Comparison

Headspace vs Jot Down

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

Head to head
About

Headspace

This app offers a unique 3D approach to organizing thoughts and creating hierarchical outlines. Visualize your information in a floating space, navigate with intuitive gestures, and connect related ideas with visual links. It's designed for a dynamic and engaging way to manage lists and mind maps.

Highlights
  • Build hierarchical outlines in 3D space
  • Navigate and zoom with familiar finger gestures
  • Connect related items with link lines
  • Change item color and opacity
  • Universal app for iPhone and iPad
  • Sync files with Dropbox
  • PDF export with active note links
Features
Read full description

*** PLEASE NOTE: This NOT the meditation app! *** (There is another app called "Headspace: Guided Meditation and Mindfulness" and this is NOT that app!) This is the *original* Headspace! HEADSPACE is iOS's coolest 3D outliner and mind-mapping app! Do your list-making and mind-mapping in 3D space with the *original* Headspace. "Five stars on iPhone, completely off the scale on iPad" "This is the app I've most wanted to run on the iPad since the day it was announced, and the app that anyone looking over your shoulder will immediately want to buy an iPad just to run. " "Love the program. Favorite app. Useful and looks great. " "The implementation is beautiful! In my opinion, Headspace is becoming one of the best apps in the store." "I bought Headspace last night on a whim - been fooling around with mindmapping apps lately. This is a little piece of brilliance, you know that, right? " "This app could not just be a mindmapping program, It has the capability to become a new kind of U.I. That in my opinion that improved over apples U.I." Headspace allows you to create items and groups of items on a floating plane in three-dimensional space. The hierarchy of items and their various sub-items make for a beautiful display of information as they recede into the distance. Simple and familiar finger gestures allow you to move around the space. Use the menu button to travel between various groups. Easily create links and travel between them. The beautiful animated interface is like something from a sci-fi movie, but it isn't just eye-candy. You can go from an "eagle-eye" view of your entire map to focusing on a single item with a simple pinch of your fingers. There's just something about being able to manipulate the scale and space that goes perfectly with the idea of outlining. Here's a rundown on all its cool features: ● build hierarchical outlines in 3D space ● use familiar finger gestures to navigate and zoom ● connect related items with link lines - even between files! ● change item color and opacity ● change text color ● 'Flick' up or down to travel to top or bottom of lists ● special characters and foreign-language support ● universal app -- runs on both iphone and ipad ● easy travel between groups and files ● cut-and-paste items ● search in spaces, notes, and files ● item notes for supplemental information (text/photo/url) ● optional accelerometer rotate ● customizable color palette ● "to-do" style item checkboxes ● 2D orthogonal mode ● sync files between your iphone and iPad with Dropbox ● file support for Freemind, the free multi-platform desktop mind-mapping program ● stunning PDF export w/ active note links Get some perspective on your thoughts. Try Headspace today! Let us know what else you'd like to see added, email headspace@flatblackfilms.com!

About

Jot Down

Create visually appealing sticky notes and to-do lists with customizable colors and fonts. Sync your notes seamlessly across all Apple devices using iCloud. Organize tasks with checkpoint options directly from your home screen widgets.

Highlights
  • Customizable sticky notes
  • To-do list functionality
  • Homescreen widgets
  • iCloud sync across Apple devices
  • Variety of font styles
  • Gradient color options
Features
Read full description

Sticky notes that stay where you look. Jot Down is a focused text-note app for quick thoughts, reminders, and everyday writing. Pin notes to Home or Lock Screen widgets, style them your way, and keep them synced through your private iCloud. WHY JOT DOWN • See important notes without opening the app • Start a new note from Home or Lock Screen • Dictate text with on-device speech recognition • Add reminders to a note • Organize with folders, favorites, colors, fonts, and wallpapers • Sync across iPhone, iPad, and Mac • No subscription or in-app paywall HOW IT WORKS 1. Capture a thought 2. Style or organize it 3. Pin it to a widget when it needs to stay visible Jot Down creates text notes only. It does not include the task, audio, scanner, drawing, focus, or countdown editors from Mini Notes. Download Jot Down and keep the next idea in sight.

Screenshots

Headspace4 screens
Jot Down4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Jot Down at 100% against Headspace's 71%. Jot Down also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.4) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 2 months). Headspace's advantage is iOS requirement (9.0 vs 26.0). On ratings volume, ads, in-app purchases 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

Headspace costs $3.99 and Jot Down $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Jot Down holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 10 and 5 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 71% of Headspace's written reviews are positive against 100% of Jot Down's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Headspace ships an update every 2 months, Jot Down every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Headspace versus Jot Down: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHeadspaceJot Down
Price$3.99$1.99 — better
Rating4.4 (10 ratings)4.8 (5 ratings) — better
Positive reviews71.4% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings10 — better5
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS9.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size19 MB60 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperFlat Black FilmsMohini Sharma

Customer experience

Headspace

All ratings10 ratings
Positive90.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative10.0%
Written reviews182 reviews
Positive71.4%
Neutral12.6%
Negative15.9%

Jot Down

All ratings5 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Headspace

Reported bugs

15 issues
  • App crashes on creating new groups
  • Crashes when entering text on iPad
  • Text color picker fails to change colors
  • Instant crash when closing text color picker
  • Crashes on Dropbox connection
Show 10 more
  • Data loss with file format updates
  • Existing links lost after updates
  • Screen flickers between files
  • Text display issues after multiple app launches
  • Color brightness settings lost
  • Keyboard popup without dialog box
  • Accelerometer causes erratic screen movement
  • Incompatibility with iOS/iPadOS updates
  • Performance lag with large maps
  • Syncing issues between devices

Requested features

24 requests
  • Desktop/Mac version for syncing
  • iCloud syncing between iOS devices
  • Google Drive and OneDrive support
  • Evernote integration
  • Ability to drag items between groups
Show 19 more
  • Undo functionality
  • Export to email directly
  • Different arrow/connector styles
  • OPML export format
  • Reminders and deadline notifications
  • Different text box shapes
  • Photo/image import and support
  • Web-based version
  • Ability to move items outside groups
  • Simpler gesture controls for text entry
  • List view option
  • Icons and visual indicators for content types
  • Advanced search functionality
  • Child count indicators on parent nodes
  • Customizable 3D graphics
  • Movie recording with preset paths
  • Structured data visualization capabilities
  • Automatic color selection for new groups
  • Bullet points for children items

Jot Down

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Headspace

No in-app purchases

None

Jot Down

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Headspace free?
Headspace costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Jot Down free?
Jot Down costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Headspace or Jot Down?
Jot Down is rated higher. Headspace averages 4.4 out of 5 from 10 ratings, while Jot Down averages 4.8 from 5 ratings.
Do Headspace or Jot Down have ads?
Neither Headspace nor Jot Down shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Headspace or Jot Down?
Headspace ships an update every 2 months, and Jot Down every 2 weeks. Most recently, Headspace was updated on October 15, 2026 and Jot Down on October 14, 2026.

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