Comparison

Side Notes vs Year Count

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

Head to head
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

About

Year Count

Features
Read full description

Year Count turns abstract time into something you can see and feel. Watch animated progress bars fill in real time for the current year, month, week, and day — then use that clarity to make the hours ahead matter more. At a glance you know exactly how much of 2026 has passed and how much remains. A year-in-weeks dot grid maps every week of the year onto a single screen, so you can see your progress at the scale that actually drives decisions. Quarter and season progress keep you oriented within each stretch of the year. Go deeper with Life in Weeks — a full-lifetime grid calibrated to your birth year. Seeing your life laid out in dots is quietly motivating in a way that calendar apps never are. Custom countdowns let you add any date that matters: a trip, a deadline, a birthday, a goal. Each countdown shows days passed and days remaining alongside its own animated bar, so you always know where you stand. When something strikes you, export a polished progress image with one tap. Share your year progress with a friend, post it as a reminder, or save it as a wallpaper. Features at a glance: - Animated progress bars for year, month, week, and day - Days passed and days remaining for the current year - Year-in-weeks dot grid - Quarter and season progress - Life in Weeks grid - Unlimited custom date countdowns - One-tap shareable progress image - No account required, no ads

Screenshots

Side Notes4 screens
Year Count3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is device support: Side Notes at 3 against Year Count's 1. On price, ads, in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Side Notes versus Year Count: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSide NotesYear Count
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.9 (22 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews57.1% of reviews—
Number of ratings22 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 months—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac — betteriPhone
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size12 MB1 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperStraw TechnologiesLinh Phan Nhat Khanh

In-app purchases

None

Side Notes

No in-app purchases

None

Year Count

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Side Notes free?
Side Notes is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Year Count free?
Year Count is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Side Notes or Year Count have ads?
Neither Side Notes nor Year Count shows ads.

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