Browser Note vs VanBrowser
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Browser Note
Add reminders and notes directly to any website to help you pause and think before acting. Block specific pages or entire sites, customize snooze timers, and sync notes across your Apple devices. Improve mental health and break habits by adding prompts to news or shopping sites.
- Add reminders to any website
- Block websites or specific pages
- Customizable snooze timer
- Sync notes via iCloud
- Text and video tutorials
- Privacy-focused, no data collection
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Put a pause between you and bad browsing habits. The web is full of places we open without thinking. Browser Note lets you place your own reminder directly in front of a website, giving you a moment to reconsider before doomscrolling, ordering another takeaway, checking social media, or making an impulse purchase. Your reminder appears whenever you visit the chosen page or website in Safari. It can be a gentle prompt, an important instruction, or simply a note you want to have close at hand. USE BROWSER NOTE TO: • Interrupt websites you open on autopilot • Add reminders to product pages and checkouts • Leave useful context on websites you return to • Create a pause before distracting or time-consuming browsing • Put frequently copied information exactly where you need it POWERFUL, SIMPLE CONTROLS • Add notes using the Safari extension or the iOS share sheet • Apply a note to one page or an entire website • Begin with an emoji to give each note its own icon • Choose whether a note can be temporarily snoozed • Set your preferred snooze duration • Adjust the note text size • Tap a note to copy its text • Manage all your notes from the app AVAILABLE EVERYWHERE Browser Note works across iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Your notes sync through iCloud, so a reminder created on one device can appear on all the others without needing to create a new account. Step-by-step instructions inside the app make installing and using the Safari extension straightforward. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Browser Note contains no advertising, analytics, or browsing tracking. Your notes remain on your devices and in your iCloud account. TRY IT FOR FREE Create up to three notes for free. A single one-off purchase unlocks unlimited notes forever on all of your supported devices. There is no subscription. Browser Note was created by independent developer Ben Dodson.
VanBrowser
A fast, private web browser designed for Apple devices. It prioritizes user control and transparency by avoiding AI features and data collection. Offers advanced tools for inspecting web activity and managing online identities.
- No AI features
- Advanced web inspection tools
- Persona-based identity separation
- Tracker and ad blocking
- Local data storage
- Optional iCloud sync
- Native Apple device design
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Fast, private, and built natively for Mac, iPhone, and iPad, VanBrowser puts you in control of your browsing experience instead of collecting data about it. Many browsers racing to add AI assistants, cloud services, and increasingly complicated and hidden interfaces. VanBrowser takes a different approach. It is a browser first, designed to help you browse the web with more transparency. NO AI. NONE. VanBrowser includes no AI features. No chatbot. No page summaries. No assistant watching what you browse. No prompts asking you to generate content. What you do in VanBrowser never becomes training data for us because we don't collect it in the first place. We don't collect data: You're not the product. Instead of monetizing your browsing activity, we rely on Pro subscriptions and optional tips to support continued development. SEE WHAT THE WEB IS DOING Most browsers hide what happens behind the scenes. VanBrowser puts that information in front of you. A live status bar shows page load times, transferred data, and resource counts as pages load. Open the Cookies, Network, and Page Info panels to inspect what a site sets, requests, and loads. Advanced users can also send and inspect raw web requests directly. PERSONAS: SEPARATE YOUR ONLINE IDENTITIES Keep work and personal accounts separate without juggling multiple browsers. Personas provide isolated browsing environments with their own cookies and device identities, making it easy to: • Stay logged into multiple accounts at the same time • Keep work and personal browsing separate • Open websites as a clean device • Automatically send specific websites to the correct Persona PRIVACY BY DEFAULT VanBrowser blocks many trackers and ads using maintained blocklists and is designed to give you greater control over your browsing data. History, bookmarks, passwords, and settings are stored locally on your Mac by default. If you use multiple devices, you can optionally enable iCloud sync to share supported data through your own iCloud account. VanBrowser is designed to minimize the collection of user data. We do not operate a cloud service for storing your browsing history, bookmarks, passwords, or synced data. BUILT NATIVELY FOR MAC, IPHONE, AND IPAD VanBrowser is designed specifically for macOS, iPhone, and iPad and feels at home here. Features include: • Tabbed browsing • Bookmarks and bookmarks bar • History and downloads • Reader View • Find in Page • Zoom controls • Built-in password vault • Built-in payment card vault • Per-site controls • Accessibility-focused design ACCESSIBILITY FIRST VanBrowser includes support for VoiceOver, Voice Control, and accessibility-focused customization throughout the app. FREE AND PRO VanBrowser is free to use. Upgrade to Pro to unlock iCloud sync, additional Personas, and other advanced features. A browser should work for you, not advertisers, data brokers, or AI companies. VanBrowser is a browser. That's the point. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: VanBrowser at 5.0 against Browser Note's 4.3. VanBrowser also leads on update cadence (every 3 days vs every 6 months). Browser Note's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 6). On price, review sentiment, ratings volume and ads 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
Both are free to download. VanBrowser sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Browser Note asks for nothing beyond the download.
VanBrowser holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4 and 7 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.
Browser Note ships an update every 6 months, VanBrowser every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and October 1, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Browser Note | VanBrowser |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.3 (4 ratings) | 5.0 (7 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 4 | 7 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 6 months | Every 3 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | Freemium — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | iPhone, iPad, Mac |
| Requires iOS | 17.6 | 17.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 7 MB | 29 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Dodo Apps | Vertolini |
Customer experience
Browser Note
VanBrowser
In-app purchases
Browser Note
No in-app purchases
VanBrowser
- VanBrowser (Monthly)$1.991 Month
- VanBrowser Pro (Yearly)$19.991 Year
- Small Tip$2.99
- Medium Tip$6.99
- Large Tip$12.99
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- VanBrowser Pro (Lifetime)$49.99
Questions
Is Browser Note free?
Is VanBrowser free?
Which has better reviews, Browser Note or VanBrowser?
Do Browser Note or VanBrowser have ads?
Which is updated more often, Browser Note or VanBrowser?
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