Comparison

(Not Boring) Timer vs Sidenote

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

(Not Boring) Timer

This app offers a visually engaging and intuitive timer experience, inspired by simple egg timers. It features a unique overshoot function, a game-like interface with 3D animations, and customizable skins. Widgets provide quick access to timers for daily routines.

Highlights
  • Overshoot and stopwatch modes
  • Game-like 3D interface
  • Large, readable display
  • Customizable skins
  • Home screen widgets
  • Screen always on option
Features
Read full description

"Just astonishingly fun." — John Gruber A BETTER EVERYDAY TIMER I dreamt of a timer I could use every day that would simplify time and make the most of every moment it counted. Inspired by the simple egg timer, Timer more honestly represents time as a single dimension. No hours or seconds—just minutes. There's nowhere to get lost. Scroll to set. Tap to start. Get back to life. STOPWATCH & OVERSHOOT When time expires, it doesn't stop at 0. Timer flips and begins to count up. This turns out to be pretty useful if you missed the alarm and don't know how much time has elapsed or if you cook and just need another minute without the hassle of setting another timer. Or scroll down to 0, tap, and it becomes a stopwatch ready to measure any length of time. PLAYS LIKE A GAME, WORKS LIKE AN APP Next generation user interface designed and built in 3D with animation and sounds inspired by video games. BIG & READABLE Time you can read from across the room. Optional setting to keep your screen on during countdowns. SKINS Skins change the whole look and feel of the app. New skins and collaborations every season so you can keep it fresh. WIDGETS Drop a custom timer on your home screen for fast, one tap access to daily timers for coffee brewing, workouts, and other daily routines. SUPER!BORING Become a Super!Boring member and get all 5 Not Boring apps + skins + extras. We are 100% member-supported. No ads, no data gathering, no tracking. Just beautiful apps that make everyday life a little less boring. Plans: https://andy.works/plans Support: https://andy.works/support

About

Sidenote

Features
Read full description

Some thoughts don't need a folder, a title, or a five-step workflow. They just need to be written down before they disappear. Sidenote is a quiet capture app for the in-between moments - the reminder you think of on a walk, the sentence that arrives in the shower, the idea you don't want to lose before you reach your desk. Open the app, start typing, tap Done. Your thought drops into a simple stream, timestamped and waiting whenever you scroll back. No accounts. No sync. No noise. Everything stays on your iPhone. CAPTURE WITHOUT FRICTION Sidenote opens ready to write. A single prompt, a clean canvas, and nothing else competing for your attention. When you're done, your thought settles into your stream with a subtle, satisfying motion - then the screen is clear again for whatever comes next. Drafts are saved automatically, so if you're interrupted mid-thought, nothing is lost. YOUR THOUGHT STREAM Scroll down to revisit earlier sidenotes, grouped by day with timestamps. Search when you need to find something specific. Edit a note, share it, or remove it with a long press. Export your entire stream as plain text whenever you want a copy outside the app. Removed sidenotes stay on your device for 30 days, so you can restore them if you change your mind. GO LIVE Pin any sidenote to your Lock Screen and Dynamic Island with Go Live. Keep a reminder, a phrase, or an idea in sight for up to eight hours - without opening the app again. Choose a default or clear appearance to match how you want it to look on your Lock Screen. HOME SCREEN WIDGET Add a Sidenote widget to see your latest thought at a glance. Tap it to jump straight back into your stream. MAKE IT YOURS • Light, Dark, or System appearance • Font choices: System, New York, Georgia, or Mono • Adjustable text size across the app, widget, and Live Activity • Thoughtful haptics and animations (respects Reduce Motion) Sidenote is designed to feel calm, fast, and personal - like jotting something in the margin of your day. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Sidenote keeps your thoughts on this iPhone. There is no account to create, no server to sync to, and no data leaving your device. Your sidenotes belong to you. Built for people who think in fragments, capture in bursts, and want a place that stays out of the way until they need it. Start typing.

Screenshots

(Not Boring) Timer4 screens
Sidenote4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Sidenote at none against (Not Boring) Timer's 10. Sidenote also leads on update cadence (every 8 days vs monthly) and iOS requirement (18.0 vs 26.0). On price, 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. (Not Boring) Timer sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month. Sidenote asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

(Not Boring) Timer ships an update monthly, Sidenote every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
(Not Boring) Timer versus Sidenote: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
Parameter(Not Boring) TimerSidenote
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (2.6K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews68.3% of reviews—
Number of ratings2.6K — better—
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 8 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS26.018.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size217 MB1 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNot Boring Software LLCAlexander James Walters

Bugs and requests

(Not Boring) Timer

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Widget doesn't always start the timer correctly
  • Sound doesn't work when phone is on silent mode

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add support for longer timers (over 90 minutes)
  • Implement seconds option for more precise timing
  • Integrate with Dynamic Island on newer iPhones
  • Add alarm functionality
  • Allow users to set custom timer intervals

Sidenote

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

9 purchases

(Not Boring) Timer

Subscriptions2
  • Super !Boring Monthly$7.991 Month
  • Super !Boring Yearly2 variants$29.991 Year
One-time7
  • Andy Skin$4.99
  • Chroma Skin$4.99
  • Monsters Skin$4.99
Show 4 more
  • Opal Skin$9.99
  • Karat Skin$9.99
  • Cedar Skin$9.99
  • !Timer Plus Lifetime$14.99
None

Sidenote

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is (Not Boring) Timer free?
(Not Boring) Timer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Sidenote free?
Sidenote is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do (Not Boring) Timer or Sidenote have ads?
Neither (Not Boring) Timer nor Sidenote shows ads.
Which is updated more often, (Not Boring) Timer or Sidenote?
(Not Boring) Timer ships an update monthly, and Sidenote every 8 days. Most recently, (Not Boring) Timer was updated on October 13, 2026 and Sidenote on October 3, 2026.

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