Comparison

NotePlan vs Time Box Planner

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

Time Box Planner

Organize your day with time-blocked tasks and daily reviews. This tool helps manage recurring to-dos, visualize your schedule, and track progress with statistics. Receive timely notifications to stay on track and inspired.

Highlights
  • Time-blocked task creation
  • Repetitive task management
  • Daily retrospective feature
  • Inspirational daily quotes
  • Time table view
  • Daily and monthly statistics
  • Customizable notifications
Features
Read full description

Timebox is Harvard's number one time management and productivity tool. You can manage your day by entering what you need to do every day and looking back. Function 1. Create and manage to-do by time - Manage repetitive tasks easily and comfortably 2. a day-ending retrospective 3. A wise saying that starts the day and inspires life 4. View and organize what to do at a glance through the time table 5. Notification function - Notification that takes time to plan your day at 7 o'clock when you start the day - Notification to review the day at 10pm at the end of the day - Send notification 15 minutes before work 6. Statistics - You can view the number of days to do, completed, and incomplete on a daily, monthly basis.

Screenshots

NotePlan4 screens
Time Box Planner4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: NotePlan at 4.8 against Time Box Planner's 2.0. NotePlan also leads on ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (1.5K vs 2). Time Box Planner's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 10). On price, update cadence 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. NotePlan sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days. Time Box Planner asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

NotePlan holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 2.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: NotePlan has 1.5K ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 85% of NotePlan's written reviews are positive against 75% of Time Box Planner's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

NotePlan ships an update monthly, Time Box Planner every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
NotePlan versus Time Box Planner: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNotePlanTime Box Planner
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (1.5K ratings) — better2.0 (2 ratings)
Positive reviews85.0% of reviews — better75.0% of reviews
Number of ratings1.5K — better2
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationSubscriptionAd-supported — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details — not scored
Size210 MB28 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNotePlan LLCsuchang myoung

Customer experience

NotePlan

All ratings1,506 ratings
Positive95.2%
Neutral1.9%
Negative2.9%
Written reviews472 reviews
Positive85.0%
Neutral4.7%
Negative10.4%

Time Box Planner

All ratings2 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral50.0%
Negative50.0%
Written reviews8 reviews
Positive75.0%
Neutral25.0%
Negative0.0%

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

Time Box Planner

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
None

Time Box Planner

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is NotePlan free?
NotePlan is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Time Box Planner free?
Time Box Planner is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, NotePlan or Time Box Planner?
NotePlan is rated higher. NotePlan averages 4.8 out of 5 from 1.5K ratings, while Time Box Planner averages 2.0 from 2 ratings.
Do NotePlan or Time Box Planner have ads?
Time Box Planner shows ads; NotePlan does not.
Which is updated more often, NotePlan or Time Box Planner?
NotePlan ships an update monthly, and Time Box Planner every 3 weeks. Most recently, NotePlan was updated on September 23, 2026 and Time Box Planner on September 8, 2026.

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