Collected Notes vs Nib
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Collected Notes
A note-taking platform that allows users to create private notes, share them publicly, and build a blog with a custom domain. It focuses on a simple, native experience with live Markdown previews and no ads or tracking.
- Markdown with live preview
- Create private notes
- Share notes publicly
- Build a blog with custom domain
- Native iPhone experience
- No ads or tracking
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Upload your thoughts. The simplest, and most powerful note-taking blogging platform ever made. Create private notes, share them publicly and create your blog with a custom domain. ■ Markdown with live preview Live Markdown previews allow you to see the final result in real-time as you type. ■ Simplicity Every app out there eventually tries to do more than they should. We believe in doing less, but better. ■ Native experience The iPhone app allows for a fast native-first experience. Just open the app and go right into writing mode. ■ No nonsense No ads. No feature creep. No tracking. No annoying emails. No data sold. No comments. No vanity metrics. No proprietary formats. You'll never see popups, clutter, subscription up-sells, or anything that interferes with the reading experience. Collected Notes is a reading-first experience. Your attention matters. Terms of use: https://collectednotes.com/blog/terms
Nib
A private writing app for notes and longer documents with rich formatting and linking capabilities. It offers secure, on-device storage and optional encrypted cloud sync for cross-device access. Customize themes, text styles, and set reminders for your writing.
- Card-based note and page library
- Rich text formatting
- Internal note linking
- On-device storage
- Optional encrypted sync
- Customizable themes and text styles
- Import from other note apps
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Nib is a writing app that stays out of your way. Nib opens on your library: your notes and pages as cards. Notes are for catching a thought: tap New note and start typing. Pages are for real writing, with headings, an outline you can jump through, images and tables. File notes and pages in folders by dragging them onto one, or give them a category in a colour. Three of each are free. Format as you would in Notes: checklists, bulleted and numbered lists, bold, italic, underline and highlight, from the bar above the keyboard. Link notes as you write: type [[ and pick one. Each note lists the ones that link to it. Catch a thought from anywhere. Send text or a link to Nib from the share sheet, add a note with Shortcuts, or start one from a widget on your Home Screen. Set a reminder on any note, and Nib tells you at the time you chose. Bring your notes with you: import from Simplenote, Bear, Evernote or Notesnook, or any Markdown. Everything stays on your device unless you share a draft or turn on sync. There are no accounts, no ads, no analytics and no tracking. Lock Nib with Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode. Version history goes back 30 days, so you can return to what you wrote before. Pin what matters, and restore what you trash. Share a draft by link, read-only, for a week. Set a daily word goal and keep a streak. Turn on the style check, and Nib counts what might read better: filler, passive voice, clichés and long sentences. Make it yours: light, dark or one of seven more themes, and in Settings → Customize, the size, width, spacing and typeface of your text. Your writing is never locked in. Export any page as Markdown, or save a full backup of your whole library, free forever. NIB PLUS • Your library on your iPhone, iPad and Mac, with encrypted sync and a sync code only you hold. The server stores copies it cannot read. • An encrypted backup off your device, restorable with your sync code. • Share drafts for up to 90 days, with a password if you like, and more than one at a time. Readers can leave notes that only you see. • A vault for chosen notes, with a passcode of its own. • Export to Word, PDF and HTML. • All your version history, not just the last 30 days. • A goal and deadline for any document, timed sprints, and a calendar of what you wrote. • The style check's suggestions, underlined in your text. • Three more themes: Purple Green, Alien Pink and drcl. • As many folders and categories as you like. One subscription covers Nib on your iPhone, iPad and Mac when you use the same Apple Account. Nib Plus is an auto-renewing subscription, monthly or yearly, with a free trial for new subscribers. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase or at the end of the trial. The subscription renews automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel it in your App Store account settings. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://nibprivacy.com/privacy/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Nib at 5.0 against Collected Notes's 4.7. Nib also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs every 2 weeks) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.0). Collected Notes's advantage is ratings volume (43 vs 1). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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
Both are free to download. Collected Notes sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month and Nib sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Nib holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Collected Notes has 43 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Collected Notes ships an update every 2 weeks, Nib every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Collected Notes | Nib |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (43 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 86.7% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 43 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Every 5 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 11 MB | 7 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Alfajor Co. | Andrew Neitsch |
Customer experience
Collected Notes
Nib
In-app purchases
Collected Notes
- Collected Notes Basic7 Days trial$0.991 Month
- Collected Notes Premium7 Days trial$4.991 Month
Nib
- Nib Plus Monthly14 Days trial$3.991 Month
- Nib Plus Yearly14 Days trial$29.991 Year









