Plain Note vs WidgetCal
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Plain Note
A straightforward, text-only notepad for quickly capturing thoughts, memos, and drafts. Organize notes with customizable tags and access them easily via home and lock screen widgets. Offers optional iCloud sync and extensive customization through in-app purchases.
- Text-only note-taking
- Customizable tags with icons
- Lock screen and home screen widgets
- Character and line count
- Note archiving and organization
- Theme, icon, and font customization
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Plain Note is a simple, text-only notes app that makes it easy to capture ideas, jot down everyday notes, and draft social media posts and emails. No ads. No sign-up required. Notes are stored on your device and, if you use iCloud sync, in your own iCloud account as well. The developer does not collect the contents of your notes. It's a good fit for people who want to jot things down and quickly refer back to them, rather than use a notes app with lots of features. You can organize your notes by adding tags, and it supports lock screen and home screen widgets. It can be used on iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Features • You can categorize your notes with tags. • Customize tag icons and colors. • You can count the number of characters and lines. • Archive and organize your notes. • Widgets can be added to the lock screen and home screen. • Customize themes, app icons, and fonts. (Some features are available for a fee.) Premium (in-app purchase) • Sync data across iPhone, iPad, and Mac via iCloud. • All themes and app icons are available. • All tag icons are available. • All font customizations are available. *Prices may vary by country or region. Please check in the app. *Some features may not be available in all languages or regions. Terms of Use: https://monelyze.app/en/terms/ Privacy Policy: https://monelyze.app/en/privacy
WidgetCal
Perform calculations directly from your home screen with advanced functions. Customize your experience with multiple themes. Unlock premium features through a subscription.
- Home screen widget calculator
- Trigonometric and calculus functions
- Over 10 beautiful themes
- No ads
- Monthly/annual subscription for Pro features
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WidgetCal - Widget calculator allows you to calculate on your home screen - Supports trigonometric functions, logarithms, square root, square, reciprocal, π, and calculus tools for derivative at x and definite integral over [a, b] - Home Screen Widget Calculator (iOS 17 Interactive Widgets) - Over 10+ beautiful themes - No Ads ----- WidgetCal Pro is available with a monthly or annual subscription. You can subscribe and pay through your Apple account. Your subscription will automatically renew unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Auto-renew may be turned off after purchase. Terms of Use: https://www.zhihuke.com/widgetcal/terms.html Privacy Policy: https://www.zhihuke.com/widgetcal/privacy.html
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Plain Note at every 9 days against WidgetCal's every 32 months. Plain Note also leads on ratings volume (1.1K vs 1). WidgetCal's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.6) and iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Plain Note sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and WidgetCal sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
WidgetCal holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Plain Note has 1.1K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Plain Note ships an update every 9 days, WidgetCal every 32 months. The most recent releases landed on November 13, 2026 and November 12, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Plain Note | WidgetCal |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (1.1K ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 62.6% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 1.1K — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 9 days — better | Every 32 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | 17.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 31 MB | 3 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Monelyze Inc. | 杏娣 吴 |
Customer experience
Plain Note
WidgetCal
Bugs and requests
Plain Note
Reported bugs
2 issues- Notes sometimes get deleted after updates
- Widget not working as expected, showing wrong note
Requested features
7 requests- Ability to swipe widget to display another note
- Subfolders for better organization
- Export function to backup notes
- Option to change app colors
- Support for multiple notes in one widget
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- Text formatting options (bold, italics, headings)
- Ability to insert photos and videos
WidgetCal
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Plain Note
- Premium - Monthly7 Days trial$2.991 Month
- Premium - Yearly7 Days trial$19.991 Year
- Premium - Lifetime$29.99
WidgetCal
- WidgetCal Pro$0.991 Month
- WidgetCal Pro7 Days trial$3.991 Year
Questions
Is Plain Note free?
Is WidgetCal free?
Which has better reviews, Plain Note or WidgetCal?
Do Plain Note or WidgetCal have ads?
Which is updated more often, Plain Note or WidgetCal?
Other comparisons
