Comparison

Simplenote vs Watasu

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • Simple note-taking experience
  • Cross-device syncing
  • Collaboration and sharing
  • Organization with tags
  • Instant search
  • To-do list creation
  • Passcode lock
Read full description

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.

About

Watasu

Features
Read full description

Text you type on your Mac keyboard lands directly in your iPhone memo. No copy-paste, no AirDrop — just direct keystrokes reaching the other side. ■ Key Features ◎ Instant Transfer from Mac Launch the floating panel from the macOS menu bar, type, and your text instantly appears on your iPhone. Zero-setup peer-to-peer connection via Multipeer Connectivity — no pairing required. ◎ iCloud Sync for Remote Access Even on different networks, your notes stay in sync via iCloud. Type on your Mac at work and find it on your iPhone at home. ◎ Organize with Projects Create separate projects for classes, work, or hobbies. Long-press cards to pin, delete, or change colors. ◎ Rich Block Types ・Text: Plain notes ・Task: With due dates (time optional) ・Bullet: • or ①②③, tap to strikethrough ・Callout: Highlighted notes ・Counter: Tap to count up, daily reset or cumulative ・Image: Photos with captions ◎ Widget Support See active tasks at a glance on your home screen. ◎ Search Find any block or task across a project instantly. ◎ 4 Languages Japanese, English, Hindi, Spanish. ■ About the Mac App Requires the free macOS companion app (distributed separately). Lives in your menu bar and opens with ⌘⌥K. ■ Perfect For ・Students taking notes while researching on Mac ・Professionals capturing meeting notes on Mac to iPhone ・Anyone tired of AirDrop friction ■ Privacy All user data is stored only in your own iCloud. Nothing is sent to developers. Download for free. Privacy Policy: https://kazusa703.github.io/privacy.html Terms of Use: https://kazusa703.github.io/terms.html Support: https://kazusa703.github.io/support.html

Screenshots

Simplenote4 screens
Watasu4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Watasu at none against Simplenote's 2. Watasu also leads on update cadence (daily vs fortnightly). Simplenote's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and device support (3 vs 1). On price 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. Simplenote sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $19.99 per month. Watasu asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Simplenote ships an update fortnightly, Watasu daily. The most recent releases landed on November 11, 2026 and November 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Simplenote versus Watasu: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSimplenoteWatasu
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (4.3K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews86.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings4.3K — better—
Update frequencyFortnightlyDaily — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size11 MB5 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAutomatticatsuko imai

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

Watasu

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Simplenote

Subscriptions2
  • Simplenote Sustainer Monthly$19.991 Month
  • Simplenote Sustainer Yearly$199.991 Year
None

Watasu

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Simplenote free?
Simplenote is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Watasu free?
Watasu is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Simplenote or Watasu have ads?
Watasu shows ads; Simplenote does not.
Which is updated more often, Simplenote or Watasu?
Simplenote ships an update fortnightly, and Watasu daily. Most recently, Simplenote was updated on November 11, 2026 and Watasu on November 9, 2026.

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