Comparison

My Lists vs Simple Notes

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

Head to head
About

My Lists

Create and manage unlimited lists for any purpose, from shopping to creative projects. Organize your thoughts and tasks with various views, including photo checklists and notes. Share, sort, and reorder your lists with ease, all while prioritizing your privacy.

Highlights
  • Unlimited list creation
  • Photo checklists
  • Notes view
  • Share, sort, and reorder lists
  • Spotlight search
  • Light and dark themes
  • Cloud service support
Features
Read full description

Proudly NOT collecting your private data for over a decade — We debuted on the App Store on July 13th, 2008. Not once have we asked users to sign away data about themselves or their lists. Updated to latest version of iOS and iPadOS. Make lists for anything you need from shopping lists to movies to ideas for your novel, notes for a class to restaurants to try. Add images to your list items with the Photo Checklists option or keep track of notes with the Notes View to help manage larger amounts of data. You can keep track of additional information by adding images to the details view of an item in ANY list type. My Lists contains many great tools which allow you to share, sort, and reorder your lists and items the way that you need in order to effectively manage your daily life. Features: - Search for list items in Spotlight - Light and Dark Themes - Icons and latest Emoji - Random sort method - Support for Files app and any Cloud services it supports - Retina Display-worthy list icons - Add PHOTOS to any list item - 3 List View: Checklist, Photo Checklist and Notes - Automatically group checked items - Show count of unchecked items on Main List View - Search functionality which searches both item titles and descriptions. - Search based on status by searching for the terms "checked" and "unchecked" - Email backup of individual lists - Email visual versions of individual lists - Export or backup any or all lists - Visual count of checked items in list title (optional) - Reorder lists alphabetically or based on checked/unchecked - Manually order list items in "Edit" mode - Check or uncheck all items - Delete lists or items with a swipe

About

Simple Notes

A powerful yet simple note-taking application offering cross-device syncing, customizable themes, and robust security features. It allows users to set reminders, highlight text, and even save notes as images.

Highlights
  • Cross-device syncing (Dropbox/iCloud)
  • Zoomable font sizes
  • Searchable highlighted text
  • Note reminders
  • Password protection (AES 256-bit)
  • Shake to undo/redo
  • Customizable themes and fonts
Features
Read full description

Simple, Clean and Easy to Use, Yet Powerful and Loaded with Features. Key Features: --------------------- - One universal app for all your IOS Devices. - Sync your notes with Dropbox and/or iCloud. - Zoom in or out on any note to get the ideal font size suitable for your vision. - Highlight words and search terms inside your notes. - Set reminders to your notes to read them later. - Save text as an image to your camera roll. - Use Password Protection with Advanced Encryption Standard (AES 256-bit) to secure data and to protect your notes from prying eyes. - Shake your device to undo or redo: delete, creating, editing, restoring and more. - 9 font styles with five font colors. - Sort your notes chronologically or alphabetically. - Choose from six different color themes to modify your notes to suit your taste. - The ability to AirPrint your notes. - Auto Paste: when you run the app it will save text that you copied (Text in the Clipboard) automatically as a note. - Night Mode that makes reading in the dark easier on your eyes. - And much more..

Screenshots

My Lists4 screens
Simple Notes4 screens

Verdict

The call

My Lists and Simple Notes both sit at 3.9 stars, but that hides the real split: 82% of Simple Notes's written reviews are positive against 56% of My Lists's. Simple Notes also leads on update cadence (every 2 months vs every 5 months) and device support (4 vs 2). My Lists's advantage is price ($1.99 vs $2.99). On rating, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases 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

My Lists costs $1.99 and Simple Notes $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 3.9 for My Lists against 4.0 for Simple Notes. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 27 and 39 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 56% of My Lists's written reviews are positive against 82% of Simple Notes's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

My Lists ships an update every 5 months, Simple Notes every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
My Lists versus Simple Notes: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMy ListsSimple Notes
Price$1.99 — better$2.99
Rating3.9 (27 ratings)4.0 (39 ratings) — better
Positive reviews55.6% of reviews82.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2739 — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS18.613.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size6 MB25 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNeal ColstonSadah Software Solutions, LLC

Customer experience

My Lists

All ratings27 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral11.1%
Negative22.2%
Written reviews151 reviews
Positive55.6%
Neutral13.9%
Negative30.5%

Simple Notes

All ratings39 ratings
Positive74.4%
Neutral5.1%
Negative20.5%
Written reviews61 reviews
Positive82.0%
Neutral4.9%
Negative13.1%

Bugs and requests

My Lists

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Loss of data after updates
  • Inability to edit or reorder lists
  • Keyboard issues covering list items
  • Inconsistent behavior of check boxes

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add backup and sync options
  • Improve sorting and filtering capabilities
  • Expand icon library
  • Implement due dates and reminders
  • Allow moving items between lists

Simple Notes

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

My Lists

No in-app purchases

None

Simple Notes

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is My Lists free?
My Lists costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Simple Notes free?
Simple Notes costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, My Lists or Simple Notes?
Simple Notes is rated higher. My Lists averages 3.9 out of 5 from 27 ratings, while Simple Notes averages 4.0 from 39 ratings.
Do My Lists or Simple Notes have ads?
Neither My Lists nor Simple Notes shows ads.
Which is updated more often, My Lists or Simple Notes?
My Lists ships an update every 5 months, and Simple Notes every 2 months. Most recently, My Lists was updated on September 22, 2026 and Simple Notes on September 21, 2026.

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