Comparison

Yojimbo for iPad vs Ikiru

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

Head to head
About

Yojimbo for iPad

Access and manage your Yojimbo data on your iPad. This companion app syncs wirelessly with Yojimbo for macOS, allowing you to view articles, lists, documents, and sensitive information offline.

Highlights
  • Syncs with Yojimbo for macOS
  • Offline data access
  • Handles encrypted entries
  • View articles and documents
  • Access passwords and receipts
Features
Read full description

Take your Yojimbo data with you, anywhere, right on your iPad. Yojimbo for iPad is a companion app that syncs effortlessly over WiFi from Yojimbo for macOS (version 4.0 or later required; sold separately), letting you take all of your Yojimbo data anywhere. Yojimbo for iPad even handles your encrypted entries. Imagine catching up on articles, reviewing shopping lists, traveling with digital confirmation documents, and having all your passwords and receipts safely at hand, no matter where you are, whether or not you have network access. If you use Yojimbo, you'll want Yojimbo for iPad.

About

Ikiru

Organize your life with this versatile app for creating lists, taking notes, and setting reminders. It helps you focus on what's important with a beautiful, user-friendly design and powerful features like nested lists and due dates.

Highlights
  • Create nested lists
  • Set due dates and reminders
  • Add photos to list items
  • Sort list items dynamically
  • Sync data via iCloud
  • Protect data with Touch ID/passcode
  • View items on Apple Watch
Features
Read full description

Ikiru is a simple but powerful app for making lists, keeping notes and setting reminders. It aims to help you live a productive and meaningful life, by enabling you to focus on the things that are most important to you. IKIRU IS VERSATILE Use it to create to do lists, shopping lists, take notes, store contact information, keep track of books to read, or movies to watch... or anything else you'd want to make a list for. IKIRU IS BEAUTIFUL With a clean and easy to use design, choose from over 2000 icons to assign to your lists. IKIRU IS POWERFUL - create lists within lists - assign a due date and reminder to list items - view all items with a due date in one convenient timeline - add a photo to list items - drag and drop to sort list items, or automatically keep a list sorted alphabetically, by modification date, completion date, and more - easily copy or move items from one list to another - mark items incomplete to return them to their original position in the list (this makes lists easy to reuse) - send a list via email, and the receiver can import your list into their copy of Ikiru - view items with due dates on your Apple Watch IKIRU KEEPS YOUR DATA SAFE - automatically back up and sync lists between iOS devices using iCloud - use Touch ID or a custom passcode to protect your information IKIRU HAS PURPOSE The word "ikiru" (ee-kee-roo) means "to live" in Japanese. It's also the title of an Akira Kurosawa film about a man who decides to do something meaningful with his life. Ikiru (the app) is my attempt at doing something meaningful with my life, and hopefully help others live meaningful and productive lives. IKIRU HAS HISTORY In 2010 I released a list-making app called "Paperless". From busy moms to airplane pilots to people who needed a little help remembering things after suffering a brain injury, Paperless has been used by hundreds of thousands of people worldwide. Ikiru is built upon that legacy - incorporating the best ideas from Paperless, greatly improving upon them, and adding big features that people have requested. IKIRU NEEDS LOVE If you find Ikiru useful, please rate and review it in the App Store. Thank you!

Screenshots

Ikiru4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Yojimbo for iPad at Free against Ikiru's $4.99. Ikiru's advantage is rating (3.9 vs 3.3) and review sentiment (54% vs 21%). On 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

Yojimbo for iPad is free to download; Ikiru costs $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Ikiru holds the better App Store score, 3.9 against 3.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Ikiru has 101 ratings behind it against 20, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 21% of Yojimbo for iPad's written reviews are positive against 54% of Ikiru's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Yojimbo for iPad ships an update every 10 months, Ikiru every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Yojimbo for iPad versus Ikiru: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterYojimbo for iPadIkiru
PriceFree — better$4.99
Rating3.3 (20 ratings)3.9 (101 ratings) — better
Positive reviews20.8% of reviews54.2% of reviews — better
Number of ratings20101 — better
Update frequencyEvery 10 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPadiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS15.011.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size5 MB62 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBare Bones Software, Inc.James Rhoades

Customer experience

Yojimbo for iPad

All ratings20 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%
Written reviews101 reviews
Positive20.8%
Neutral14.9%
Negative64.4%

Ikiru

All ratings101 ratings
Positive68.3%
Neutral13.9%
Negative17.8%
Written reviews131 reviews
Positive54.2%
Neutral18.3%
Negative27.5%

User reviews

Yojimbo for iPad

From 20 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy pairing with Mac
  • 👍 Access to Mac data on iPad
  • 👍 Print PDF to Yojimbo capability
  • 👍 Local sync for sensitive data
  • 👍 Great Mac app companion

Room to improve

  • 👎 Read-only functionality on iPad
  • 👎 Syncing issues (frequent)
  • 👎 Outdated app, no updates
  • 👎 Requires Mac app to function
  • 👎 Limited functionality overall

Ikiru

From 101 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Stable and reliable
  • 👍 Useful for organizing lists and notes
  • 👍 Intuitive and easy to use
  • 👍 Syncs well across devices
  • 👍 Handy for tracking tasks and reminders

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Sync issues and data loss
  • 🐛 Crashes and bugs after updates
  • 🔍 Limited search functionality
  • 💡 Lack of formatting options
  • 💡 Monochrome icons not as visually appealing

Bugs and requests

Yojimbo for iPad

Reported bugs

26 issues
  • Sync fails to complete
  • App crashes on sync
  • App crashes frequently
  • Email sharing window stays open
  • Sync breaks after iOS updates
Show 21 more
  • App crashes on Library icon tap
  • Menu animation choppy
  • Password display formatting issues
  • Items take forever to load
  • Sync issues after updates
  • Sync errors (unreadable)
  • App quits on launch
  • Sync doesn't work after first time
  • Email page dead (cannot cancel/send)
  • Sync issues with Mac pairing
  • App not finding Mac on network
  • Syncing only new notes, not modified
  • Unencrypted notes on iPad when encrypted on Mac
  • Syncing issues with Bonjour/corporate networks
  • PDFs not rendering on iPad
  • Interface bugs on rotation
  • Search field layout in Landscape
  • Syncing only when Mac is running and on same network
  • App is sluggish
  • Files copied over are empty
  • App quits within seconds of launch

Requested features

20 requests
  • iPad/iPhone app functionality
  • Ability to add/edit content on iPad
  • Cloud sync (iCloud, Dropbox)
  • iPhone version
  • Retina screen update
Show 15 more
  • Password protection for the app
  • Add computers by IP# for pairing
  • Ability to change sorting
  • Universal app
  • Content search
  • Open in other apps
  • Email sharing fix
  • iCloud sync support
  • Search field layout fix in Landscape
  • Visible tags and basic info in a bar
  • Create new text notes
  • Cloud Sync (Dropbox preferred)
  • Add/change database from within the app
  • Add new items on iPad
  • UI kinks worked out

Ikiru

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Reminders not working properly
  • Syncing issues causing data loss
  • Crashes after iOS updates
  • Inability to disable Face ID lock

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add more formatting options (bold, italic, etc.)
  • Improve search to allow searching within sublists
  • Provide more customization options for themes and icons
  • Add location-based reminders
  • Implement better backup and restore functionality

In-app purchases

None

Yojimbo for iPad

No in-app purchases

None

Ikiru

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Yojimbo for iPad free?
Yojimbo for iPad is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Ikiru free?
Ikiru costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Yojimbo for iPad or Ikiru?
Ikiru is rated higher. Yojimbo for iPad averages 3.3 out of 5 from 20 ratings, while Ikiru averages 3.9 from 101 ratings.
Do Yojimbo for iPad or Ikiru have ads?
Neither Yojimbo for iPad nor Ikiru shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Yojimbo for iPad or Ikiru?
Yojimbo for iPad ships an update every 10 months, and Ikiru every 3 weeks. Most recently, Yojimbo for iPad was updated on October 24, 2026 and Ikiru on October 21, 2026.

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