Comparison

NeatNotes vs Esse

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

Head to head
About

NeatNotes

Organize and take notes quickly with a clean interface. See full note previews, customize note styles, and set reminders. Features smart grouping and automatic link title generation.

Highlights
  • Full note previews
  • Customizable note styles (plain, sticky, lined)
  • Home screen widgets
  • Paragraph-based reminders
  • Smart Stacks for automatic note grouping
  • Readable link titles
  • Photo integration
Features
Read full description

Less is more, when it’s done right. NeatNotes gives you only what you need to organize and take notes quickly. While other apps show you a really tiny preview, with NeatNotes you can see the real note before you open it. This makes the app more fun and easier to find your notes. Make your notes personal with three different note styles. * A plain note, with extensive formatting options. * A sticky note, with large fonts, colors and checklists. * A lined note for that nostalgic yellow pad. Mini Spreadsheets. No Tables. NeatNotes lets you perform spreadsheet-like calculations directly in your notes. Type a simple math expression and the answer is suggested underneath it. Reuse a number by dragging and dropping it elsewhere in your note. This creates a reference, so when you change the original number, every reference and related calculation updates automatically. Make a list of numbers and the total is suggested above the keyboard. You can then calculate splits and averages or count the lines in a list. You can also use units of measurement for length, volume, weight and temperature in your calculations. Convert between more than 150 fiat currencies, popular cryptocurrencies, gold and silver using the latest available exchange rates. Widgets that make sense. You can see your notes on your Home Screen with widgets. You can navigate your note by paragraph, check off checklist items, open links and even see photos in your notes. Create Multiple Reminders. Make any paragraph a reminder. Just tap the bell icon on the keyboard and you can set the date and time of the reminder. It will ring and notify you on the lock screen. When you tap the reminder, it will open the note and take you to the paragraph where you set it. Smart Stacks. All notes apps let you search your notes, but Smart Stacks takes it to the next level. 
 Smart Stacks automatically groups notes that share a trait, into one stack — like notes with contact info, or notes with checklists. You can also enter any word, and it’ll create a stack, with all the notes that contains the word. Photos and Readable links. You can add photos to your notes from your phone camera or photo library. You can even copy and paste them from another app like Safari. When you copy and paste a link, it automatically gets a readable title. So instead of seeing a complicated URL you see the title. This makes it easier for you to understand what the link is about rather than having to visit the link every time. No account needed. Use iCloud to Store and Sync. You don’t need to create another account. Just download the app and start using it. All your notes are automatically stored in iCloud and synced to other devices in your account. Privacy Your notes are extremely personal and we can't see them. In fact we don't even store them. Apple does in iCloud. We recommend that you turn on "Advanced Data Protection" in your iCloud settings, if you wish to prevent even Apple from having access to your notes.

About

Esse

Instantly transform lengthy YouTube videos into concise, easy-to-understand summaries. This tool offers bullet-point takeaways, deep dives, and supports over 60 languages, creating a personal knowledge library. Save time and effortlessly share key information.

Highlights
  • AI video summarization
  • Bullet-point takeaways
  • Deep dive summaries
  • 60+ languages supported
  • Searchable library
  • Automatic clipboard detection
  • Time saved tracking
Read full description

Turn any long YouTube video into clean, digestible takeaways in seconds. How it works: — Copy or share any YouTube link → instant AI summary — Automatic clipboard detection (zero extra steps) — Minimal, distraction-free design — Summaries saved in a searchable library What you get: — Takeaways as clear bullet points — Concise overviews in under 30 seconds — Structured Deep Dives for longer, content-rich videos — 60+ languages supported — A personal knowledge vault that grows with you — Time saved, tracked automatically — Easy sharing: plain text or styled templates Also included: Bait Buster Not sure if a video is worth your time? Share it and tap Bust the Bait — Esse scans the thumbnail, title, and transcript, then tells you exactly what's inside and whether it delivers what it promised.

Screenshots

NeatNotes4 screens
Esse4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Esse at none against NeatNotes's shown. NeatNotes's advantage is monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume 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

Both are free to download. NeatNotes sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Esse sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

NeatNotes holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 39 and 22 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

NeatNotes ships an update every 4 days, Esse weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 5, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
NeatNotes versus Esse: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNeatNotesEsse
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (39 ratings) — better4.7 (22 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings39 — better22
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterWeekly
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS18.217.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size32 MB35 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperFusion Engineering100K31D D.O.O.

Customer experience

NeatNotes

All ratings39 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews7 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Esse

All ratings18 ratings
Positive94.4%
Neutral0.0%
Negative5.6%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

NeatNotes

One-time1
  • Lifetime Unlock$7.99
4 purchases

Esse

Subscriptions3
  • Weekly Premium$1.997 Days
  • Monthly Premium$4.991 Month
  • Yearly Premium$39.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime Premium$59.99

Questions

Is NeatNotes free?
NeatNotes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Esse free?
Esse is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, NeatNotes or Esse?
NeatNotes is rated higher. NeatNotes averages 4.9 out of 5 from 39 ratings, while Esse averages 4.7 from 22 ratings.
Do NeatNotes or Esse have ads?
NeatNotes shows ads; Esse does not.
Which is updated more often, NeatNotes or Esse?
NeatNotes ships an update every 4 days, and Esse weekly. Most recently, NeatNotes was updated on October 5, 2026 and Esse on October 8, 2026.

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