Simplenote vs n+otes
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Simplenote
Capture ideas, create to-do lists, and jot down thoughts effortlessly. Organize your notes with tags and pins, and find them instantly with search. Your content syncs across all devices for free, ensuring it's always accessible.
- Simple note-taking experience
- Cross-device syncing
- Collaboration and sharing
- Organization with tags
- Instant search
- To-do list creation
- Passcode lock
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Simplenote is an easy way to take notes, create to-do lists, capture ideas, and more. Open it, jot down some thoughts, and you're done. As your collection grows, stay organized with tags and pins, and find what you need with instant search. Since Simplenote will sync across your devices for free, your notes are with you at all times. - A simple, note taking experience - Sync everything across all your devices - Collaborate and share - Stay organized with tags - Log in with your email or WordPress.com account SYNC WITH CONFIDENCE - Automatically sync seamlessly across any computer, phone or tablet. - Back up and sync everything as you take notes, so you never lose your content. COLLABORATE AND SHARE - Collaborate and work together -- share ideas with a colleague, or write a grocery list with your roommate. - Choose whether to publish your content to the web, and share a link with whoever you want. - Publish directly to a WordPress site by connecting your WordPress.com account. - Quickly and easily share with third-party apps. ORGANIZE AND SEARCH - Stay organized with tags, and use them for quick searching and sorting. - Instantly find what you’re looking for with keyword highlighting. - Use markdown to add formatting. - Create to-do lists. - Choose the sorting order of your notes and tags. - Pin the notes that you use the most. - Edit tags directly by renaming and reordering. - Protect your content with a passcode lock. -- Privacy Policy: https://automattic.com/privacy/ Terms of Service: https://simplenote.com/terms/ California Users Privacy Notice: https://wp.me/Pe4R-d/#california-consumer-privacy-act-ccpa -- Visit simplenote.com to download Simplenote for your other devices.
n+otes
Capture thoughts and ideas instantly with a simple interface. Secure your notes with a private lock feature. Optional subscription removes ads and supports development.
- Quick note-taking
- Private note lock
- Ad-free experience (subscription)
- Easy to use interface
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Great for those quick notes! Just tap the + button and start typing! Subscribe for the Ad-free Experience: To support further development and maintenance of the app, we have a small subscription so you can use the app without advertising: A monthly, 3-monthly or yearly purchase will be applied to your iTunes account on confirmation. Subscriptions will automatically renew unless canceled within 24-hours before the end of the current period. You can cancel anytime with your iTunes account settings. Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered will be forfeited if you cancel a subscription. Terms: http://rieu.co.nz/terms.html Privacy Policy: http://rieu.co.nz/privacy.html
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Simplenote at none against n+otes's shown. Simplenote also leads on monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases) and review sentiment (86% vs 64%). n+otes's advantage is ratings volume (45K vs 4.3K) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). On price, rating, update cadence 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
Both are free to download. Simplenote sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $19.99 per month and n+otes sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $0.49 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Simplenote against 4.7 for n+otes. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: n+otes has 45K ratings behind it against 4.3K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 86% of Simplenote's written reviews are positive against 64% of n+otes's.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 29, 2026 and October 1, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Simplenote | n+otes |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (4.3K ratings) | 4.7 (45K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 86.2% of reviews — better | 64.3% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 4.3K | 45K — better |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | Fortnightly |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 11 MB | 25 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Automattic | RIEU Limited |
Customer experience
Simplenote
n+otes
User reviews
Simplenote
From 4.3K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 💻 Cross-platform availability
- 🔍 Reliable search functionality
- 🌐 Seamless syncing across devices
- 📝 Simple, distraction-free interface
- 🔒 Secure with password/fingerprint protection
Room to improve
- 🔖 Limited formatting options (no bold, italic, etc.)
- 🗂️ Lack of folder organization
- 🔄 Occasional syncing issues
- 🖼️ Unable to add images or attachments
- 🔍 Search could be improved for long notes
n+otes
From 45K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Simple and easy to use
- 🚀 Efficient note-taking experience
- 🔒 Secure with passcode protection
- 💡 Customizable themes and backgrounds
- 👍 Great for organizing thoughts and ideas
Room to improve
- 🐛 Occasional bugs and glitches
- 💰 Intrusive ads interrupting workflow
- 🔋 Concerns about battery drain
- 🔒 Lack of cross-device syncing
Bugs and requests
Simplenote
Reported bugs
3 issues- Notes sometimes disappear or get duplicated
- App crashes or freezes on certain devices
- Syncing problems between mobile and desktop
Requested features
5 requests- Add bold, italic, and other formatting options
- Implement folder-based organization
- Improve syncing reliability across devices
- Allow adding images, files, and other attachments
- Enhance search capabilities for long notes
n+otes
Reported bugs
4 issues- Notes disappearing or getting lost
- Inability to delete notes on Apple Watch
- Scrolling issues and text freezing at the bottom
- Inconsistent behavior after updates
Requested features
5 requests- Ability to sync notes across devices
- More font and formatting options
- Folder or category organization
- Voice-to-text functionality
- Ability to insert images and attachments
In-app purchases
Simplenote
- Simplenote Sustainer Monthly$19.991 Month
- Simplenote Sustainer Yearly$199.991 Year
n+otes
- Ad-free Experience (Monthly)$0.491 Month
- Ad-free Experience (3 Months)$0.993 Months
- Ad-free Experience (1 Year)$3.991 Year
- Remove Ads$19.99
