Comparison

Plain Note vs Simple Timer & Stopwatch

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

Head to head
About

Plain Note

This app allows you to create and organize notes with customizable tags and icons. It offers lock screen and home screen widgets for quick access and supports character/line counting. Personalize your experience with themes, app icons, and fonts.

Highlights
  • Organize notes with tags
  • Customizable tag icons and colors
  • Character and line counting
  • Lock screen and home screen widgets
  • Customizable themes, app icons, and fonts
  • Archive and organize notes
Features
Read full description

"Plain Note" is a simple notes app. 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 with iPhone, iPad, and Mac via iCloud. This can also be used as a backup. • 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

About

Simple Timer & Stopwatch

This app provides a clear and responsive timer and stopwatch with large time displays for everyday tasks, study, and lessons. It offers customizable layouts, presets, and history tracking, with optional features like showing the current time and keeping the screen awake. Live Activities display your timer or stopwatch on the Lock Screen and Dynamic Island.

Highlights
  • Large time displays
  • Customizable layouts
  • Preset durations
  • Live Activities integration
  • Offline functionality
  • History tracking
  • Screen awake option
Features
Read full description

A clear timer and stopwatch for study, lessons and everyday tasks. Large time displays and responsive layouts keep your countdown or elapsed time prominent, with controls close at hand on iPhone and iPad. Turn on Clock in the layout menu to show the current time alongside your countdown. The clock is optional and off by default. Select the manual Tabletop layout to place the timer above its controls, or use the regular timer layout. Start/Pause and Reset stay at the bottom of the control pane, with presets and optional content above. Your running or paused session continues when you change layouts. Start with 1, 3, 5, 10, 15 or 30-minute presets, or set a custom duration. Pause, resume and reset with simple controls. Use a full-screen countdown and lock its controls to help prevent accidental changes. Review your timer and stopwatch history. Choose light, dark or system appearance, an alert sound or silent mode, and optionally keep the screen awake while timing. Live Activities show your timer or stopwatch on the Lock Screen and, on supported devices, the Dynamic Island. Alerts depend on notification permissions and system settings. Ad-free timing, no account required. The timer and stopwatch work offline. Optional links to our other apps are in Settings. Available in English, Japanese, Korean, German and Simplified Chinese.

Screenshots

Plain Note4 screens
Simple Timer & Stopwatch4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Plain Note at 4.6 against Simple Timer & Stopwatch's 1.0. Plain Note also leads on update cadence (every 9 days vs every 3 months) and ratings volume (1.1K vs 1). Simple Timer & Stopwatch's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and iOS requirement (16.1 vs 26.0). On price, ads and device support 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. Plain Note sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Simple Timer & Stopwatch asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Plain Note holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 1.0. 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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Plain Note ships an update every 9 days, Simple Timer & Stopwatch every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on September 28, 2026 and September 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Plain Note versus Simple Timer & Stopwatch: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPlain NoteSimple Timer & Stopwatch
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (1.1K ratings) — better1.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews62.3% of reviews—
Number of ratings1.1K — better1
Update frequencyEvery 9 days — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS26.016.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size31 MB11 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMonelyze Inc.Cong Le

Customer experience

Plain Note

All ratings1,079 ratings
Positive90.5%
Neutral3.6%
Negative5.9%
Written reviews106 reviews
Positive62.3%
Neutral13.2%
Negative24.5%

Simple Timer & Stopwatch

All ratings1 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

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
Show 2 more
  • Text formatting options (bold, italics, headings)
  • Ability to insert photos and videos

Simple Timer & Stopwatch

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Plain Note

Subscriptions2
  • Premium - Monthly7 Days trial$2.991 Month
  • Premium - Yearly7 Days trial$19.991 Year
One-time1
  • Premium - Lifetime$29.99
None

Simple Timer & Stopwatch

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Plain Note free?
Plain Note is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Simple Timer & Stopwatch free?
Simple Timer & Stopwatch is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Plain Note or Simple Timer & Stopwatch?
Plain Note is rated higher. Plain Note averages 4.6 out of 5 from 1.1K ratings, while Simple Timer & Stopwatch averages 1.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Plain Note or Simple Timer & Stopwatch have ads?
Neither Plain Note nor Simple Timer & Stopwatch shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Plain Note or Simple Timer & Stopwatch?
Plain Note ships an update every 9 days, and Simple Timer & Stopwatch every 3 months. Most recently, Plain Note was updated on September 28, 2026 and Simple Timer & Stopwatch on September 29, 2026.

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