Mental Note for iPad ๛ vs TotalSync
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Mental Note for iPad ๛
This app transforms your iPad into a versatile digital notepad. Seamlessly combine text, drawings, pictures, and voice recordings on a single page. Capture ideas in any format and share them easily.
- Combine text, pictures, audio, and drawings
- Freehand sketching with multiple colors
- Organize notes with tags
- Password protect private notes
- Export notes in PDF, text, and other formats
- Share notes via email and cloud services
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"...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". Mental Note for iPad brings the future closer with an even bigger sketchpad for you to capture your ideas on. Turn your iPad into a digital notepad. Combine pictures, 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 pictures, 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 pictures, dictate, add text, sketch on anything. Ideas clarified. Creativity captured. FEATURES - Draw with your finger using multiple colours and widths on top of pictures, text, or anywhere else on the page. Zoom in to sketch fine details. - Choose a picture from your album and add it to the page. - Add audio to the page by recording with the built-in 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. THIS VERSION IS OPTIMIZED FOR iPad. FOR iPhone, PLEASE SEE Mental Note - the digital notepad. Read more: www.zymbiotic.com X @zymbiotic facebook.com/zymbiotic
TotalSync
Securely store, manage, and share files across your own devices without relying on cloud storage. This app ensures your data remains private and under your control, connecting devices via encrypted connections for safe file sharing.
- Secure file storage
- Cross-device file management
- Encrypted connections
- Private file sharing
- No cloud dependency
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Securely store, manage and share your files, photos and documents on your own devices without using cloud storage. Store and manage your own files on your own devices! Unlike cloud providers, we do not store your data and do not see your data in transit either. Your devices connect to each other via an encrypted connection. If you like, you can share your files with friends, family and co-workers. TotalSync puts you in control of your files, documents and photos.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: TotalSync at Free against Mental Note for iPad ๛'s $4.99. TotalSync also leads on rating (5.0 vs 2.7) and in-app purchases (none vs 3). On ratings volume 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
TotalSync is free to download; Mental Note for iPad ๛ costs $4.99 up front. Mental Note for iPad ๛ sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. TotalSync asks for nothing beyond the download.
TotalSync holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 2.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 6 and 4 respectively.
Mental Note for iPad ๛ ships an update every 5 months, TotalSync every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on July 29, 2026 and June 1, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Mental Note for iPad ๛ | TotalSync |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $4.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 2.7 (6 ratings) | 5.0 (4 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 51.7% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 6 — better | 4 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | Every 2 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | 11.4 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 17 MB | 68 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Zymbiotic Technologies | Akruto, Inc. |
Customer experience
Mental Note for iPad ๛
TotalSync
In-app purchases
Mental Note for iPad ๛
- Paper Customization feature$2.99
- Straight Line Drawing feature$3.99
- Dark Mode Override feature$3.99
TotalSync
No in-app purchases







