Comparison

Simplenote vs Curse

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

Curse

Features
Read full description

Curse turns quitting distracting apps into a single physical action. No more relying on willpower or clicking "Ignore Limit" fifteen times a day. Curse pairs with a physical NFC tag — a card, sticker, or keychain you tap against your phone to lock the apps that are stealing your time, and tap again to unlock them. HOW IT WORKS Choose what to lock, tap your Curse tag, and it's gone from your home screen until you tap again. That small bit of friction — actually getting up and finding your tag — is what makes it work where app timers and screen-time limits don't. LOCK MODES • Doomscroll Block — Instagram, TikTok, X, and other feeds that eat your afternoon • Work Mode — silence everything except what you need to get things done • Sleep Mode — keep your phone from keeping you up • Adult Content Block — block adult content categories with one tap • Custom — pick exactly the apps and categories you want to lock SCHEDULES Set recurring lock windows — every weeknight after 10pm, every workday from 9 to 5 — and Curse enforces them automatically in the background, even if you never open the app. BUILT ON APPLE'S SCREEN TIME Curse is built entirely on Apple's Screen Time (Family Controls) framework. Locking happens on your device using Apple's own APIs — Curse never sees which apps you use or uploads your activity anywhere. TRACK YOUR PROGRESS See your current streak, minutes reclaimed today and all-time, and how many lock sessions you've completed — real numbers, not vanity stats. Curse works with any NFC tag you already own, or with a Curse card/tag designed for it.

Screenshots

Simplenote4 screens
Curse2 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Curse at none against Simplenote's 2. Simplenote's advantage is device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price and ads 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. Curse asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Simplenote versus Curse: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSimplenoteCurse
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (4.3K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews86.1% of reviews—
Number of ratings4.3K — better—
Update frequencyFortnightly—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size11 MB2 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAutomatticAnthony Regouis

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

Curse

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

Curse

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Simplenote free?
Simplenote is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Curse free?
Curse is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Simplenote or Curse have ads?
Neither Simplenote nor Curse shows ads.

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