Comparison

NotePlan vs Hourglass

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

Head to head
About

NotePlan

Organize your tasks, notes, and calendar in one unified app. Quickly plan your day with Markdown, link notes bi-directionally, and stay on top of your to-dos with powerful review and search features. Seamlessly integrates with your existing calendars and syncs across all your Apple devices.

Highlights
  • Unified task, note, and calendar view
  • Markdown for quick task and note creation
  • Bi-directional note linking
  • Calendar integration (iCloud, Google, Exchange)
  • Flexible recurring tasks
  • Global Command Bar for fast navigation
  • Plaintext note storage
Features
Read full description

Having trouble planning your day, managing your to-do list, and organizing your notes? Always jumping between apps and losing track of what to do and where you put things? Say hello to NotePlan! NotePlan lets you manage everything in one place: your tasks, notes, and calendar. Perfect for project managers, designers, researchers, writers, students, or anyone who wants to be organized and efficient. QUICKLY PLAN YOUR DAY WITH MARKDOWN • Plan your day by seeing your calendar, notes, and tasks in a single view • Create tasks and notes quickly with Markdown • Add #tags to organize tasks and notes • Use @mentions to find people • Reschedule to-do items easily • Create flexible recurring tasks • Work faster with autocomplete BUILD YOUR NETWORK OF NOTES • Create your own network of notes • Organize any way you want to: from simple folders over P.A.R.A. to a Zettelkasten system • Bi-directional notes: link your calendar and your notes in any direction, automatically • Cross-reference and link notes easily STAY ON TOP OF THINGS WITH REVIEW • Search all tasks and notes, instantly • See all open tasks with the click of a button • Get a list of overdue to-do items • See upcoming tasks at a glance • Create custom filters with your own queries using status, #tags, @mentions, or even text SEAMLESS INTEGRATION WITH YOUR CALENDAR • Create events and reminders right in NotePlan • Support for iCloud, Google, and Exchange calendars • Time-block tasks on your calendar simply by typing AVAILABLE ON MAC, IPHONE & IPAD • Sync everything between your Apple devices • Use any sync method you like: CloudKit or iCloud Drive • A single subscription for all your devices OPEN, PRIVATE & FAST • All your notes are stored in plaintext so you're never locked in • Your information is private and cannot be accessed • Enjoy lightning speed thanks to local files and native apps ANY THEME YOU WANT • Choose from a variety of built-in themes • Work with light or dark versions • Create your own custom theme SHORTCUTS FOR MAXIMUM SPEED • Extended Markdown syntax support with customization options • Move around without ever leaving the keyboard • Find everything with the Global Command Bar NotePlan is developed independently and prioritizes user features and requests. We have long-term roadmaps and listen to customers to improve the apps. - - - - - Price may vary by location. Subscriptions will be charged to your credit card through your iTunes account. Your subscription will automatically renew unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. After purchase, manage your subscriptions in App Store Account Settings. - - - - - Email: hello@noteplan.co Web: noteplan.co Discord: https://discord.gg/D4268MT Twitter: NotePlanApp Reddit: reddit.com/r/NotePlanApp Learn NotePlan course: https://noteplan.eo.page/newsletter Terms of use: http://noteplan.co/tos/ Privacy policy: https://noteplan.co/privacy/

About

Hourglass

Features
Read full description

Count down to the moments you’re looking forward to with Hourglass. Hourglass allows you to create countdowns for birthdays, holidays, releases, deadlines and everything in between. Personalize your countdowns, share them with others and keep your favourites visible with widgets. Features: - Create countdowns in seconds - Personalise events with styles and colours - Follow shared countdowns from the Hourglass community - Check your countdowns at a glance with widgets - Keep your countdowns synced across devices with iCloud

Screenshots

NotePlan4 screens
Hourglass3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: NotePlan at Free against Hourglass's $0.99. NotePlan also leads on update cadence (monthly vs every 9 months) and device support (4 vs 2). On ads and in-app purchases 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

NotePlan is free to download; Hourglass costs $0.99 up front. NotePlan sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days and Hourglass sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

NotePlan ships an update monthly, Hourglass every 9 months. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 11, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
NotePlan versus Hourglass: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNotePlanHourglass
PriceFree — better$0.99
Rating4.8 (1.5K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews85.1% of reviews—
Number of ratings1.5K — better—
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 9 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationSubscription—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size210 MB6 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNotePlan LLCSNEH NILESH

Bugs and requests

NotePlan

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Inconsistent sync between devices
  • Crashes when opening certain files

Requested features

4 requests
  • Improved iPad and mobile app experience
  • Better integration with other productivity apps
  • More automation and scripting capabilities
  • Weekly or monthly calendar view

Hourglass

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

8 purchases

NotePlan

Subscriptions8
  • Personal Weekly$4.997 Days
  • Personal Monthly$6.991 Month
  • Personal Monthly1 Month trial$11.991 Month
Show 5 more
  • Personal Monthly2 variants$12.001 Month
  • Personal Annual7 Days trial$59.991 Year
  • Personal Annual7 Days trial2 variants$99.991 Year
  • Personal Annual1 Month trial$119.991 Year
  • Business Class1 Month trial$199.991 Year
3 purchases

Hourglass

One-time3
  • Small Tip$0.99
  • Medium Tip$2.99
  • Large Tip$5.99

Questions

Is NotePlan free?
NotePlan is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Hourglass free?
Hourglass costs $0.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Do NotePlan or Hourglass have ads?
Neither NotePlan nor Hourglass shows ads.
Which is updated more often, NotePlan or Hourglass?
NotePlan ships an update monthly, and Hourglass every 9 months. Most recently, NotePlan was updated on October 20, 2026 and Hourglass on October 11, 2026.

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