Comparison

abcNotes vs Sticky Notes

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

Head to head
About

abcNotes

Create realistic, customizable sticky notes and to-do lists on your iOS device. Organize shopping lists, class notes, and projects with a variety of backgrounds and skins. Share and sync your notes across devices.

Highlights
  • Realistic sticky note appearance
  • Customizable skins and backgrounds
  • Virtual desktops for organization
  • Scale, rotate, and drag notes
  • Email and sync notes
  • Save notes as images
Read full description

abcNotes - Simply the most realistic & user friendly notes in the world! abcNotes - is a freeware, feature limited version. The limitations are: • Only one desktop (paid version supports up to 15 virtual desktops) • Only 10 note skins (45 in paid version) • Only 32 desktop backgrounds (88 in paid version) • Synchronization is NOT supported • A bit of advertisements. abc Notes Lite - Checklist & Sticky Note Application for iPhone and iPad (share, email and synch your lists, memos, projects and school notebooks) free version Bellow is the description of the abcNotes full version: ----------------------------------------- abcNotes was designed to become your stylish and highly customizable, functional and easy to use assistant in taking notes and managing To Do lists. abcNotes is an awesome note taking application! It takes advantage of unique iOS devices touchscreen preserving realistic look & feel of paper sticky notes. BEAUTIFUL APPEARANCE: • 88 backgrounds to choose from • 45 note skins • 27 badge designs & 115 icons EXTREMELY FUNCTIONAL: • 15 virtual desktops • Scale, rotate and drag notes • Easy to edit, duplicate, move between desktops • Supports any iPad orientation SHARE YOUR NOTES: • Email notes and desktops • Copy note image to any application • Synchronize notes between iOS devices • Save notes as image and place to lock or home screen No more boring note lists – abcNotes brings you the ability to make REAL notes on your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch. Put everything you need to remember into abcNotes! View you notes the way you want! Rotate your abcNotes to any angle you wish! abcNotes is great for shopping lists, student class notebook, to record lecture and interview notes or to track projects, recordings and more tasks at home, school and university (class or homework). Please feel free to contact us at abcnotes@alsedi.com if you have suggestions, feature requests, or bug reports. Give it a try!

About

Sticky Notes

Pin notes and to-do lists directly to your Home and Lock Screens for quick access. Organize tasks, customize backgrounds with colors or photos, and choose from various fonts. Ideal for reminders, class notes, and visualizing goals.

Highlights
  • Pin notes to Home and Lock Screens
  • Organize tasks by category
  • Customize backgrounds with photos
  • Cute font options
  • Character count display
  • Undo/Redo functionality
Features
Read full description

Sticky Notes is a notepad app you can use just like sticky notes. Pin your memos to the Home Screen so you can see them anytime and edit with a single tap. Now with checklists, bullet lists, numbered lists, and headings — organize shopping lists, to-do lists, tasks, and schedules all in one app. We hope you'll give it a try. ■ App highlights - Pin memos to your Home Screen or Lock Screen for instant access anytime - Show a note on the Lock Screen without placing a widget - Manage shopping and packing lists with checklists — tick items right from the widget - Sort memos by purpose to manage to-dos for work or school - Customize the background with colors or photos to make a notepad that's truly yours - Choose cute fonts and freely adjust the text size ■ Organize with lists and headings Keep shopping lists, to-do lists, and packing lists as checklists. Checked items get a strikethrough, so you can see what's left at a glance. - Checklists — tap to tick off, right from your Home Screen widget - Bullet and dash lists — line up tasks and things to buy - Numbered lists — for steps, recipes, anything where order matters - Headings — use Title, Heading, and Subheading to break up longer notes - Everything looks the same on iPhone, iPad, widgets, and Apple Watch ■ Powerful customization - Background of your choice (color, pattern, or photo) - Switch fonts (handwriting-style and cute fonts available) - Adjust text size, line height, and letter spacing - Change text color - Set your own photo as the background ■ Suggested uses - Keep your schedule, to-dos, and tasks in plain sight on the Home Screen - Build a shopping list as a checklist and tick items off at the store - Pack for a trip with a checklist you tick as you go - Lay out steps or recipes as a numbered list - Break long notes into sections with headings ■ Handy memo features - Character count helps you gauge length for social posts or assists with writing - Undo or redo your latest input with a single tap - Copy the memo's contents with one tap - Share memos to other apps or run various actions from the share sheet ■ Show a Note Large on Your Lock Screen Notes you only need to check for a while — like a shopping list or a packing list — are handy to show on the Lock Screen. Just glance at the screen; there’s no need to unlock. Unlike a widget, you don’t have to set aside space in advance. Show the note from the menu when you need it, and end it once you’re done. - Switch by situation: a shopping list while you shop, a packing list while you travel - You can show several notes at the same time - When you edit the note, the Lock Screen updates too - For notes you want to keep visible all the time, a Lock Screen widget is a better fit ■ Fully optimized for iPad - The note screen is optimized for the iPad's larger display - Full support for window resizing. Side by side with another app or scaled down, the layout adapts to the width automatically - Works with Split View, Slide Over, Stage Manager, and windowed apps - Use the whole screen in portrait or landscape - Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets work on iPad too - Keep a note open next to whatever you're reading or looking up ■ Widget types - Memo widget - Memo list widget - Lock Screen-only widget - Apple Watch widget ■ Get more with Premium Upgrade to Premium to keep the simple feel and unlock even handier extras. Benefit 1. All ads removed Benefit 2. Set your own photos as memo backgrounds (use wallpapers from your favorite anime or manga, family photos, anything you love) Benefit 3. The memo list widget becomes available *The one-time Pro plan supports Family Sharing, so when one family member buys it, everyone in the family can use Premium features. ■ Subscription Please review the following for subscription terms: - Privacy Policy: https://rands-app.com/privacy-policy-en/ - Terms of Use: https://rands-app.com/terms-en/

Screenshots

abcNotes4 screens
Sticky Notes4 screens

Verdict

The call

abcNotes and Sticky Notes both sit at 4.6 stars, but that hides the real split: 77% of abcNotes's written reviews are positive against 60% of Sticky Notes's. abcNotes also leads on ratings volume (2.9K vs 501) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 18.0). On price, rating, update cadence 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. abcNotes sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Sticky Notes sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for abcNotes against 4.6 for Sticky Notes. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: abcNotes has 2.9K ratings behind it against 501, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 77% of abcNotes's written reviews are positive against 60% of Sticky Notes's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

abcNotes ships an update every 2 weeks, Sticky Notes weekly. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
abcNotes versus Sticky Notes: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterabcNotesSticky Notes
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (2.9K ratings)4.6 (501 ratings)
Positive reviews77.0% of reviews — better60.3% of reviews
Number of ratings2.9K — better501
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksWeekly — better
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch
Requires iOS12.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size41 MB221 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperALSEDI GroupShota Yamashita

Customer experience

abcNotes

All ratings2,914 ratings
Positive91.5%
Neutral4.0%
Negative4.5%
Written reviews421 reviews
Positive77.0%
Neutral7.6%
Negative15.4%

Sticky Notes

All ratings501 ratings
Positive89.8%
Neutral5.4%
Negative4.8%
Written reviews151 reviews
Positive60.3%
Neutral10.6%
Negative29.1%

User reviews

abcNotes

From 2.9K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Easy to use
  • 👍 Visually appealing
  • 💡 Customizable notes
  • 🚀 Convenient for quick notes
  • 👍 Helpful for organization

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes
  • 💸 Expensive for full version
  • 🔍 Difficult to search/find notes
  • 🔍 Limited note editing options
  • 📢 Intrusive ads in free version

Sticky Notes

From 501 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Convenient and easy to use
  • 👍 Customizable backgrounds and fonts
  • 💡 Ability to add notes to home screen
  • 🚀 Lightweight and fast
  • 👍 Helpful for daily tasks and reminders

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional bugs and glitches
  • 🔍 Lack of search functionality
  • 💸 Paid version required for advanced features
  • 🔒 No iCloud sync or cross-device support
  • 🔍 Confusing instructions, mostly in non-English languages

Bugs and requests

abcNotes

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Notes randomly deleted
  • Checklist feature not working
  • Sync issues between iOS devices

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add date/time stamp to notes
  • Ability to write notes with Apple Pencil
  • Option to set reminders/alarms for notes
  • Improved search and organization tools
  • More customization options for note styles

Sticky Notes

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Newly created notes not showing up on home screen
  • Duplicated notes with same content
  • Inability to change default font and background settings
  • Disappearing notes after app updates

Requested features

5 requests
  • Allow text formatting (bold, italic, underline)
  • Add checklist/to-do list functionality
  • Implement iCloud sync and cross-device support
  • Provide option to remove app branding from widget
  • Add ability to set reminders/alarms for notes

In-app purchases

1 purchases

abcNotes

One-time1
  • Unlock all features$2.99
7 purchases

Sticky Notes

Subscriptions3
  • Ad Hiding$1.991 Month
  • Monthly Plan$2.491 Month
  • Yearly Plan$12.991 Year
One-time4
  • Tip$1.00
  • Generous Tip$5.00
  • Greatest Tip$10.00
Show 1 more
  • Lifetime Plan$19.99

Questions

Is abcNotes free?
abcNotes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Sticky Notes free?
Sticky Notes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, abcNotes or Sticky Notes?
abcNotes and Sticky Notes are both rated 4.6 out of 5 on the App Store, from 2.9K and 501 ratings respectively.
Do abcNotes or Sticky Notes have ads?
Both abcNotes and Sticky Notes show ads.
Which is updated more often, abcNotes or Sticky Notes?
abcNotes ships an update every 2 weeks, and Sticky Notes weekly. Most recently, abcNotes was updated on September 22, 2026 and Sticky Notes on September 24, 2026.

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