Comparison

Sticky Note Widget Memo Pad vs Side Notes

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

Head to head
About

Sticky Note Widget Memo Pad

Create and display customizable sticky notes directly on your home screen using a variety of widgets. Personalize backgrounds, fonts, and colors for each note. Easily manage, edit, and reorder your memos, with iCloud backup for cross-device syncing.

Highlights
  • Home screen widgets
  • Customizable backgrounds
  • Handwritten-style fonts
  • Adjustable text color and size
  • Drag-and-drop reordering
  • iCloud data backup and sync
  • Supports iOS 18 control widgets
Features
Read full description

Sticky Note Widget is a memo app built for widgets. Write a note, then put it straight onto your Home Screen. UNLIMITED WIDGETS Turn as many notes as you like into widgets. A shopping list, something you need to remember, today's plan — just glance at your Home Screen. LOCK SCREEN TOO Supports Lock Screen widgets (inline and rectangular), plus an iOS 18 Control Center control to open the app instantly. STYLE EVERY NOTE • Free choice of background, text and side-stripe colors • Gradient backgrounds • Text size 10 to 50, plus bold • 5 fonts, including a handwriting style • 20 icons • Use your own photo as the background HANDY EXTRAS • Capture text with your camera and drop it into a note • Summarize or bullet-point a note with Apple Intelligence (iOS 26 on supported devices) • Back up and restore via iCloud • Drag and drop to reorder, swipe to delete GETTING STARTED 1. Tap + to create a note 2. Long-press the Home Screen, tap +, and choose Sticky Note Widget 3. Long-press the widget and choose Edit Widget to pick which note it shows If a widget doesn't refresh, use "Update widgets" in Settings. Free to use, supported by ads. A monthly plan removes all ads. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Side Notes

This app helps you organize thoughts by viewing multiple notes simultaneously. It offers layouts for comparing options, conducting analyses, or structuring complex ideas. Focus on your thinking with a clean, intuitive interface and privacy-focused design.

Highlights
  • Side-by-side note viewing
  • Multiple layout options (Dual, Four, Single)
  • Visual comparison of ideas
  • SWOT analysis and Eisenhower Matrix support
  • Rich text editing
  • Offline functionality
  • Export notes as PDF or text
Features
Read full description

See both sides of every decision at once. Side Notes shows several notes on one screen, so your pros and cons, two options or a SWOT analysis sit side by side instead of hiding in separate lists. Pick a template, start typing, and compare at a glance. Free, with no ads and no account. START FAST WITH TEMPLATES • Pros & Cons: two columns, one clearer answer • Option A vs Option B: compare two choices side by side • SWOT analysis: strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in one grid • Eisenhower matrix: sort tasks by urgent and important • Retrospective: went well, to improve, ideas, actions • Blank board: any layout, your own structure THREE LAYOUTS FOR THE WAY YOU THINK • Dual: two notes side by side • Four: a 2x2 grid for matrices and frameworks • Single: one full note when you need room to write Tap any note to edit it full screen, then swipe to move to the next one. MADE FOR REAL DECISIONS Should you take the job offer? Which apartment, which laptop, which city? Put every argument where you can see it. Run a SWOT on a business idea or a career move, plan your week with the Eisenhower matrix, and close a project or a sprint with a retrospective. ON ALL YOUR DEVICES, NO SIGN UP Your boards sync with iCloud across iPhone, iPad and Mac. There is no account to create and nothing to log in to. WRITE, THEN FIND IT AGAIN • Rich text formatting such as bold and italic (iOS 26 and later) • Word count on every note • Search board titles and note content, filter by Today or This week • Swipe to duplicate or delete a board, or long press for more options SHARE YOUR THINKING Export any board as a PDF or share it as text, ready for a meeting, a teammate or your future self. MAKE IT YOURS Light or dark mode and the Ink accent color, with Brick, Forest and Ocean in Side Notes Plus. A calm, paper-like design with serif titles. GREAT ON IPAD AND MAC More room to see every note at once, plus keyboard shortcuts on iPad and Mac (Apple silicon). Fully translated into 34 languages and redesigned for the latest iOS with Liquid Glass. GO FURTHER WITH SIDE NOTES PLUS Everything above stays free. Side Notes Plus is an optional upgrade for when you want more: • Advanced templates: weighted decision matrix, OKR, weekly review, 5 whys • Your own templates: save any board as a template • Lock a board with Face ID or Touch ID • All accent colors: Brick, Forest and Ocean • Markdown export to Notion, Obsidian or any editor Choose a yearly plan with a 1-week free trial, a monthly plan, or a one-time lifetime purchase. Side Notes is free, with no ads and no account. Just a clear space to think things through. Side Notes Plus is an optional auto-renewable subscription. Payment is charged to your Apple Account; it renews unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the period. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://side-notes.app/en/privacy

Screenshots

Sticky Note Widget Memo Pad4 screens
Side Notes4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Sticky Note Widget Memo Pad at 4.7 against Side Notes's 3.9. Sticky Note Widget Memo Pad also leads on update cadence (every 4 days vs every 2 months) and ratings volume (282 vs 22). Side Notes's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ads (none vs shown). On price, review sentiment 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. Sticky Note Widget Memo Pad sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $0.99 per month. Side Notes asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Sticky Note Widget Memo Pad holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Sticky Note Widget Memo Pad has 282 ratings behind it against 22, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 57% and 57% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Sticky Note Widget Memo Pad ships an update every 4 days, Side Notes every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 7, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Sticky Note Widget Memo Pad versus Side Notes: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSticky Note Widget Memo PadSide Notes
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (282 ratings) — better3.9 (22 ratings)
Positive reviews57.1% of reviews57.1% of reviews
Number of ratings282 — better22
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterEvery 2 months
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size49 MB12 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developerkazuhiro aonumaStraw Technologies

Customer experience

Sticky Note Widget Memo Pad

All ratings279 ratings
Positive93.9%
Neutral2.9%
Negative3.2%
Written reviews35 reviews
Positive57.1%
Neutral25.7%
Negative17.1%

Side Notes

All ratings22 ratings
Positive68.2%
Neutral9.1%
Negative22.7%
Written reviews7 reviews
Positive57.1%
Neutral28.6%
Negative14.3%

Bugs and requests

Sticky Note Widget Memo Pad

Reported bugs

10 issues
  • App freezes and won't open after iOS update
  • App crashes when trying to delete notes
  • Text becomes garbled in widgets
  • Notes content duplicates across widgets
  • Cannot specify cursor position for editing
Show 5 more
  • Add button obscured by Google search bar
  • App crashes after a single note
  • Line breaks occur prematurely in small widgets
  • App crashes when creating a new page
  • Notes disappear after touching them

Requested features

11 requests
  • Increase font size
  • Add larger font size option
  • Allow checking off completed items
  • Allow image attachments
  • Enable iCloud synchronization
Show 6 more
  • Enable iPad and iPhone synchronization
  • Allow more freedom in moving notes
  • Improve widget update process
  • Allow editing directly from widget
  • Increase widget size to two icon widths
  • Improve note ordering functionality

Side Notes

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Sticky Note Widget Memo Pad

Subscriptions1
  • Premium Plan$0.991 Month
None

Side Notes

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Sticky Note Widget Memo Pad free?
Sticky Note Widget Memo Pad is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Side Notes free?
Side Notes is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Sticky Note Widget Memo Pad or Side Notes?
Sticky Note Widget Memo Pad is rated higher. Sticky Note Widget Memo Pad averages 4.7 out of 5 from 282 ratings, while Side Notes averages 3.9 from 22 ratings.
Do Sticky Note Widget Memo Pad or Side Notes have ads?
Sticky Note Widget Memo Pad shows ads; Side Notes does not.
Which is updated more often, Sticky Note Widget Memo Pad or Side Notes?
Sticky Note Widget Memo Pad ships an update every 4 days, and Side Notes every 2 months. Most recently, Sticky Note Widget Memo Pad was updated on November 7, 2026 and Side Notes on November 3, 2026.

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