Comparison

Brain;Notes vs OrbMail

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

Head to head
About

Brain;Notes

Organize your thoughts and information with a scrapbook-style notepad. Freely add text, photos, maps, URLs, and voice memos to multiple workspaces. Notes can be secured with biometric authentication and exported as PDFs.

Highlights
  • Scrapbook-style organization
  • Support for text, photo, location, URL, and voice notes
  • Multiple workspaces with custom wallpapers
  • Biometric note locking
  • Calendar and Reminder integration
  • PDF export and AirDrop support
  • Stable and Shared note modes
Features
Read full description

"Brain;Notes" is a scrapbook-like sticky note that uses sticky notes to efficiently organize your ideas and information. You can freely write down not only text but also maps, photos, URLs, and other notes on your workspace. It can be used in a variety of ways depending on your ideas and thoughts, such as mind mapping. Main Features ・Simple menu-driven user interface. ・Available note types: text, photo, location, URL, and voice. ・Voice notes can be recorded for 60 seconds. ・Multiple workspaces are available for managing notes. ・Each workspace can have its own wallpaper. ・Each note can be locked by biometric authentication. ・Notes can be created as events in Calendar.app. ・Notes can be registered in Reminder.app. ・Workspaces can be exported as PDF files. ・AirDrop is supported. ・App supports for Sharing. (Notes can be created by "Share" from other apps. Notes can be created by dragging from other apps.) Unique Features: ・When a note is set to "Stable" mode, it will appear in all workspaces. If you create a new workspace, the note will still appear automatically. ・When a note is set to "Shared" mode, it will only appear in the workspace you select. Attentions: ・There is no ability to delete a workspace. However, you can delete all notes on a workspace with a three-finger tap gesture. Please be careful not to create too many workspaces. ・If there are less than 10 notes left, the app will automatically refill notes to 10 at midnight. Gesture Operations: Workspace (gray area): ・Single Tap: shows menu. ・Double Tap: creates new note. ・Two Finger Tap: reset wallpaper. ・Three Finger Tap: deletes all notes on the workspace. Sticky notes: ・Single Tap: shows menu. ・Double Tap: transforms appearance. ・Long Press: shows context menu.

About

OrbMail

Features
Read full description

OrbMail — your email, seen as a system. OrbMail is a fast, private mail client for iPhone that turns your inbox into something you can actually read and act on. It connects directly to Gmail, iCloud, Outlook, Yahoo or your own IMAP server — with no OrbMail servers in between. Type your address and OrbMail detects your provider and its servers for you. WHAT MAKES IT DIFFERENT • What's happening — in the Daily, each cluster gets its own headline and a short, human read of what's moving: who is waiting on whom, what's due and what to do today. Ask Siri “What's happening in OrbMail” and it tells you, without opening the app. • Clusters — group senders into areas (Family, Work, Finance…) and see your mail as a living diagram of who writes to you and about what. OrbMail can suggest the clusters for you. • Awaiting reply — OrbMail surfaces the threads where the ball is in your court, so nothing slips. • Clean reading — messages render beautifully; remote tracking images are blocked by default. • Your way — Automatic, Light or Dark theme, larger text when you need it, and drafts that save themselves. PRIVACY, BY DESIGN OrbMail has no servers of its own. It talks directly to your mail provider and no one else. Your email, password and tokens travel only to your mail provider — never to OrbMail or any third party. Everything OrbMail works out (What's happening, headlines, clusters, awaiting reply) is computed on your iPhone. Credentials live in the iOS Keychain; local data is encrypted with iOS Data Protection. No analytics, no trackers, no OrbMail account. APPLE INTELLIGENCE, ON DEVICE The AI-written text uses Apple Intelligence, runs entirely on device and requires iPhone 15 Pro or later with iOS 26 and Apple Intelligence turned on. On other iPhones, OrbMail still shows What's happening as a plain summary built on the device, suggests clusters by topic and domain, and works as a fast, private mail client. Languages: English, Español, Deutsch, Italiano, Français, Português, 中文, 日本語.

Screenshots

OrbMail4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: OrbMail at none against Brain;Notes's 4. OrbMail also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs every 6 days) and device support (3 vs 1). On price, ads and iOS requirement 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. Brain;Notes sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. OrbMail asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Brain;Notes ships an update every 6 days, OrbMail every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Brain;Notes versus OrbMail: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBrain;NotesOrbMail
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.5 (2 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings2 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 6 daysEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPadiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS17.6 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size9 MB19 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperKouichi AbeJulio Aris Serey

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Brain;Notes

One-time4
  • 20 notes$0.99
  • 50 notes$1.99
  • 80 notes$2.99
Show 1 more
  • 150 notes$4.99
None

OrbMail

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Brain;Notes free?
Brain;Notes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is OrbMail free?
OrbMail is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Brain;Notes or OrbMail have ads?
Neither Brain;Notes nor OrbMail shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Brain;Notes or OrbMail?
Brain;Notes ships an update every 6 days, and OrbMail every 2 days. Most recently, Brain;Notes was updated on October 24, 2026 and OrbMail on October 29, 2026.

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