Comparison

ThreadNote vs Smile Ritual

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

Head to head
About

ThreadNote

This app offers a unique list-based note-taking experience without traditional titles. Organize your thoughts hierarchically with parent-child notes and navigate them using intuitive swipes and gestures. Customize display settings and export your notes in various formats.

Highlights
  • Hierarchical parent-child note organization
  • List-based display without traditional titles
  • Swipe and pinch gestures for navigation and folding
  • Text filtering and tag-based search
  • Note sharing and exporting
  • Customizable display settings
  • Data backup and restoration
Read full description

ThreadNote is a simple text note application that stands out for its two unique features. Firstly, it eschews the traditional title list format; instead, all content, both titles and body text, is displayed in a list format (with a limit on the number of display lines). Secondly, it allows for the creation of child notes, enabling users to organize notes into a branching hierarchy of parent-child relationships. Users can navigate between parent and child notes with left and right swipes, and can use pinch in to fold notes down to just the title and the first few lines of text (configurable from 0 to 10 lines), with a pinch out gesture to unfold. This folding action can also be performed by tapping a button on the note. Features: - Notes with titles, body text, tags, creation and modification dates - Note filtering through string and tag searches - Note editing and deletion - Tagging - Bookmarking - Note sharing (exporting) - Changing the order of notes - Moving notes between parents and children Note Sharing: - Notes can be exported to other apps or file folders via the action button on the note editing screen. - Options to select only the note being edited, all its siblings (notes at the same level), or all its descendants (notes at lower levels) - Select multiple output items: title/tags/creation date/modification date/body text - Auto-numbering: Automatically numbers titles when exporting multiple notes (optional) Settings: - Changing the font of titles and body text in the list and editing screens - Changing the base color - Dark mode toggle - Adjusting the maximum note width - Setting the number of lines for folded display in the list view (0 to 10 lines) - Setting the maximum number of display lines for body text in the list view (up to 500 lines) Other: - Backup and restoration of all data Limitations: - Only handles text. It cannot manage images, audio, location data, etc.

About

Smile Ritual

Features
Read full description

Ritual turns the two minutes you already spend brushing your teeth into the most grounding moment of your day. No streaks shouting at you. No cartoon mascots. Just a calm, beautifully timed ceremony — and a small stone added to your cairn each time you complete it. A guided two-minute brush A soft circular timer walks you through all four quadrants of your mouth, with a gentle haptic tap when it's time to move on. Designed so you never have to think about the clock. A daily affirmation, spoken aloud Each morning, Ritual chooses one grounded, present-tense affirmation and reads it to you in a soothing British voice while you brush. The same affirmation stays with you all day — something to carry, not scroll past. Your cairn of stones Complete the full ritual and earn one river stone, hand-stacked into a quiet cairn on your home screen. Watch it grow as you move through seven poetic tiers — Spark, Ember, Flame, Steady, Devoted, and Eternal — each shifting the app's accent glow. Designed to disappear Deep charcoal palette. Generous space. No notifications begging for your attention. Ritual is meant to be opened, used for two minutes, and closed — leaving you a little more centered than before. Features • Guided 2-minute brushing timer with quadrant transitions • Daily spoken affirmation (soothing British voice) • 31 hand-written, adult-tone affirmations • Cairn reward system with 7 streak tiers • Full history of every completed ritual • Subtle, premium haptics • Works fully offline — your data stays on your device Brush with intention. Build something quiet. One stone at a time. designed by a registered dental hygienist

Screenshots

ThreadNote4 screens
Smile Ritual4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: ThreadNote at Free against Smile Ritual's $9.99. ThreadNote also leads on iOS requirement (16.4 vs 18.0). Smile Ritual's advantage is update cadence (every 6 days vs every 3 weeks). On ads, in-app purchases 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

ThreadNote is free to download; Smile Ritual costs $9.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ThreadNote ships an update every 3 weeks, Smile Ritual every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on June 5, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
ThreadNote versus Smile Ritual: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterThreadNoteSmile Ritual
PriceFree — better$9.99
Rating3.4 (5 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews66.7% of reviews—
Number of ratings5 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 6 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.4 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size5 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSmallmakeheather sherry

In-app purchases

None

ThreadNote

No in-app purchases

None

Smile Ritual

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is ThreadNote free?
ThreadNote is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Smile Ritual free?
Smile Ritual costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do ThreadNote or Smile Ritual have ads?
Neither ThreadNote nor Smile Ritual shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ThreadNote or Smile Ritual?
ThreadNote ships an update every 3 weeks, and Smile Ritual every 6 days. Most recently, ThreadNote was updated on June 5, 2026 and Smile Ritual on September 22, 2026.

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