Comparison

Hacker Note vs SoloNote

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • High-performance and simple functionality
  • Transparent app background
  • Theme color customization
  • Category management
  • HTML and Markdown output
  • Password protection
  • Google Drive backup
Features
Read full description

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

About

SoloNote

Features
Read full description

Some notes are nobody else's business. SoloNote is the AI notebook that keeps it that way: the thinking happens on your iPhone — on Apple's on-device model where your iPhone has it, or on SoloNote's own model, downloaded once from the App Store — not on somebody's server. No account. No subscription. No cloud copy of your life. Put your phone in aeroplane mode and the AI keeps working. Try that with any other AI app. NEW: A SCREENSHOT BECOMES A PLAN Screenshot a flight, a train ticket, a hotel booking or a clinic appointment — or share it straight from another app — and SoloNote reads it on your iPhone. Times become reminders (for a ticket, the evening before and two hours before departure), places go on a trip, and "payment due" lines become to-dos. One card, one tap to save, one tap to undo. A time SoloNote isn't sure about starts switched off, so nothing rings at the wrong hour. NEW: TODAY, ON ONE PAGE Reminders, to-dos and the trip stops planned for each day, gathered in one place with the next thing on top. Every Sunday evening, a short summary of your week arrives as a note. NEW: RECEIPTS THAT ADD THEMSELVES UP Capture a receipt or a payment screen and it goes straight to Spending, not into your notes — totalled by month and by category, one total per currency. The amount, shop and date are read by rules, never guessed by the AI. SEARCH & ASK, HONESTLY Search finds every note containing the words you type. Ask a question and tap "Answer from your notes": SoloNote answers from your own notes and shows the notes it used. When the answer isn't there, it says so instead of guessing — and when your notes hold two possible answers, it shows you both. NOTES AS RICH AS YOUR THINKING Photos exactly where they belong, bold, headings, lists, checklists that tick with a tap, links. Formatting is a button — you will never see a markup character. TALK FASTER THAN YOU CAN TYPE Tap once and speak. Your words land on the page as you say them. TIDY THE 2 A.M. SCRIBBLE One tap turns a rushed note into a clear one without changing what you meant — and Restore puts the original back. When a note is already fine, SoloNote says so instead of inventing a rewrite. SCAN IT, IMPORT IT, IT'S A NOTE Import a PDF, Word file or photo of a page and SoloNote turns it into an ordinary note — read on your device, tables and all — that you can search and ask about. "DENTIST ON TUESDAY" BECOMES A REMINDER Write a date and SoloNote offers a reminder in one tap — and, if you like, adds it to your calendar too. SCRIBBLED PLACES BECOME A ROUTE List the places you want to visit, or let SoloNote read them from a note, and get a mapped, ordered trip with the walking or driving time between stops. One tap hands the route to Apple Maps or Google Maps. SOME NOTES HIDE Swipe to lock a note and it vanishes from your lists, your search and Today. Face ID — or your passcode — brings it back. FREE MEANS FREE No ads, no paywall, nothing to unlock, nobody to sign in as. The download is large because the AI comes inside the box. PRIVATE BY DESIGN • Your notes, photos, screenshots and documents are read and kept on your device. • No account and no sign-in — ever. • Two features use Apple Maps. Trips sends what you type when adding a stop (that is how places are suggested), plus your location if you add it as a stop. Capture, only if you allow it when it first asks, sends the names and addresses of places it found — never the screenshot or the rest of its text; a receipt with no upcoming date looks nothing up. Opening a trip in Google Maps sends that trip's stops to Google. Your notes never leave. • Anonymous usage statistics help us improve SoloNote, and can be switched off in Settings. Your thinking deserves a room of its own. This is it. SoloNote is available in English, Japanese, Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese.

Screenshots

Hacker Note4 screens
SoloNote4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: SoloNote at Free against Hacker Note's $9.99. Hacker Note's advantage is device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 26.0). On update cadence, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

SoloNote is free to download; Hacker Note costs $9.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Hacker Note ships an update fortnightly, SoloNote weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 10, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 5 level
Hacker Note versus SoloNote: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHacker NoteSoloNote
Price$9.99Free — better
Positive reviews85.7% of reviews—
Update frequencyFortnightlyWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaid—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS13.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size36 MB119 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developeryuki okadaRolled AI

In-app purchases

None

Hacker Note

No in-app purchases

None

SoloNote

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Hacker Note free?
Hacker Note costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is SoloNote free?
SoloNote is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Hacker Note or SoloNote have ads?
Neither Hacker Note nor SoloNote shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Hacker Note or SoloNote?
Hacker Note ships an update fortnightly, and SoloNote weekly. Most recently, Hacker Note was updated on October 10, 2026 and SoloNote on October 25, 2026.

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