Comparison

Gmail vs Mail Notes

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

Head to head
About

Gmail

This application provides a secure and efficient email experience with advanced features like spam blocking, smart replies, and multi-account support. It integrates with other Google services for enhanced productivity and collaboration.

Highlights
  • Robust security & spam blocking
  • Real-time notifications
  • Multiple account support
  • Smart Reply & Compose
  • Undo send
  • Google Chat & Meet integration
  • Threaded conversations
Features
Read full description

The official Gmail app brings the best of Gmail to your iPhone and iPad with helpful AI features, robust security, real-time notifications, multiple account support, and intelligent search that works across all your mail. With the Gmail app, you can: • Make Gmail your default email app on iOS • Stay up to date on your latest packages, upcoming events, bills, and travel details with helpful summary cards • Declutter your inbox with built-in email subscription management • Use Gemini* in Gmail to summarize lengthy emails, craft or refine responses, or search your inbox to find what you’re looking for • Connect and switch between multiple email accounts from different providers • Automatically block more than 99.9% of spam, phishing, malware from ever reaching your inbox • Quickly add events to Google Calendar based on your emails with Gemini in Gmail • Find top deals faster with a personalized Promotions tab • Respond to emails faster with AI-powered Suggested Replies that understand the context of your emails and match your unique tone and style • Undo send for up to 30 seconds, to prevent embarrassing mistakes • Access Google Meet and Google Chat without leaving Gmail • Organize your mail by labeling, starring, deleting, and reporting spam • Swipe to archive/delete, to quickly clear out your inbox Gmail is part of Google Workspace, allowing you and your team to easily connect, create, and collaborate. You can: • Connect with coworkers via Google Meet or Google Chat, send an invite in Google Calendar, add an action to your task list, and more without leaving Gmail • Use Gemini in Gmail features like Help me write, Suggested Replies, AI Overviews, and Proofread to help you stay on top of work and take care of simple tasks, so you can be more efficient with your time • Stay safe. Our machine learning models block more than 99.9% of spam, phishing, and malware from reaching our users *Some Gemini features may require a Google One AI subscription. Internet connection required. Language and country availability may vary. Check responses for accuracy.

About

Mail Notes

Quickly send emails to yourself for reminders and notes. This app streamlines the process to under a second, allowing for easy email address switching, direct sharing from browsers, and even sending notes via an Apple Watch app. It offers features like labeling, history, and subject prefixes for efficient organization.

Highlights
  • Email under 1 second
  • Share widget for browser links
  • Apple Watch app for on-the-go emails
  • Label emails with icons
  • Sent email history
  • Optional subject prefix
  • Paste clipboard contents
Features
Read full description

Like to send emails to yourself for reminders, notes and to-do? Mail Notes makes the process 100 times faster. Just launch the app, type, and tap Send. If you have multiple emails to which you would like to send notes, changing the email address is as simple as a tap. • Email under 1 second. • Share widget makes it super easy to email browser links and URLs directly, without opening the Mail Notes app. • The included Apple Watch app allows you to send emails on the go. • Label each email and add an icon for easy identification. • One-time-use email address. • Sent email history. • Add an optional subject prefix for each email address for easy email filtering. • Use single or multi-line mode. • Auto Correct option. • Paste your clipboard contents with a single tap. • Support for Dark mode for those late-night emails. • Haptics give you feedback when the email is sent successfully. Mail Notes is simply the fastest emailing app on the planet!

Screenshots

Gmail4 screens
Mail Notes4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Mail Notes at 75% against Gmail's 29%. Mail Notes also leads on ads (none vs shown) and iOS requirement (16.0 vs 18.0). Gmail's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 4 months) and rating (4.7 vs 4.3). On price, in-app purchases, monetization model 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

Both are free to download. Gmail sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and Mail Notes sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Gmail holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Gmail has 2.4M ratings behind it against 106, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 29% of Gmail's written reviews are positive against 75% of Mail Notes's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Gmail ships an update weekly, Mail Notes every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Gmail versus Mail Notes: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGmailMail Notes
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (2.4M ratings) — better4.3 (106 ratings)
Positive reviews29.3% of reviews75.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2.4M — better106
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 4 months
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#3 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS18.016.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size719 MB14 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperGoogleTech Positive

Customer experience

Gmail

All ratings2,439,152 ratings
Positive93.1%
Neutral2.6%
Negative4.3%
Written reviews4,072 reviews
Positive29.3%
Neutral10.1%
Negative60.6%

Mail Notes

All ratings106 ratings
Positive83.0%
Neutral5.7%
Negative11.3%
Written reviews32 reviews
Positive75.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative25.0%

Bugs and requests

Gmail

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Notifications not working properly
  • Emails disappearing from inbox
  • Inability to remove accounts
  • Conversation view issues

Requested features

4 requests
  • Swipe to delete/snooze emails
  • Ability to mark all emails as read
  • Customizable notification settings
  • Improved file attachment functionality

Mail Notes

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

7 purchases

Gmail

Subscriptions7
  • 100 GB2 variants$1.991 Month
  • 100 GB1 Month trial3 variants$1.991 Month
  • 200 GB2 variants$2.991 Month
Show 4 more
  • 200 GB1 Month trial$2.991 Month
  • 2 TB1 Month trial$9.991 Month
  • Google AI Plus (2 TB)2 variants$9.991 Month
  • 100 GB1 Month trial$19.991 Year
3 purchases

Mail Notes

Subscriptions2
  • All Access$2.991 Month
  • All Access$29.991 Year
One-time1
  • Unlock Pro Version$69.99

Questions

Is Gmail free?
Gmail is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Mail Notes free?
Mail Notes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Gmail or Mail Notes?
Gmail is rated higher. Gmail averages 4.7 out of 5 from 2.4M ratings, while Mail Notes averages 4.3 from 106 ratings.
Do Gmail or Mail Notes have ads?
Gmail shows ads; Mail Notes does not.
Which is updated more often, Gmail or Mail Notes?
Gmail ships an update weekly, and Mail Notes every 4 months. Most recently, Gmail was updated on September 24, 2026 and Mail Notes on September 2, 2026.

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