SiYuan vs PinLists
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
SiYuan
A privacy-focused personal knowledge management system that allows offline use and encrypted data synchronization. It combines blocks, outlines, and bidirectional links to enhance thinking processes.
- Privacy-first design
- Offline data storage
- End-to-end encrypted sync
- Block and outline fusion
- Bidirectional linking
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SiYuan is a privacy-first personal knowledge management system that supports complete offline use, as well as end-to-end encrypted data sync. Fuse blocks, outlines, and bidirectional links to refactor your thinking.
PinLists
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The hard part is not always doing a task. Sometimes it is remembering it at the right moment. PinLists gives everyday plans a place to stay visible, from errands and packing lists to the little things you plan with someone else. CAPTURE IT Add a task and choose its list, due date and reminder in the same flow. Turn speech into text in the app, or add a task through Shortcuts. Review recognized text before saving it. KEEP IT IN VIEW Pin pending tasks to a Lock Screen list and check off eligible items there. Add a Home Screen widget for another quick view. Lock Screen lists use iOS Live Activities; iOS controls their duration, number and arrangement. FIND THE DETAILS Search task titles, notes, completion notes and messages. Narrow results by list, status or tags. Leave a completion note to remember how something got done. WORK TOGETHER Share a selected list through iCloud. Members can discuss tasks with messages and replies, then mark the work complete. Personal tasks stay on your device. Joining someone else's shared list does not require Pro. Core task management is free. Pro unlocks creating shared lists, preselecting two separate Lock Screen lists, more themes and appearance options, and advanced reminders. Pro is available as a monthly or yearly subscription or a lifetime purchase. The App Store purchase sheet shows your local price. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
SiYuan and PinLists are too close to call on the numbers: across 6 compared parameters — price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. SiYuan sells 2 one-off in-app purchases and PinLists sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
SiYuan ships an update every 8 days, PinLists every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | SiYuan | PinLists |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.9 (30 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 66.7% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 30 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 8 days | Every 6 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 — better | 17.2 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 440 MB | 11 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Yunnan Liandi Technology Co., Ltd. | 晶 李 |
In-app purchases
SiYuan
- PRO Features$79.99
- Subscription$188.99
PinLists
- PinLists Pro$0.991 Month
- PinList Pro Yearly$9.991 Year
- PinLists Pro$14.99
