Comparison

Simplenote vs Notepad+ Pro

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

Notepad+ Pro

This app transforms your iPad into a digital notebook for taking notes, sketching, and annotating documents. It offers a variety of templates, editing tools, and export options to enhance productivity and creativity.

Highlights
  • Take notes and sketch digitally
  • Annotate PDFs and other files
  • Organize notes on virtual boards
  • Password protection for notes
  • Export notes in PDF or image format
  • Customizable templates
  • Apple Pencil support with palm rejection
Read full description

Fully optimized for iPad Pro and Apple Pencil! Notepad+ is pen and paper right on your iPad exactly when you need them. Take notes, draw, make sketches, annotate PDFs, create lists and memos, export your notes, and discover other great features. From now on you can be more productive than ever! CREATE & ANNOTATE - Take notes in lectures, seminars, business meetings, and conferences - Аnotate and edit files in various formats: PDF, Excel, Keynote, Numbers and more - Organize notes on a virtual board - Quickly assign a unique title to each note - Change the template of any note in seconds - Protect sensitive notes with a password - Always pick up where you left off with the autosave feature CUSTOMIZE & EDIT - Move images easily from other apps using iOS 11 Drag and Drop - Choose your template from 8 template galleries (Basic, Education, Lifestyle, Business, Sports, Games, Photo Frames, Music) - Enjoy the editing options you're used to: easily cut, copy and paste any content - Make the most of ink pens, highlighters and colors for true handwriting experience - Enlarge parts on your screen to better see words and images with Magnification Tool - Zoom in and out to pay attention to details while sketching or drawing - Add photos to make your notes more visually appealing - Use helpful Icons, funny smileys and add text next to them to make your notes more catchy and emotional - Hide sensitive content with a single tap using Blur - Reorganize your notes with a drag-and-drop gesture, sort them by date created or modified - Use the iPad keyboard to type your notes - Experience all the advantages of maximum portability when using Smart Keyboard for iPad Pro - Use your finger or stylus when writing or drawing - Use Apple Pencil to create sketches or take notes without accidental marks or blots applying palm rejection function - Adjust the palm rest to prevent marks - Photo extension: mark up images right in your iPad's Photos app, use pens and highlighters to add notes and captions easily. - Create notes by importing and editing files in numerous formats: Excel (.xls), Keynote (.key), Numbers (.numbers), Pages (.pages), PDF (.pdf), Powerpoint (.ppt), Word (.doc), Rich Text Format (.rtf), Rich Text Format Directory (.rtfd), Keynote ’09 (.key), Numbers ‘09 (.numbers), Pages ‘09 (.pages) EXPORT & SHARE - Share a page or the whole notebook - Select a format (PDF or image) for better manageability - Email, print, save to Photos or iTunes - Use the Quick Search to find important notes in an instance GET 24/7 SUPPORT - Ask questions about the app and get immediate help with managing your notes - just contact us at support@apalon.com Notepad+ gives you the best of a digital notebook, all in one place. AdChoices: http://www.apalon.com/privacy_policy.html#4 For complete access to all Notepad+ features, you will need to allow access to the following: *Photos – so you can import your snapshots, mark them up, and save them. *Camera – so you can take photos and edit them within the app. *Contacts – so you can add them to documents and email your notes.

Screenshots

Simplenote4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Simplenote at Free against Notepad+ Pro's $19.99. Simplenote also leads on review sentiment (86% vs 61%) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 2 months). Notepad+ Pro's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and iOS requirement (8.0 vs 15.0). On rating, ratings volume, ads and monetization model 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

Simplenote is free to download; Notepad+ Pro costs $19.99 up front. Simplenote sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $19.99 per month. Notepad+ Pro asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Simplenote against 4.6 for Notepad+ Pro. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4.3K and 6.3K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 86% of Simplenote's written reviews are positive against 61% of Notepad+ Pro's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Simplenote ships an update fortnightly, Notepad+ Pro every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and October 11, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Simplenote versus Notepad+ Pro: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSimplenoteNotepad+ Pro
PriceFree — better$19.99
Rating4.7 (4.3K ratings) — better4.6 (6.3K ratings)
Positive reviews86.2% of reviews — better60.7% of reviews
Number of ratings4.3K6.3K — better
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPad
Requires iOS15.08.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size11 MB57 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAutomatticMosaic S.r.l.

Customer experience

Simplenote

All ratings4,313 ratings
Positive94.9%
Neutral1.5%
Negative3.6%
Written reviews1,718 reviews
Positive86.2%
Neutral4.5%
Negative9.3%

Notepad+ Pro

All ratings6,340 ratings
Positive90.3%
Neutral4.6%
Negative5.1%
Written reviews1,187 reviews
Positive60.7%
Neutral12.7%
Negative26.5%

User reviews

Simplenote

From 4.3K App Store ratings

What 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

Notepad+ Pro

From 6.3K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Easy to use
  • 👍 Useful templates
  • 🚀 Responsive with Apple Pencil
  • 👍 Great for note-taking and sketching
  • 👍 Versatile for various use cases

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Templates won't download
  • 🐛 Laggy or unresponsive writing experience
  • 🐛 Inability to organize notes into folders
  • 🐛 Limited color and pen options
  • 🐛 Compatibility issues with newer devices

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

Notepad+ Pro

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Frequent crashes or freezing
  • Disappearing or corrupted notes
  • Inability to open or export PDF files
  • Unresponsive or 'dead' areas on the screen
  • Inconsistent performance with Apple Pencil

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to create custom templates
  • Improved palm rejection and gesture support
  • Sync and backup capabilities across devices
  • More advanced text editing and formatting options
  • Conversion of handwritten notes to digital text

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Simplenote

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

Notepad+ Pro

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Simplenote free?
Simplenote is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Notepad+ Pro free?
Notepad+ Pro costs $19.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Simplenote or Notepad+ Pro?
Simplenote is rated higher. Simplenote averages 4.7 out of 5 from 4.3K ratings, while Notepad+ Pro averages 4.6 from 6.3K ratings.
Do Simplenote or Notepad+ Pro have ads?
Neither Simplenote nor Notepad+ Pro shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Simplenote or Notepad+ Pro?
Simplenote ships an update fortnightly, and Notepad+ Pro every 2 months. Most recently, Simplenote was updated on October 12, 2026 and Notepad+ Pro on October 11, 2026.

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