Comparison

a Notepad vs NowStack

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

Head to head
About

a Notepad

Capture your thoughts and ideas effortlessly on the go. This app offers both offline and cloud-synced note-taking, allowing you to access your notes from any device. Share your notes as plain text or as a web page with customizable privacy settings.

Highlights
  • Standalone mode (no login)
  • Cloud synchronization
  • Cross-device access
  • Note sharing as text or web page
  • Private, public, and password-protected notes
  • Guest editing options
Features
Read full description

Take notes on the go and share notes online with aNotepad mobile app. aNotepad can be used in either Standalone mode or Connected mode. Standalone mode - No login required. Notes will only be stored on your mobile device. If you later decide to login with an anotepad.com account, your local notes will be uploaded to that account as well. Connected mode - If you login with an anotepad.com free account, notes will be synchronized with anotepad.com cloud server. You can access your notes from multiple devices. You can also access your notes at anotepad.com website with a web browser. Note Sharing Notes can be shared either as Text or as online Web page. User in standalone mode can only share notes as Text. Logged in user can get an instant note web page and share note URL with others. Note Permission When you share your note as an online web page with others. You can set note permission to control who can see your note. Private Note - Only you can read and edit Public Note - Everyone who knows the URL can read Password Protected Note - Only people with password can read If you enable Guest Editing on your note, people with note editing password can also edit your note at anotepad.com website. Contact us at support@anotepad.com if you have any additional questions or any feedback.

About

NowStack

Features
Read full description

NowStack turns your to-do list into a stack — and puts one task on top: NOW. Instead of staring at forty things, you see the one that matters. Do it, and the next rises to the top. No projects to configure, no due-date guilt, no endless nesting. Just momentum. HOW IT WORKS • Push a task onto the stack — type it, add #tags inline. • The top card is your NOW. Everything else waits its turn. • Finish it with one tap; the next task takes its place. • Bump any task to the top the moment priorities change. FOCUS TIMER Give the current task 5, 10, 25, 50 minutes, or an hour. NowStack counts down and nudges you when time's up — a built-in time-box without the ceremony. STAY ON TOP OF IT • Tag and group tasks (#work, #home, #calls). • Drag to reorder; drop a task on top to make it NOW. • Set an Apple Reminder or block time on your Calendar. • Open links right from a task, and share anything into NowStack from Safari and other apps. SYNCS WITH YOUR MAC NowStack keeps your stack in sync across iPhone, iPad, and the NowStack Mac app over iCloud. Start on your phone, finish at your desk. Free for everyday stacks. A one-time unlock adds the focus timer, reminders, calendar, and export — no subscription, ever. Stop managing your list. Start doing the next thing. What's New (release notes) • Faster, smoother task stack • Tap the link icon to open a task's URL in your browser • Cleaner focus-timer and task editor • Bigger, easier-to-tap row buttons • Fixes to reordering and NOW focus

Screenshots

a Notepad4 screens
NowStack4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: a Notepad at none against NowStack's 1. a Notepad also leads on iOS requirement (11.0 vs 17.0). NowStack's advantage is update cadence (every 8 days vs every 3 months). 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. NowStack sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. a Notepad asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

a Notepad ships an update every 3 months, NowStack every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on October 1, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
a Notepad versus NowStack: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
Parametera NotepadNowStack
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (38 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews48.6% of reviews—
Number of ratings38 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 8 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS11.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size61 MB2 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJia Qing SongAlexander Fitterling

In-app purchases

None

a Notepad

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

NowStack

One-time1
  • Full Unlock$5.99

Questions

Is a Notepad free?
a Notepad is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is NowStack free?
NowStack is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do a Notepad or NowStack have ads?
Neither a Notepad nor NowStack shows ads.
Which is updated more often, a Notepad or NowStack?
a Notepad ships an update every 3 months, and NowStack every 8 days. Most recently, a Notepad was updated on October 1, 2026 and NowStack on September 24, 2026.

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