Comparison

NotePlan vs Tend

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

Tend

Features
Read full description

The calm one-thing app that actually helps you do it. Most to-do apps let you pile up forty tasks, then quietly punish you for the thirty-nine you didn't finish. Tend does the opposite. It asks for one thing — the single thing that would make today feel good — and then hands you a built-in focus timer to go do it. Not another list to manage. A calm space that helps you follow through. No backlog. No guilt. There's nothing to catch up on. No overdue red badges. No carried-over pile growing behind you. Each day is its own clean page: one intention, tended, and then you're done. Tend is designed to make you feel finished, not behind. A focus timer that's actually built in When you're ready, start a soft focus session — a warm, breathing timer with no pressure and no upsell. It lives right beside your one thing, so going from deciding to doing is a single tap. Finish, and a small ritual marks the moment. Watch consistency become beautiful Every day you tend becomes a warm light in a quiet garden that grows with you. Small things, kept up, add up to something you're privately proud of — shown as a gentle streak, never a scoreboard. Always a glance away Add the Tend widget to your Home or Lock Screen to keep today's one thing in view, and turn on a single, gentle daily nudge if you'd like a calm invitation each morning. Private by default. Yours by design. No account. No sign-up. No tracking. Everything lives on your device, and Tend collects nothing about you. Free — and pay once if you love it. Tend is free to use, fully and forever. If you'd like a little more, Tend Plus is a single $4.99 unlock — no subscription, ever — that adds: AI Refine — turn a vague "be better about email" into a sharp, doable intention. iCloud Sync & Backup — your days, safely backed up and synced across your devices. One thing a day. Pay once. Done calmly. That's the idea — and that's why it works.

Screenshots

NotePlan4 screens
Tend4 screens

Verdict

The call

NotePlan and Tend are too close to call on the numbers: across 5 compared parameters — price, ads, in-app purchases and device support among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.

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 and Tend sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
NotePlan versus Tend: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNotePlanTend
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (1.5K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews85.1% of reviews—
Number of ratings1.5K — better—
Update frequencyMonthly—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationSubscription—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size204 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNotePlan LLCJean-Michel Amblat

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

Tend

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
1 purchases

Tend

One-time1
  • Tend Plus$4.99

Questions

Is NotePlan free?
NotePlan is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Tend free?
Tend is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do NotePlan or Tend have ads?
Neither NotePlan nor Tend shows ads.

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