Comparison

Outside vs Note To Self

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

Head to head
About

Outside

Plan, share, and remember important moments with loved ones. Ideal for long-distance relationships, trip planning, and creating a visual diary of your year. Features live widgets and offline access.

Highlights
  • Shared countdowns for long-distance couples
  • Trip planning with group coordination
  • Yearly memory archive and profile
  • Live widgets for home and lock screens
  • Calendar sync (Apple & Google)
  • Offline functionality
  • Photo sharing for Lock Screen
Features
Read full description

Waiting is better together. Turn every date you can't wait for—weddings, trips, birthdays, reunions—into a countdown you share, with widgets you'll both smile at every day. Use Outside for trips, birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, reunions, concerts and every date worth looking forward to. CREATE AND SHARE Create a countdown, send an invite and let friends, family or your partner join the same moment. WIDGETS AT A GLANCE Keep your next countdown on your Home Screen, Lock Screen or in StandBy. PLAN TOGETHER Add the date, place and details so everyone knows what is happening. FREE TO START The free plan includes creating, sharing and joining countdowns, plus Home Screen, Lock Screen and StandBy widgets. OUTSIDE PRO Outside Pro is optional and adds custom reminders, calendar sync, recurring events, attachments, camera-roll wallpapers, group chat, custom app icons, photo uploads and search, premium countdown styles, links and checklists. Available plans, prices and introductory trial eligibility are shown before purchase. Terms: https://outside.so/terms Privacy: https://outside.so/privacy Support: https://outside.so/support

About

Note To Self

Send yourself messages that appear at unexpected times to provide encouragement, advice, or reminders. This app offers personalized scheduling and a simple interface to help you connect with your future self.

Highlights
  • Send messages to your future self
  • Random surprise message delivery
  • Personalized scheduling options
  • Simple, clutter-free interface
  • Set affirmations, jokes, or goals
Features
Read full description

Ever wish you could send a message to future you? With Note To Self, you can write notes to yourself—encouragement, advice, or even a silly joke—and have them pop up later when you least expect it. Whether you want a random pick-me-up, a daily dose of motivation, or a timely reminder to stay on track, Note To Self makes sure you never lose sight of what matters most. As part of Skinnydip’s series of “delightfully simple” apps, Note To Self is all about getting straight to the point. No cluttered menus. No endless setup. Just write, schedule, and let it do the rest. Your future self will thank you. Why You’ll Love It: • Random Surprises: Set your notes to appear at totally unexpected times. Little moments of delight, delivered right to you. • Personalized Scheduling: Need that pep talk every Friday morning? Or a reminder once a month that “You’ve got this!”? Pick the times and intervals that fit your life. • Ridiculously Simple: Forget fumbling around complicated settings. This app does one thing and does it well—so you can focus on what you want to say to yourself. • Just for You: It’s your future self you’re writing to, so share whatever feels right. Affirmations, inside jokes, personal goals—nothing’s off-limits. Give Your Future Self a Gift: Download Note To Self and start setting messages that will greet you in the days ahead. Because sometimes, hearing from yourself is exactly what you need.

Screenshots

Outside1 screens
Note To Self3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Note To Self at 100% against Outside's 52%. Note To Self also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 17). Outside's advantage is price (Free vs $1.99) and update cadence (every 6 days vs every 11 months). On ads, device support 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

Outside is free to download; Note To Self costs $1.99 up front. Outside sells 17 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Note To Self asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Outside ships an update every 6 days, Note To Self every 11 months. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Outside versus Note To Self: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterOutsideNote To Self
PriceFree — better$1.99
Rating4.7 (2.8K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews51.8% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2.8K — better—
Update frequencyEvery 6 days — betterEvery 11 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemium — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.0 — better18.1
Further details — not scored
Size144 MB59 MB
Age rating4++4
DeveloperOutside HQ LTDSkinnydip Group Inc.

Customer experience

Outside

All ratings2,760 ratings
Positive91.6%
Neutral2.6%
Negative5.7%
Written reviews218 reviews
Positive51.8%
Neutral8.7%
Negative39.4%

Note To Self

Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Outside

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Widget not working after iOS updates
  • Countdown events suddenly blocked by paywall
  • Paid subscription not working as expected

Requested features

4 requests
  • More customization options for widgets
  • Ability to delete or edit events
  • Improved Android support
  • Memories/map feature to track past events

Note To Self

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

17 purchases

Outside

Subscriptions10
  • Monthly subscription$2.991 Month
  • Outside Pro Monthly3 Days trial$2.991 Month
  • Monthly Plan$4.491 Month
Show 7 more
  • Monthly subscription3 Days trial$6.991 Month
  • Yearly Pro Deal3 Days trial$12.491 Year
  • Annual Pro3 Days trial$12.491 Year
  • Outside Pro Annual$19.991 Year
  • Annual Plan7 Days trial$29.491 Year
  • Outside Pro Annual3 Days trial$31.491 Year
  • Annual plan3 Days trial$44.491 Year
One-time7
  • Unlock Countdown styles$0.99
  • Ad supported tier$4.99
  • All Time Deal$5.49
Show 4 more
  • All Time Deal$7.49
  • All Time Pro$9.99
  • Lifetime Access$29.99
  • Lifetime access$44.49
None

Note To Self

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Outside free?
Outside is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Note To Self free?
Note To Self costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do Outside or Note To Self have ads?
Neither Outside nor Note To Self shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Outside or Note To Self?
Outside ships an update every 6 days, and Note To Self every 11 months. Most recently, Outside was updated on October 30, 2026 and Note To Self on October 28, 2026.

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