developers of Focus Note to a cup of coffee to support the development of Focus Note. :-D However, this does not involve the purchase and unlocking of the PRO version. Supplemental subscription instructions * Yearly / Monthly subscription plan (starting price is $17.49/$1.99 USD). * After confirming the purchase, you will be paid through your iTunes account. * After the subscription expires, it will be automatically renewed at the same price and in the same subscription period as originally planned by default . To stop your subscription plan, you must cancel it at least 24 hours before expiration date of the current subscription plan. * You can cancel your subscription plan at any time, which can be done through the subscription settings of your personal iTunes account (Steps: Find the settings on your device, click iTunes and App Store > Apple ID > View Apple ID > Enter Password > Subscribe > Manage Application Subscriptions) > Click the Unsubscribe button at the bottom of the page. # Legal * For more information, please see: http://focusnote.com.cn/ * Privacy Policy: http://focusnote.com.cn/#/Privacy * Terms of Service: http://focusnote.com.cn/#/Terms # Question? Do you want to feedback ? We are willing to hear your opinions, criticisms, suggestions…Anything is ok! Email: Focus-Feedback@foxmail.com

About

iNote

Capture inspiration and organize your thoughts with a robust note-taking app. Features include cloud sync, a notebook system for organization, and rich text formatting. Protect your ideas with passcode and backup options.

Highlights
  • Cloud Sync
  • Notebook System
  • Rich Text Formatting
  • Checklists
  • Passcode Protection
  • Picture Export
Features
Read full description

"iNote · ideas Note" is a powerful note-taking application with excellent experience, allowing you to record inspiration ideas at any time. The "Cloud Sync" let you write notes across multiple devices. There are not only a "notebook system" specially designed for organizing and controlling, but also a "picture layout" full of details. “Passcode” and “backup” allow you to control all your important notes. =Powerful Features= 1. Infinite Expansion: Each note can be continuously expanded at any time 2. Powerful checklist: Easily create various to-do items and plans 3. Rich text: Highlight, bold, focus, notes are more organized 4. Notebook system: Arrange and manage all your notes 5. Cloud Sync: Sync your notes across multiple devices 6. Picture Export: Beautiful picture template, share to SNS and friends 7. Eye protection mode: make your eyes more comfortable! 8. Passcode + backup: Gesture password, iCloud backup 9. More: card color, home screen icon, waiting for you to discover~ ------------------------- = About the In-App Subscription = The app includes following subscriptions: - iNote Pro · Monthly Membership - iNote Cloud 10 GB Yearly - iNote Cloud 100 GB Yearly Your subscription will be billed through your Apple ID account after purchase. Subscription automatically renews unless you cancel it at least 24 hours before the end of your billing cycle. Renewal cannot be cancelled. Privacy Policy: https://clover.ly/privacy Terms: https://m.icity.ly/tos

Screenshots

Focus Note4 screens
iNote4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: iNote at 91% against Focus Note's 31%. iNote also leads on rating (4.8 vs 3.6) and ratings volume (299 vs 15). On price, update cadence, 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. Focus Note sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and iNote sells 11 in-app purchases, starting at $0.49 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

iNote holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: iNote has 299 ratings behind it against 15, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 31% of Focus Note's written reviews are positive against 91% of iNote's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Focus Note ships an update every 3 weeks, iNote every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 4, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Focus Note versus iNote: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFocus NoteiNote
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.6 (15 ratings)4.8 (299 ratings) — better
Positive reviews30.8% of reviews90.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings15299 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 6 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.0 — better13.0
Further details — not scored
Size246 MB174 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperKiraku Tech Co., Ltd.iDaily Corp.

Customer experience

Focus Note

All ratings15 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral6.7%
Negative26.7%
Written reviews13 reviews
Positive30.8%
Neutral30.8%
Negative38.5%

iNote

All ratings297 ratings
Positive95.6%
Neutral3.0%
Negative1.3%
Written reviews116 reviews
Positive90.5%
Neutral2.6%
Negative6.9%

Bugs and requests

Focus Note

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

iNote

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Backup failures
  • Rotated photos after insertion
  • Lack of auto-capitalization

Requested features

7 requests
  • Markdown support
  • Ability to reorder notebooks
  • Improved photo/image handling
  • Sync across devices
  • Voice recording option
Show 2 more
  • Nested checklists
  • Mac app version

In-app purchases

6 purchases

Focus Note

Subscriptions3
  • Monthly Subscription$1.991 Month
  • 3 Mos. Subscription$3.993 Months
  • Yearly Subscription$17.491 Year
One-time3
  • 专注笔记 - 美式咖啡$0.99
  • 专注笔记 - 卡布奇诺$2.99
  • 专注笔记 - 一杯巨大的摩卡奶昔$3.99
11 purchases

iNote

Subscriptions7
  • iNote Pro · Monthly Membership7 Days trial$0.491 Month
  • iNote Cloud 10 GB Special7 Days trial$1.491 Month
  • iNote Cloud 10 GB Monthly Plan7 Days trial$1.991 Month
Show 4 more
  • iNote Cloud 10 GB Special7 Days trial$13.991 Year
  • iNote Cloud 10 GB Yearly Plan7 Days trial$18.491 Year
  • iNote Cloud 50 GB Special Plan$59.991 Year
  • iNote Cloud 50 GB Yearly Plan$69.991 Year
One-time4
  • iNote Reset Passcode$0.99
  • Coffee for Developer$2.99
  • iNote Pro$3.99
Show 1 more
  • Coffee for Designer$4.99

Questions

Is Focus Note free?
Focus Note is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is iNote free?
iNote is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Focus Note or iNote?
iNote is rated higher. Focus Note averages 3.6 out of 5 from 15 ratings, while iNote averages 4.8 from 299 ratings.
Do Focus Note or iNote have ads?
Neither Focus Note nor iNote shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Focus Note or iNote?
Focus Note ships an update every 3 weeks, and iNote every 6 weeks. Most recently, Focus Note was updated on October 4, 2026 and iNote on October 24, 2026.

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