Comparison

SideNotes Mobile vs Semestral

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

Head to head
About

SideNotes Mobile

Capture thoughts and to-dos on the go with this mobile note-taking app. It offers iCloud sync, Markdown formatting, and customizable themes for a personalized experience. Easily access notes from other applications.

Highlights
  • iCloud Synchronization
  • Markdown Formatting
  • Task Management
  • Customizable Themes
  • Note and Folder URLs
  • Note Colors
Features
Read full description

SideNotes Mobile is a fast notes app for iPhone and iPad. Capture notes, tasks, links, and snippets in seconds, then access them across devices with iCloud sync. Version 1.2 brings a major upgrade: - A new editor with hidden Markdown markup - the same as in SideNotes for macOS - Refreshed iOS 26-style interface (Liquid Glass look) - Note folding - Note & Folder pinning - Simple drag-and-drop reordering - New contextual menu - New formatting options - Add Note action for the iPhone Action Button - New translations: Chinese (Simplified), French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, and Spanish - UI polish, bug fixes, and quality improvements Core features: - iCloud sync across iPhone, iPad, and Mac - Themes and note colors for personalization - Tasks and checklists for daily work - Folder organization and quick search - Note and folder URLs for fast access from other apps - Text settings for comfortable writing and reading - One-time purchase (paid per major version). No subscription. Note: SideNotes Mobile is a companion app to SideNotes for macOS. SideNotes for macOS is sold separately.

About

Semestral

Features
Read full description

Semestral keeps your coursework, exams, deadlines and grades in one place. A native app for Mac, iPhone and iPad. Set up semesters and modules the way your degree is actually structured. Tasks go on a Kanban board, dates in the calendar, grades on the module they belong to. YOUR SEMESTER ON THE BOARD • Tasks in To Do, In Progress and Done • Move them by drag and drop or from the context menu • Deadline with optional time, priority, notes and a reminder per task • Recurring tasks for weekly problem sets and routines, with an end date • View a whole semester at once or a single module CALENDAR AND EXAMS The monthly calendar shows task deadlines and exam dates together. Every module has its own colour, so you can see at a glance what an entry belongs to. Store exams with a date, optional time, room and duration, including for a module from another semester. A retake in the next exam period fits the same way the original date does. GRADES AND ECTS Record a grade on each module. Semestral works out your ECTS-weighted average from them, for Bachelor and Master degrees, broken down by semester. REMINDERS A daily notification at the time you choose tells you what is still due that day. The badge on the app icon shows overdue tasks, today's tasks, or both. ACROSS YOUR DEVICES Turn on iCloud sync and your semesters, modules, tasks, exams and grades stay the same on Mac, iPhone and iPad.

Screenshots

SideNotes Mobile4 screens
Semestral4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Semestral at Free against SideNotes Mobile's $9.99. SideNotes Mobile's advantage is chart position (#180 vs unranked) and iOS requirement (17 vs 26.0). On update cadence, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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

Semestral is free to download; SideNotes Mobile costs $9.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SideNotes Mobile ships an update monthly, Semestral every 4 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 14, 2026 and November 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 8 level
SideNotes Mobile versus Semestral: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSideNotes MobileSemestral
Price$9.99Free — better
Rating4.2 (29 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews88.4% of reviews—
Number of ratings29 — better—
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 4 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaid—
Best chart rank#180 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Mac — better
Requires iOS17 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size10 MB12 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperApptoriumDavid Bingmann

In-app purchases

None

SideNotes Mobile

No in-app purchases

None

Semestral

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is SideNotes Mobile free?
SideNotes Mobile costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Semestral free?
Semestral is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do SideNotes Mobile or Semestral have ads?
Neither SideNotes Mobile nor Semestral shows ads.
Which is updated more often, SideNotes Mobile or Semestral?
SideNotes Mobile ships an update monthly, and Semestral every 4 weeks. Most recently, SideNotes Mobile was updated on November 14, 2026 and Semestral on November 10, 2026.

Other comparisons