Comparison

ThreadNote vs Council

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

Council

Read full description

Ten quiet voices to help you think — not tell you what to do. Council is a private journal where ten archetypal voices read what you wrote and reflect it back, from angles you might not reach alone. They don't advise. They don't remember. Your writing stays on your phone. Most journaling apps add features — streaks, prompts, an assistant nudging you toward action. Council subtracts them. You write when you want, and you summon the voices when you want. The rest of the time, they stay quiet. THE TEN VOICES The Critic, the Dreamer, the Worrier, the Caretaker, the Rebel, the Pleaser, the Protector, the Skeptic, the Joker, and the Sage — drawn from archetypes that recur across psychology, narrative, and Internal Family Systems work. Each reads only the single entry you bring to the table. None of them see your other entries, the other voices' replies, or anything about you as a person. No profile, no memory, no learning. HOW IT WORKS • Write or speak what's on your mind. One screen, no prompts, no scoring. Voice memos transcribe on your device. • Pick the voices you want to hear from — three on Free, up to six on Pro. • Read the replies back, or tap to hear any voice read them aloud. The audio is made on your phone. • Return to any session whenever you like. The reflections are generated by AI. When you consult the council, only that single entry is sent — securely — to an AI service to generate the replies, then discarded. Your writing is never used to train any model, and nothing else ever leaves your phone. PRIVATE BY DESIGN No account. No cloud sync. Your entries live on the device, encrypted — there's nothing on a server with your name on it. Your writing is not a product; nobody is reading over your shoulder, and nothing you write is ever sold or turned into an ad. A JOURNAL, NOT A THERAPIST Council reflects your own words back through ten voices. It can ask good questions, but it can't diagnose, treat, or replace a trained human. If something feels acutely heavy, please reach out to a person — the in-app safety resources are a place to start. Council is a tool for thinking with yourself; therapy is a relationship with someone trained to help. They're complementary, not interchangeable. FREE & PRO Journaling is always free and unlimited. You get three council sessions each month to find your footing. Council Pro unlocks: • Unlimited council sessions • Six active voices instead of three • Style each voice — a name, a colour, even its own reading voice Council Pro is an auto-renewable subscription: $4.99/month or $39.99/year (US pricing; may vary by region). Cancel anytime. Council is an independent project — one person, no parent company, no investors, no growth team. Just a notebook, built slowly. — Council Pro is an auto-renewable subscription. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. It renews automatically unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel anytime in your Apple Account settings. Privacy Policy: https://council.artiomleo.com/privacy Terms of Use: https://council.artiomleo.com/terms

Screenshots

ThreadNote4 screens
Council4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: ThreadNote at none against Council's 2. On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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. Council sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. ThreadNote asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
ThreadNote versus Council: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterThreadNoteCouncil
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.4 (5 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews66.7% of reviews—
Number of ratings5 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS16.4 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size5 MB49 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperSmallmakeARTIOM LEONTIEV

In-app purchases

None

ThreadNote

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Council

Subscriptions2
  • Council Pro$4.991 Month
  • Council Pro$39.991 Year

Questions

Is ThreadNote free?
ThreadNote is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Council free?
Council is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do ThreadNote or Council have ads?
Neither ThreadNote nor Council shows ads.

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