Comparison

Paperless vs Life Lists

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

Head to head
About

Paperless

Create and organize any type of list with this beautifully designed, simple, yet powerful application. Customize your lists with icons and themes, and easily share them via email or text. Sync your data across devices for seamless access.

Highlights
  • Create any type of list
  • Customizable icons and themes
  • Checklist or regular list format
  • Send lists via email or iMessage
  • Automatic backup and syncing
  • Manual reordering and sorting
  • Passcode lock
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Get the app that Macworld says "deserves a spot on your iPhone"! MAKE LISTS OF ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING Paperless is a simple but powerful app for making lists. Use it to create to do lists, make grocery lists, take notes, write an outline of a story, prepare notes for a presentation, make a list of gift ideas, plan a vacation... or anything else you'd want to make a list for. BEAUTIFULLY DESIGNED Assign a fun icon to each of your lists - there are over 450 to choose from. You can also select from 30 themes to customize the app's design to your liking. SIMPLE AND VERSATILE Paperless is easy to use with a clean, elegant and well thought out interface. Each list can either be a checklist or a regular list without checkboxes, making a wide variety of uses possible. REALLY HELPS YOU GET THINGS DONE For checklists and todo lists, many people prefer using Paperless over traditional "getting things done" apps - or, they use it in addition to one. There are no due dates or priority settings, so you're left to focus on the actual tasks at hand, rather than waste time changing those settings when your priorities change. Instead, if a particular task becomes important, you can simply move it to the top of the list. AUTOMATIC BACKUP AND SYNCING Automatically backup your lists and sync them between iOS devices via a free Dropbox account. POWERFUL FEATURES - send lists via email, others can import your list into their copy of Paperless - send a plain text version of a list via iMessage, or copy it into another app - easily duplicate lists - manually reorder lists and list items - sort list items alphabetically - copy and move items from one list to another - comprehensive search - passcode lock PRAISED BY THE PRESS "Paperless deserves a spot on your iPhone" - Lex Friedman, Macworld (4.5 out of 5 mice rating) "Paperless has a permanent spot on the first page of my iPhone's home screen... it will probably earn a similar spot on yours." - Marianne Schultz, AppShopper "... a good way to ensure things get done at your own pace, free of the disappointment of missing deadlines." - Nick Spence, Macworld UK "I've been trying many To Do apps since iPhone 1.0 -- from the expensive Things to Toodledo and others -- and I don't use any of them regularly. Most just require too much effort. Paperless is the first one I've found that hits that sweet spot between being simple enough you'll actually use it and powerful enough to be useful." - Marc Zeedar, REALbasic Developer Magazine (4.8 out of 5 rating) "This is one nice-looking list / task app... As a basic list app, the beautiful Paperless reigns supreme." - Bonnie Eisenman, 148apps.com (4 out of 5 rating) PRAISED BY USERS "Best app ever - The most incredibly useful app I've come across. Simple, effective and bloody marvelous!!!" "The simplicity of the interface and the flexibility given to the user is perfection." "Simply loved it - Best app I've ever downloaded, my life is so organized now! ..." "After having tried a good deal of apps to get myself more organized - both free and paid - it is clear that this tops them all. Other apps presented a kind of novelty; I could fool myself into thinking that I was more organized, but it was never long before I abandoned them because it was obvious that they consumed unnecessary time. Paperless, however, has truly helped. It is streamlined, it is simple, it is sumptuous" PLEASE RATE AND REVIEW If you love Paperless, please leave a review and star rating. Thank you!

About

Life Lists

This super organizer helps manage checklists, notes, habits, groceries, and budgets with an AI assistant. It offers automatic sorting for groceries, gentle habit reminders, and tools like timers and focus modes. Folders and a daily overview keep everything tidy and accessible across Apple devices.

Highlights
  • AI-powered list creation and organization
  • Automatic grocery sorting by aisle
  • Habit tracking with streaks and reminders
  • Comprehensive note-taking and journaling
  • Budget management and pro/con lists
  • Cross-device syncing with iCloud
  • Customizable folders and visual themes
Features
Read full description

Life Lists is the super organizer with a place for everything: checklists, notes, habits, groceries, budgets and more — with an assistant right under your lists that adds, answers and keeps it all tidy. EVERY KIND OF LIST • Checklists, prioritized and numbered lists, lists with sections • Groceries that sort themselves by aisle: add "apples" and it lands in Produce • Habits with streaks and gentle reminders • Reminders with due dates, repeats and subtasks • Notes, notebooks, a journal and stickies • Budgets that add themselves up, weighted pro/con lists, side-by-side comparisons • Packing lists with to-buy / have / packed statuses • People lists for birthdays and the details worth remembering • Photo albums, counters and a breathing timer • Tools beside your lists: timer, stopwatch, alarms, focus mode, voice memos and meeting notes AN AMAZING ORGANIZER • Folders for every part of your life — Home, Health, Family, Work — and folders within folders • Your day at a glance above your lists: what's due, what's late, your habits and the weather • Star an item to see it in Important; everything with a date shows in Upcoming • Search, sort, reset a checklist to do it again, archive a list to keep a record • Pin a list to open the app on it • 500+ icons and colors, unlimited lists, no ads AN ASSISTANT ON YOUR LISTS • Ask or add anything from the bar under your lists: "add milk and eggs", "what's left to pack?", "remind me Friday at 9" • Tap the mic and just say it • Ask a question and the answer becomes something you keep — a checklist, a budget, a pro/con list, habits — filed in the right folder • Snap a photo of a listing or a receipt and get the answer it implies: is it a good deal? how do we split it? • Organize automatically tidies as you go; every change is one tap to undo THE BEST GROCERY APP • Auto-section: every item lands in the right aisle • Build your own catalog to make long lists in seconds • One list per store, and reset it to shop again EVERYWHERE YOU ARE • iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch, plus home screen widgets • Sync with iCloud and share a list with family and friends — or keep everything on your device YOUR DATA IS SAFE • Your lists live on your device and, if you choose, in your iCloud, secured by Apple • AI features send what you ask to our AI providers only after you allow it. Turn AI off anytime and Life Lists works as a classic list app.

Screenshots

Paperless4 screens
Life Lists4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Life Lists at Free against Paperless's $2.99. Life Lists also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 4) and update cadence (weekly vs every 2 months). Paperless's advantage is review sentiment (92% vs 74%) and chart position (#67 vs unranked). On rating, ads and device support 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

Life Lists is free to download; Paperless costs $2.99 up front. Paperless sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Life Lists asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Life Lists holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 495 and 1.8K respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 92% of Paperless's written reviews are positive against 74% of Life Lists's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Paperless ships an update every 2 months, Life Lists weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
Paperless versus Life Lists: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPaperlessLife Lists
Price$2.99Free — better
Rating4.4 (495 ratings)4.6 (1.8K ratings) — better
Positive reviews91.7% of reviews — better73.8% of reviews
Number of ratings4951.8K — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
Best chart rank#67 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS12.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size39 MB142 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperJames RhoadesDG Apps, Inc.

Customer experience

Paperless

All ratings487 ratings
Positive86.0%
Neutral5.5%
Negative8.4%
Written reviews504 reviews
Positive91.7%
Neutral3.0%
Negative5.4%

Life Lists

All ratings1,826 ratings
Positive91.3%
Neutral4.9%
Negative3.8%
Written reviews130 reviews
Positive73.8%
Neutral11.5%
Negative14.6%

User reviews

Paperless

From 495 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 💻 Excellent organization and productivity tool
  • 📋 Customizable lists and checklists
  • 🔄 Reusable and recyclable lists
  • 🔒 Secure with Dropbox backup
  • 🌟 Simple and intuitive interface

Room to improve

  • 🔍 Lack of search functionality
  • 🖼️ Inability to add photos or images
  • 🔀 Difficulty rearranging list items
  • 🔒 Limited backup/sync options beyond Dropbox
  • 🔔 Absence of reminder or alarm features

Life Lists

From 1.8K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 💻 Versatile and customizable
  • 📚 Excellent for organizing lists
  • 🎨 Visually appealing and clean design
  • 🆓 Free app with no ads or in-app purchases
  • 🤖 Helpful for users with ADHD or autism

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes or bugs
  • ⚠️ Sync and backup issues causing data loss
  • 🔍 Lack of search functionality in long lists
  • 🔔 Frequent rating prompts annoying to some users

Bugs and requests

Paperless

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Occasional app crashes or freezes
  • Syncing issues between devices
  • List data loss or disappearance
  • Compatibility problems with iOS updates

Requested features

6 requests
  • Add search and filtering capabilities
  • Integrate photo/image attachment support
  • Implement advanced list management features
  • Expand backup and sync options (e.g., iCloud)
  • Introduce reminder and alarm functionalities
Show 1 more
  • Implement folder or category organization for lists

Life Lists

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Lists disappearing or getting corrupted
  • Inability to paste text into list items
  • Unexpected list item reordering
  • Crash when trying to create new lists

Requested features

5 requests
  • Recurring reminders or to-do items
  • Ability to sort lists manually
  • Cross-device syncing and sharing
  • Password protection for sensitive lists
  • iPad and landscape mode support

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Paperless

One-time4
  • Small Tip$0.99
  • Medium Tip$4.99
  • Large Tip$9.99
Show 1 more
  • Huge Tip$29.99
None

Life Lists

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Paperless free?
Paperless costs $2.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Life Lists free?
Life Lists is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Paperless or Life Lists?
Life Lists is rated higher. Paperless averages 4.4 out of 5 from 495 ratings, while Life Lists averages 4.6 from 1.8K ratings.
Do Paperless or Life Lists have ads?
Neither Paperless nor Life Lists shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Paperless or Life Lists?
Paperless ships an update every 2 months, and Life Lists weekly. Most recently, Paperless was updated on November 6, 2026 and Life Lists on November 1, 2026.

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