# Side Notes vs Excerpt

Side Notes and Excerpt both sit at 3.9 stars, but that hides the real split: 100% of Excerpt's written reviews are positive against 57% of Side Notes's. Side Notes's advantage is monetization model (free vs freemium) and ratings volume (22 vs 1). On price, rating, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 3.9 for Side Notes against 4.0 for Excerpt. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Side Notes has 22 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 57% of Side Notes's written reviews are positive against 100% of Excerpt's.

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 19, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Side Notes | Excerpt |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [3.9 (22 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/side-notes-pros-and-cons-list/id1555821224/reviews) | **[4.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/excerpt-audiobook-player/id6762499412/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **22** | 1 |
| Positive reviews | 57.1% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 2 months |
| Monetization | **Free** | Freemium |
| Size | 12 MB | 167 MB |
| Requires iOS | **17.0** | 26.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Straw Technologies](https://appshunter.io/developer/1120982866) | [Sean Laidlaw](https://appshunter.io/developer/1894407405) |

## What reviewers say

### Side Notes

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/side-notes-pros-and-cons-list/id1555821224)

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:** Family Sharing, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


### Excerpt

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/excerpt-audiobook-player/id6762499412)

This audiobook player allows you to highlight spoken passages as text, automatically linking them to the original ebook text. It offers hands-free highlighting via various devices and integrates with note-taking apps. Enhance audio quality and sync your library across Apple devices.

**Highlights:** Highlight spoken audio as text, Link highlights to original ebook text, Hands-free highlighting (Lock Screen, headphones, Siri), Sync ebooks with narration, Export highlights to Markdown, CSV, JSON, Search all highlights, Audio enhancement

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Apple Watch app, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Side Notes free?

Side Notes is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Excerpt free?

Excerpt is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Side Notes or Excerpt?

Excerpt is rated higher. Side Notes averages 3.9 out of 5 from 22 ratings, while Excerpt averages 4.0 from 1 ratings.

### Do Side Notes or Excerpt have ads?

Neither Side Notes nor Excerpt shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Side Notes or Excerpt?

Side Notes ships an update every 2 months, and Excerpt every 2 months. Most recently, Side Notes was updated on October 24, 2026 and Excerpt on October 19, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*