Hacker Note vs Rub Memo
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Hacker Note
This note-taking app offers a unique "coolness" with a design inspired by hackers and sci-fi movies. Enjoy a futuristic feel with a transparent background option and customizable themes. It includes essential features like categorization, password protection, and cloud backup.
- High-performance and simple functionality
- Transparent app background
- Theme color customization
- Category management
- HTML and Markdown output
- Password protection
- Google Drive backup
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Recommended for those who are tired of general Note Taking apps. Hacker Note is a simple Note Taking App that pursues "coolness". The design is based on the image of "hackers," "sci-fi movies". example "The Matrix". It is also equipped with a function that makes app background look transparent, so you can enjoy a sense of the near future while taking notes, which is different from ordinary memos. [Main functions] ・ High-performance and simple function ・ Background transparency function ・ Theme color change function ・ Category function ・Output function to HTML and markdown ・ Password setting ・ Backup to Google Drive ・Cool Japanese mode - For cool Japanese displays such as kanji. [Features to be expanded in the future] ・ A cooler color theme
Rub Memo
This app allows you to erase text by rubbing your finger over it, mimicking the feel of erasing pencil on paper. It also offers a home screen widget for quick access, reordering paragraphs, and inserting various media like tables, checklists, and drawings.
- Erase text with finger rub
- Home screen widget for notes
- Reorder paragraphs by long-press and drop
- Insert tables, checklists, images, and drawings
- Full-text search with highlighted matches
- Lock notes with Face ID/Touch ID
- Export and share as PDF
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■ Rub to erase Turn on the "Eraser" in the toolbar and just rub your finger over the text you want gone. Characters fade away one by one — no selecting and deleting. It feels like rubbing out pencil on a paper notebook, right on your phone. ■ Home Screen widget Your most recent note appears in a Home Screen widget. Tap it to jump straight back in. ■ More features ・Long-press a paragraph to lift it, then drop it anywhere to reorder ・Insert tables, checklists, images, and finger drawings (you can erase those too) ・Full-text search with highlighted matches ・Lock individual notes with Face ID / Touch ID ・Export and share as PDF ・Switch between Japanese and English ・Adjust font size, font, ruled lines, and eraser width ■ No ads, no in-app purchases, no sign-up, no data collection. All your data stays on your device.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Rub Memo at Free against Hacker Note's $9.99. Rub Memo also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 86%) and update cadence (every 6 days vs fortnightly). Hacker Note's advantage is device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 16.0). On ads and in-app purchases 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
Rub Memo is free to download; Hacker Note costs $9.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Hacker Note ships an update fortnightly, Rub Memo every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Hacker Note | Rub Memo |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $9.99 | Free — better |
| Positive reviews | 85.7% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | Every 6 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 16.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 36 MB | 14 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | yuki okada | seiji honda |
Customer experience
Hacker Note
Rub Memo
In-app purchases
Hacker Note
No in-app purchases
Rub Memo
No in-app purchases









