Comparison

NotePlan vs RightNow Focus

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

RightNow Focus

This app provides a focused approach to task management by presenting only one task at a time based on your available time. It helps users overcome decision paralysis and the guilt associated with long to-do lists. Features include daily summaries, timed task loops, and starter routines.

Highlights
  • One task presented at a time
  • Time-based task selection
  • Daily morning and evening summaries
  • Starter routines for various needs
  • No scrolling or long lists
  • Offline data storage
Features
Read full description

You don't need another to-do list. You need someone to tell you what to do right now. Every productivity app eventually becomes the same thing: a long list you scroll, feel guilty about, and close. The problem was never the list — deciding what to do is the hardest part, and lists make YOU do the deciding at the worst possible moment. RightNow flips it. Tell it how much time you have — 5, 15, 30, or 60 minutes — and it hands you exactly one card. Do it, or skip it. That's the whole app. HOW IT WORKS 1. Add your habits and tasks as cards 2. Pick the time you actually have 3. Get one card — the right one for right now 4. Tap Done. Feel it. Repeat. No browsing. No ranking. No scroll of shame. YOUR DAY HAS A SHAPE • Morning Brief — your first open of the day shows yesterday in one line, names today's focus, and gives you one button to start it • The loop — pick a time, get a card, all day long • Wrap Day — close the evening with your day's story: what you did, your 7-day trail, and one piece of coaching for tomorrow SMART ABOUT TIME • Morning cards deal in the morning, evening cards wait for evening • A 5-minute window gets a real 5-minute card — never a 2-hour project in disguise • Skipped something? It cycles back fairly. Hid it for today? It stays gone until tomorrow. BUILT FOR REAL LIFE • Starter Routines — five curated packs (Fitness, Sleep, Parenting, Personal Growth, Beauty) so you're never staring at a blank app • Routines — run your own ordered sequences, card by card • Someday — park ideas you're not ready for; they never nag and never get lost • History — completed tasks are kept, and restorable YOURS, PRIVATELY Everything lives on your phone. No account, no cloud, no feed, no ads. Your data never leaves your device. Try RightNow free for 7 days. If it earns its place, one purchase unlocks it forever — no subscription, ever. Stop managing your list. Start doing what's on it.

Screenshots

NotePlan4 screens
RightNow Focus4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: RightNow Focus at none against NotePlan's 10. RightNow Focus also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 85%) and rating (5.0 vs 4.8). NotePlan's advantage is ratings volume (1.5K vs 3). On price, update cadence, 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. NotePlan sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days. RightNow Focus asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

RightNow Focus holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: NotePlan has 1.5K ratings behind it against 3, 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 100% of RightNow Focus's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

NotePlan ships an update monthly, RightNow Focus every 4 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and August 14, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
NotePlan versus RightNow Focus: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNotePlanRightNow Focus
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (1.5K ratings)5.0 (3 ratings) — better
Positive reviews85.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1.5K — better3
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 4 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationSubscriptionFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.0 — better15.1
Further details — not scored
Size210 MB22 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNotePlan LLCAlexander Bradley

Customer experience

NotePlan

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

RightNow Focus

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
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

RightNow Focus

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

RightNow Focus

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is NotePlan free?
NotePlan is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is RightNow Focus free?
RightNow Focus is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, NotePlan or RightNow Focus?
RightNow Focus is rated higher. NotePlan averages 4.8 out of 5 from 1.5K ratings, while RightNow Focus averages 5.0 from 3 ratings.
Do NotePlan or RightNow Focus have ads?
Neither NotePlan nor RightNow Focus shows ads.
Which is updated more often, NotePlan or RightNow Focus?
NotePlan ships an update monthly, and RightNow Focus every 4 weeks. Most recently, NotePlan was updated on September 23, 2026 and RightNow Focus on August 14, 2026.

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