# Clue Notepad vs Detective Notes

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Detective Notes at 72% against Clue Notepad's 0%. Detective Notes also leads on price (Free vs $0.99) and rating (4.7 vs 3.0). Clue Notepad's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 2 days vs every 2 weeks). On in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Detective Notes is free to download; Clue Notepad costs $0.99 up front. Clue Notepad sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Detective Notes sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Detective Notes holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Detective Notes has 218 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 0% of Clue Notepad's written reviews are positive against 72% of Detective Notes's.

Clue Notepad ships an update every 2 days, Detective Notes every 2 weeks. Both last shipped on October 25, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | Clue Notepad | Detective Notes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $0.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | [3.0 (4 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/clue-notepad-detective-game/id1632345536/reviews) | **[4.7 (218 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/detective-notes/id6466589007/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 4 | **218** |
| Positive reviews | 0.0% of reviews | **72.2% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | **Every 2 days** | Every 2 weeks |
| Monetization | Paid | **Free with in-app purchases** |
| Size | 6 MB | 41 MB |
| Requires iOS | **16.0** | 16.4 |
| Devices | iPhone | **iPhone, iPad** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Bruno Goncalves](https://appshunter.io/developer/1214161087) | [Kyeong Cheon Yang](https://appshunter.io/developer/1707501391) |

## What reviewers say

### Clue Notepad

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/clue-notepad-detective-game/id1632345536)

This app helps board game enthusiasts track deductions, player actions, and guess history to solve mysteries faster. It offers pre-made templates for popular editions and allows custom creation, with privacy features to keep your strategy hidden.

**Highlights:** Smart note-taking for card elimination and theories, Player tracking for 2-10 players, Guess history recording, Statistics dashboard for solution spotting, 100+ ready-to-play game templates, Custom template creation and sharing, Privacy features like grayscale mode and face-down detection

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Family Sharing, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Remove ads | $0.99 | one-time |


### Detective Notes

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/detective-notes/id6466589007)

Organize clues, suspects, and locations to solve mysteries. Customize your detective notebook for any game, adjust player counts, and keep your strategies private. Features include marker variety and multilingual support.

**Highlights:** Customizable setup for suspects, tools, and locations, Flexible player count adjustment, Private note customization, Variety of marker tools, Multilingual support

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| No Ads | $3.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 All-in-one solution for Clue
- 🚀 Makes Clue game more efficient
- 😍 Fun for playing with friends
- 👍 Great alternative to paper
- 😊 Fun for family game nights

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Reset button stopped working
- 🐛 App blocks for days
- 🐛 Custom settings don't work
- 🐛 Ads not closable
- 🐛 Error on start, unusable

**Reported bugs**

- Reset button stopped working after update
- Application blocked for 3 days
- Custom setting does not work
- Ads are not closable, requires force close
- Error on main screen, cannot use app

**Requested features**

- Add numbering system for cells
- Allow multiple numbers per cell
- Add Harry Potter version rooms (9 rooms)
- Fix custom settings functionality
- Fix weapons and rooms category selection


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Clue Notepad free?

Clue Notepad costs $0.99, and also offers in-app purchases.

### Is Detective Notes free?

Detective Notes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Clue Notepad or Detective Notes?

Detective Notes is rated higher. Clue Notepad averages 3.0 out of 5 from 4 ratings, while Detective Notes averages 4.7 from 218 ratings.

### Do Clue Notepad or Detective Notes have ads?

Detective Notes shows ads; Clue Notepad does not.

### Which is updated more often, Clue Notepad or Detective Notes?

Clue Notepad ships an update every 2 days, and Detective Notes every 2 weeks. Most recently, Clue Notepad was updated on October 25, 2026 and Detective Notes on October 25, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*