Comparison

John Widget vs Simple Memo

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

Head to head
About

John Widget

Features
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John Widget can help you personalize your phone screen. It supports many ways of widget customization, such as gradient background, photo background with flexible adjustment, many choice of fonts, many widget styles. It also use Health Kit to display your walk steps.

About

Simple Memo

Features
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Simple Memo - Checklist is a simple memo app that lets you quickly use both memos and checklists. Write down ideas as they come to you, or manage to-dos and shopping with checklists. With no complicated settings or operations, you can start writing whenever you need to. Use it as a memo pad, to-do list, or shopping list for everything from quick everyday notes to organizing your tasks. 【Main Features】 ・Quickly switch between memos and checklists ・Manage to-dos and shopping with checklists ・Swipe left or right to move between pages ・Create up to 10 pages ・Reorder and delete items ・Rename pages freely

Screenshots

John Widget4 screens
Simple Memo4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: John Widget at none against Simple Memo's shown. John Widget also leads on update cadence (every 9 days vs every 2 months). On price, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement 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. John Widget sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Simple Memo sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

John Widget ships an update every 9 days, Simple Memo every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 4, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 4 level
John Widget versus Simple Memo: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterJohn WidgetSimple Memo
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 9 days — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.016.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size164 MB4 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperQian Kun zhuSota Yamamoto

In-app purchases

1 purchases

John Widget

One-time1
  • Pro Edition$0.99
1 purchases

Simple Memo

One-time1
  • Remove Ads$2.49

Questions

Is John Widget free?
John Widget is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Simple Memo free?
Simple Memo is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do John Widget or Simple Memo have ads?
Simple Memo shows ads; John Widget does not.
Which is updated more often, John Widget or Simple Memo?
John Widget ships an update every 9 days, and Simple Memo every 2 months. Most recently, John Widget was updated on October 4, 2026 and Simple Memo on October 16, 2026.

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