Comparison

EssentialPIM vs Nextcloud Notes

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

Head to head
About

EssentialPIM

Manage your personal information with this comprehensive organizer. It handles calendars, tasks, contacts, and passwords, with seamless synchronization across devices and platforms. Organize tasks hierarchically and securely store sensitive data.

Highlights
  • Calendar management
  • Task management with hierarchical structure
  • Contact organization
  • Secure password storage
  • Synchronization with Windows version
  • Synchronization with Google Tasks
Features
Read full description

This is an iOS version of highly popular on Windows platform personal information manager - EssentialPIM. It allows you to manage Calendars, Tasks, Contacts and Passwords (first two types of data are synchronized with iOS internal apps). All your data is interconnected and in one package! - Synchronize your data Syncs with Windows version of EssentialPIM (Free and Pro). - Hierarchical tasks structure Flexible structure that organizes tasks into multiple trees, with sub trees and leaves. - Secure passwords list Self-locking mechanism offers safe and convenient way to store all your passwords and other sensitive data. Key features: - Includes Tasks and Passwords modules (more in the development) - Flawless synchronization with Win EPIM (including Calendar and Contacts with built-in iOS apps) works as over Wi-Fi as over cellular networks - Automatic synchronization with Google Tasks - Ads free Support and feedback: If you are looking for help or have any questions or ideas, please contact us by using the following email address: epimsupport@essentialpim.com. About translation: Seeing EssentialPIM not being fully translated into your language? We would like to invite you to take part in the translation process. It’s easy and fun. And if you aren’t ready to do translation just yet, you can still review the existing one for mistakes. Please contact us at epimsupport@essentialpim.com and we will reply back with an invite. As a token of appreciation, all active contributors get free EssentialPIM Pro Windows version licenses.

About

Nextcloud Notes

This app allows you to create, edit, and organize notes on your mobile device. It syncs seamlessly with a Nextcloud server, ensuring your notes are accessible across all your devices and the web interface. Supports plain text and markdown formatting for versatile note-taking.

Highlights
  • Syncs with Nextcloud server
  • Create and delete notes
  • Organize notes in categories
  • Plain text editing
  • Markdown formatting
  • Export notes
Features
Read full description

Note: Access to a Nextcloud server with the Notes app installed is required to use this app. Visit https://nextcloud.com for more information. Nextcloud Notes is a notes editor that syncs with the Notes app (https://github.com/nextcloud/notes/releases) on your server. Once you have logged in to your server, all notes will be kept in sync between devices and also the web interface. Optionally supports sync on startup. You can create and delete notes directly on the device. Notes can be organized in categories. Edit as plain text or use markdown for rich formatting. Notes can be copied or exported to other apps or services in several formats. If you have a sync client (optional) installed on your desktop computer all notes will be there too, and can be edited with any text editor.

Screenshots

EssentialPIM4 screens
Nextcloud Notes4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: EssentialPIM at 2.6 against Nextcloud Notes's 2.2. EssentialPIM also leads on iOS requirement (12.0 vs 17.0). Nextcloud Notes's advantage is ratings volume (95 vs 12). On price, review sentiment, 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

EssentialPIM holds the better App Store score, 2.6 against 2.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Nextcloud Notes has 95 ratings behind it against 12, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 21% of EssentialPIM's written reviews are positive against 27% of Nextcloud Notes's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. Both last shipped on November 1, 2026.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
EssentialPIM versus Nextcloud Notes: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterEssentialPIMNextcloud Notes
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.6 (12 ratings) — better2.2 (95 ratings)
Positive reviews21.1% of reviews27.3% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1295 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS12.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size15 MB18 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAstonsoftNextcloud GmbH

Customer experience

EssentialPIM

All ratings12 ratings
Positive41.7%
Neutral8.3%
Negative50.0%
Written reviews38 reviews
Positive21.1%
Neutral18.4%
Negative60.5%

Nextcloud Notes

All ratings93 ratings
Positive26.9%
Neutral5.4%
Negative67.7%
Written reviews231 reviews
Positive27.3%
Neutral9.1%
Negative63.6%

Bugs and requests

EssentialPIM

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Nextcloud Notes

Reported bugs

19 issues
  • Notes randomly appear empty and lose content
  • Empty files being saved to server
  • Login resets to default server address
  • 404 errors when getting settings
  • Sync fails with large note collections
Show 14 more
  • Navigation menu disappears after editing
  • Keyboard covers input area
  • Search field disappears after closing notes
  • Cursor jumps to top of note while typing
  • App disconnects during editing
  • Session timeout errors with non-dismissible dialogs
  • Conflict resolution interface unreadable
  • Cannot switch between markdown and preview modes
  • Notes don't upload from mobile to server
  • Inconsistent note naming behavior
  • App overwrites server files without checking versions
  • Login fails with self-hosted servers
  • App password authentication not supported
  • Slow text input with 100ms delay per character

Requested features

17 requests
  • Text formatting options (bold, underline, italics)
  • File and image attachment support
  • Note categorization and organization
  • Pin important notes to top
  • Ability to rename notes easily
Show 12 more
  • Offline mode with local caching
  • Multi-account/profile switching
  • Real-time collaborative editing
  • Undo/redo functionality
  • App-specific password support
  • End-to-end encryption support
  • Checkbox functionality in reading mode
  • Share to Notes from other apps
  • App lock with biometric authentication
  • Direct note opening to preview page
  • Remember app state on restart
  • Mac app availability

In-app purchases

None

EssentialPIM

No in-app purchases

None

Nextcloud Notes

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is EssentialPIM free?
EssentialPIM is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Nextcloud Notes free?
Nextcloud Notes is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, EssentialPIM or Nextcloud Notes?
EssentialPIM is rated higher. EssentialPIM averages 2.6 out of 5 from 12 ratings, while Nextcloud Notes averages 2.2 from 95 ratings.
Do EssentialPIM or Nextcloud Notes have ads?
Neither EssentialPIM nor Nextcloud Notes shows ads.
Which is updated more often, EssentialPIM or Nextcloud Notes?
EssentialPIM ships an update every 2 months, and Nextcloud Notes every 2 months. Most recently, EssentialPIM was updated on November 1, 2026 and Nextcloud Notes on November 1, 2026.

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