Comparison

Mental Note Lite ๛ vs n+otes

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

Head to head
About

Mental Note Lite ๛

This app transforms your device into a versatile digital notepad. Seamlessly combine text, drawings, photos, and voice recordings on a single page to capture ideas in rich detail. Organize, protect, and share your notes in various formats.

Highlights
  • Combine text, photos, audio, and drawings
  • Finger drawing with multiple colors
  • Organize notes with tags
  • Password protect private notes
  • Export notes to PDF, text, and more
  • Share notes via email and cloud services
Read full description

"...a true notepad experience that may help you make a clean break from the pencil-and-paper era." -New York Times. Users describe Mental Note as "the only notepad app... that's actually better than, and as simple as, a pen and paper." It's "the future of note taking", and "a big sketchpad... [to] free associate and put stuff down in any format". Turn your iPhone into a digital notepad. Combine photographs, voice recordings, drawings and text - all on the same page, in any order you choose. An idea... a flash - a moment of genius. When a thought hits, and you have to remember it, why limit how you record it? The more context and sensory details you can capture, the clearer the idea can be put down. Use photographs, audio, sketching and text together on the same page... a digital page that can be shared with anyone. Mental Note allows you to capture ideas as they happen: use photographs, dictate, add text, sketch on anything. Ideas clarified. Creativity captured. FEATURES - Draw with your finger using multiple colours and widths on top of photographs, text, or anywhere else on the page. Zoom in to sketch fine details. - Take a photo or choose one from your album and add it to the page. - Add audio to the page by recording with your microphone. Continue to edit your note while recording. - Organize your notes using tags. - Password protect your private notes and flag your important ones. - Attach Calendar events to your notes. - Undo, redo anything in the note by shaking the device. - Delete note sections using the toolbar button or by swiping any note section. - Move a note section by swiping and then dragging it to its new location. - Length of a note is limited only by device memory. - Export in a variety of formats including PDF, text, Mental Note format, and more. Send using email, iCloud, Dropbox, and more. * Send a note in Mental Note format so the note may be imported into another person's Mental Note app. * Using email, export a complete note directly from Mental Note as either a PDF document or a picture (each audio recording is attached to the email as a separate file). You can also email just the text from your note. - Export your notes and backups to your iCloud and/or Dropbox account. - Share a note with your friends using most installed apps. - Map the location a note was created at (if location services are enabled). - Change the size and font of the text in your notes. - Change the color and background of your notes. - Numerous other configuration options. The Mental Note Lite digital notepad comes with space for four notes. Upgrade to the full version of Mental Note to create an unlimited number of notes. Read more: www.zymbiotic.com X @zymbiotic facebook.com/zymbiotic

About

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.

Highlights
  • Quick note-taking
  • Private note lock
  • Ad-free experience (subscription)
  • Easy to use interface
Features
Read full description

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

Mental Note Lite ๛4 screens
n+otes4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: n+otes at fortnightly against Mental Note Lite ๛'s every 5 months. n+otes also leads on ratings volume (45K vs 2) and rating (4.7 vs 4.5). On price, review sentiment, ads 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Mental Note Lite ๛ sells 8 one-off in-app purchases 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.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

n+otes holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: n+otes has 45K ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 58% of Mental Note Lite ๛'s written reviews are positive against 64% of n+otes's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Mental Note Lite ๛ ships an update every 5 months, n+otes fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on August 26, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Mental Note Lite ๛ versus n+otes: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMental Note Lite ๛n+otes
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (2 ratings)4.7 (45K ratings) — better
Positive reviews58.0% of reviews64.3% of reviews — better
Number of ratings245K — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS13.013.0
Further details — not scored
Size10 MB25 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperZymbiotic TechnologiesRIEU Limited

Customer experience

Mental Note Lite ๛

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews176 reviews
Positive58.0%
Neutral17.0%
Negative25.0%

n+otes

All ratings45,283 ratings
Positive92.6%
Neutral3.8%
Negative3.6%
Written reviews434 reviews
Positive64.3%
Neutral9.0%
Negative26.7%

Bugs and requests

Mental Note Lite ๛

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

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

8 purchases

Mental Note Lite ๛

One-time8
  • Paper Customization feature$2.99
  • 100 sheet refill pack$3.99
  • Note Copying feature (includes free Note Linking feature)$3.99
Show 5 more
  • Export to another app feature$3.99
  • Password Protection feature$3.99
  • Straight Line Drawing feature$3.99
  • Dark Mode Override feature$3.99
  • 250 sheet refill pack$4.99
4 purchases

n+otes

Subscriptions3
  • Ad-free Experience (Monthly)$0.491 Month
  • Ad-free Experience (3 Months)$0.993 Months
  • Ad-free Experience (1 Year)$3.991 Year
One-time1
  • Remove Ads$19.99

Questions

Is Mental Note Lite ๛ free?
Mental Note Lite ๛ is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is n+otes free?
n+otes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Mental Note Lite ๛ or n+otes?
n+otes is rated higher. Mental Note Lite ๛ averages 4.5 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while n+otes averages 4.7 from 45K ratings.
Do Mental Note Lite ๛ or n+otes have ads?
Both Mental Note Lite ๛ and n+otes show ads.
Which is updated more often, Mental Note Lite ๛ or n+otes?
Mental Note Lite ๛ ships an update every 5 months, and n+otes fortnightly. Most recently, Mental Note Lite ๛ was updated on August 26, 2026 and n+otes on September 24, 2026.

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