Comparison

Minute Notes vs Benchpad

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

Head to head
About

Minute Notes

Features
Read full description

Capture a thought before it disappears. Minute Notes is a focused notepad for writing, finding, and exporting plain-text notes without an account. Open the app, create a note with one tap, and keep typing. FAST FROM THE FIRST NOTE β€’ Create a note with one tap β€’ Search across titles and note text β€’ Pin important notes to the top β€’ Export any note as portable plain text with the system share sheet β€’ Use a native split layout built for both iPhone and iPad PRIVATE BY DESIGN Your notes are stored on this device. Minute Notes has no account, no ads, no analytics SDK, and no cloud or upload service. You choose where an exported note goes. Minute Notes is deliberately small: a clear place to capture an idea, find it again, and move it somewhere else when you are ready.

About

Benchpad

Features
Read full description

Benchpad is a scratchpad, not a second brain. Three pads. You name them β€” Work / Personal / Scratch, Today / This Week / Someday, whatever fits your head. No folders, no tags, no filing decisions. Open, type, close. WRITE WITHOUT DECIDING Every note app asks "where does this go?" before you've written a word. Benchpad doesn't. Three pads means the decision is already made. WORKS ON A PLANE Offline-first, not offline-tolerant. Every keystroke saves to your device before any network request. Sync happens in the background when you're online β€” and merges conflict-free if you edited on two devices at once. CONSTRAINT IS THE PRODUCT Benchpad is for people who want to write things down β€” not maintain a system. A note app that knows when to stop. When you can't create infinite folders, you write instead of organizing. Constraint isn't a compromise. It's the product. A REAL EDITOR Headings, checklists, tables, code blocks with syntax highlighting, images, file attachments all with slash commands and a block editor. NO AI. NO ADS. NO DATA MINING. Nothing reads, summarizes, or trains on your notes. Notes are encrypted at rest. Plain markdown β€” copy everything out anytime, no lock-in. FREE FOREVER, REALLY One pad, the full editor, offline support, sync, and an archive of 100 notes β€” free, no credit card, no time limit. Pro ($10/year flat) unlocks all three pads, all six themes, attachments, voice-note audio, and Markdown/PDF export. Benchpad is for people who want to write things down β€” not maintain a system. A note app that knows when to stop.

Screenshots

Minute Notes4 screens
Benchpad4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Minute Notes at none against Benchpad's 1. Benchpad's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs every 40 months) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price Β· Rating Β· Positive reviews Β· Number of ratings Β· Update frequency Β· Ads Β· In-app purchases Β· Monetization Β· Best chart rank Β· Devices Β· Requires iOS

CostPrice Β· In-app purchases Β· Ads Β· Monetization

Both are free to download. Benchpad sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $9.99 per year. Minute Notes asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Minute Notes ships an update every 40 months, Benchpad fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 14, 2026 and September 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences Β· 3 level
Minute Notes versus Benchpad: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMinute NotesBenchpad
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 40 monthsFortnightly β€” better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo β€” betterYes
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod β€” better
Requires iOS17.015.0 β€” better
Further details β€” not scored
Size4 MB113 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDmitriy MotorinGagandeep Singh

In-app purchases

None

Minute Notes

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Benchpad

Subscriptions1
  • Benchpad Pro$9.991 Year

Questions

Is Minute Notes free?
Minute Notes is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Benchpad free?
Benchpad is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Minute Notes or Benchpad have ads?
Neither Minute Notes nor Benchpad shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Minute Notes or Benchpad?
Minute Notes ships an update every 40 months, and Benchpad fortnightly. Most recently, Minute Notes was updated on September 14, 2026 and Benchpad on September 10, 2026.

Other comparisons