# Plain Note vs ChanMing

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: ChanMing at 17.0 against Plain Note's 26.0. On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Plain Note sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and ChanMing sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Plain Note ships an update every 9 days, ChanMing weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 13, 2026 and November 14, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Plain Note | ChanMing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.6 (1.1K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/plain-note-notes-widget/id1478542921/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **1.1K** | — |
| Positive reviews | 62.6% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 9 days | **Weekly** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Size | 31 MB | 38 MB |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | **17.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | iPhone, iPad, Mac |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Monelyze Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1086641918) | [阳 高](https://appshunter.io/developer/939406571) |

## What reviewers say

### Plain Note

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/plain-note-notes-widget/id1478542921)

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.

**Highlights:** 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

**Features:** Family Sharing, Vision Pro support, iPhone Duo support

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Premium - Monthly | $2.99 | per month |
| Premium - Yearly | $19.99 | per year |
| Premium - Lifetime | $29.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Simple and clean design
- 💡 One-time payment model
- 🚀 Beautifully designed notes app
- 🚀 Intuitive and easy to use
- 👍 Customizable tags and icons

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Notes sometimes don't save properly
- 🐛 Slow and unreliable synchronization
- ❌ No text formatting options (bold, italics, etc.)
- ❌ No ability to insert photos or videos
- ❌ No option to export notes

**Reported bugs**

- Notes sometimes get deleted after updates
- Widget not working as expected, showing wrong note

**Requested features**

- 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


### ChanMing

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chanming-notes-and-tasks/id6825210960)

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| ChanMing Pro Monthly | $1.99 | per month |
| ChanMing Pro Yearly | $19.99 | per year |
| ChanMing Pro Lifetime | $39.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Plain Note free?

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

### Is ChanMing free?

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

### Do Plain Note or ChanMing have ads?

Neither Plain Note nor ChanMing shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Plain Note or ChanMing?

Plain Note ships an update every 9 days, and ChanMing weekly. Most recently, Plain Note was updated on November 13, 2026 and ChanMing on November 14, 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.*