# NotePlan vs OWL Alerts

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: OWL Alerts at none against NotePlan's 10. OWL Alerts also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs monthly) and review sentiment (100% vs 85%). NotePlan's advantage is ratings volume (1.5K vs 1) and device support (4 vs 2). On price, ads, monetization model and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. NotePlan sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days. OWL Alerts asks for nothing beyond the download.

OWL Alerts 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 1, 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 OWL Alerts's.

NotePlan ships an update monthly, OWL Alerts every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and June 1, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | NotePlan | OWL Alerts |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.8 (1.5K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/noteplan-to-do-list-and-notes/id1505432629/reviews) | **[5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/owl-alerts/id6757333721/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **1.5K** | 1 |
| Positive reviews | 85.0% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Monthly | **Every 2 days** |
| Monetization | Subscription | Subscription |
| Size | 210 MB | 23 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.0** | 15.1 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac** | iPhone, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [NotePlan LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1137020763) | [Kevin Koplin](https://appshunter.io/developer/1857779943) |

## What reviewers say

### NotePlan

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/noteplan-to-do-list-and-notes/id1505432629)

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:** Family Sharing, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (8)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Personal Weekly | $4.99 | per 7 days |
| Personal Monthly | $6.99 | per month |
| Personal Monthly | $11.99 | per month |
| Personal Monthly | $12.00 | per month |
| Personal Annual | $59.99 | per year |
| Personal Annual | $99.99 | per year |
| Personal Annual | $119.99 | per year |
| Business Class | $199.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Powerful note-taking and task management
- 👍 Seamless calendar and reminders integration
- 💡 Flexible and customizable workflow
- 🔒 Secure and open-format data storage
- 👍 Responsive and helpful developer

**What reviewers complain about**

- 💰 Expensive subscription model
- 🐛 Occasional sync and performance issues
- 👤 Limited collaboration and sharing features

**Reported bugs**

- Inconsistent sync between devices
- Crashes when opening certain files

**Requested features**

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


### OWL Alerts

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/owl-alerts/id6757333721)

This app acts as an alert layer for your email, allowing you to set custom rules to receive push notifications only for urgent messages. It helps you stay present by filtering out non-essential emails, so you don't have to constantly check your inbox.

**Highlights:** Customizable email alert rules, Sender, domain, and keyword filtering, Scheduled rule activation, Push notifications with sender and subject, In-app email context up to 10,000 characters, Web-based rule management

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is NotePlan free?

NotePlan is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is OWL Alerts free?

OWL Alerts is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, NotePlan or OWL Alerts?

OWL Alerts is rated higher. NotePlan averages 4.8 out of 5 from 1.5K ratings, while OWL Alerts averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.

### Do NotePlan or OWL Alerts have ads?

Neither NotePlan nor OWL Alerts shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, NotePlan or OWL Alerts?

NotePlan ships an update monthly, and OWL Alerts every 2 days. Most recently, NotePlan was updated on September 23, 2026 and OWL Alerts on June 1, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*