Workflowy vs NotePlan
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Workflowy
Capture ideas, manage tasks, and organize your thoughts with an infinitely nestable system. This app offers AI assistance for summarization and brainstorming, along with collaborative features and robust search capabilities. It syncs across devices and works offline, making it a powerful tool for personal and team productivity.
- Infinitely nested lists
- AI summarization and brainstorming
- Kanban boards for task management
- Real-time collaboration and sharing
- Global search and filtering
- Offline access and cross-device sync
- Tagging and mentions
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Workflowy is a simple, distraction-free app for capturing notes, managing tasks, and organizing your thinking. Infinitely nestable, surprisingly powerful - it helps you manage all the information in your life. With Workflowy you can: • Capture notes and ideas in an instant • Organize complex thinking with infinite nesting • Ask AI to summarize, rewrite, or brainstorm with your notes • Plan and manage tasks with kanban boards • #Tag and @assign items to stay on top of things • Link items across lists - edit once, update everywhere • Share and collaborate in real-time • Upload photos, files, and embed videos • Search and filter your entire Workflowy in seconds Workflowy syncs across all your devices and auto-saves everything. No more missing notes or lost files. Trusted by teams and thinkers at: Atlassian, Slack, The New York Times, and thousands of entrepreneurs, writers, engineers, scientists, and students worldwide. Feature highlights: • Infinitely nested lists • Workflowy AI (chat with notes, AI nodes, quick actions) • Calendar • Kanban boards • Mirrors (live synced copies) • #Tags and @mentions • Date organization with /date shortcuts • Global text search and filtering • Simple sharing and permissions • Works offline • Syncs with desktop and web • One-swipe task completion • File uploads and image attachments • Highlight text and color tags • Item starring • YouTube and X embeds • MFA (Multi-factor authentication) • Expand and collapse lists • Mobile keyboard shortcuts Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/appstore/dev/stdeula/
NotePlan
Organize your tasks, notes, and calendar in one unified app. Quickly plan your day with Markdown, link notes bi-directionally, and stay on top of your to-dos with powerful review and search features. Seamlessly integrates with your existing calendars and syncs across all your Apple devices.
- Unified task, note, and calendar view
- Markdown for quick task and note creation
- Bi-directional note linking
- Calendar integration (iCloud, Google, Exchange)
- Flexible recurring tasks
- Global Command Bar for fast navigation
- Plaintext note storage
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Having trouble planning your day, managing your to-do list, and organizing your notes? Always jumping between apps and losing track of what to do and where you put things? Say hello to NotePlan! NotePlan lets you manage everything in one place: your tasks, notes, and calendar. Perfect for project managers, designers, researchers, writers, students, or anyone who wants to be organized and efficient. QUICKLY PLAN YOUR DAY WITH MARKDOWN • Plan your day by seeing your calendar, notes, and tasks in a single view • Create tasks and notes quickly with Markdown • Add #tags to organize tasks and notes • Use @mentions to find people • Reschedule to-do items easily • Create flexible recurring tasks • Work faster with autocomplete BUILD YOUR NETWORK OF NOTES • Create your own network of notes • Organize any way you want to: from simple folders over P.A.R.A. to a Zettelkasten system • Bi-directional notes: link your calendar and your notes in any direction, automatically • Cross-reference and link notes easily STAY ON TOP OF THINGS WITH REVIEW • Search all tasks and notes, instantly • See all open tasks with the click of a button • Get a list of overdue to-do items • See upcoming tasks at a glance • Create custom filters with your own queries using status, #tags, @mentions, or even text SEAMLESS INTEGRATION WITH YOUR CALENDAR • Create events and reminders right in NotePlan • Support for iCloud, Google, and Exchange calendars • Time-block tasks on your calendar simply by typing AVAILABLE ON MAC, IPHONE & IPAD • Sync everything between your Apple devices • Use any sync method you like: CloudKit or iCloud Drive • A single subscription for all your devices OPEN, PRIVATE & FAST • All your notes are stored in plaintext so you're never locked in • Your information is private and cannot be accessed • Enjoy lightning speed thanks to local files and native apps ANY THEME YOU WANT • Choose from a variety of built-in themes • Work with light or dark versions • Create your own custom theme SHORTCUTS FOR MAXIMUM SPEED • Extended Markdown syntax support with customization options • Move around without ever leaving the keyboard • Find everything with the Global Command Bar NotePlan is developed independently and prioritizes user features and requests. We have long-term roadmaps and listen to customers to improve the apps. - - - - - Price may vary by location. Subscriptions will be charged to your credit card through your iTunes account. Your subscription will automatically renew unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. After purchase, manage your subscriptions in App Store Account Settings. - - - - - Email: hello@noteplan.co Web: noteplan.co Discord: https://discord.gg/D4268MT Twitter: NotePlanApp Reddit: reddit.com/r/NotePlanApp Learn NotePlan course: https://noteplan.eo.page/newsletter Terms of use: http://noteplan.co/tos/ Privacy policy: https://noteplan.co/privacy/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is monetization model: Workflowy at free with in-app purchases against NotePlan's subscription. Workflowy also leads on update cadence (weekly vs monthly) and ratings volume (8.2K vs 1.5K). On price, rating, review sentiment 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
Both are free to download. Workflowy sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $8.99 per month and NotePlan sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Workflowy against 4.8 for NotePlan. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Workflowy has 8.2K ratings behind it against 1.5K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 88% of Workflowy's written reviews are positive against 85% of NotePlan's.
Workflowy ships an update weekly, NotePlan monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 1, 2026 and October 2, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Workflowy | NotePlan |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (8.2K ratings) | 4.8 (1.5K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 88.0% of reviews — better | 85.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 8.2K — better | 1.5K |
| Update frequency | Weekly — better | Monthly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases — better | Subscription |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 147 MB | 210 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | FunRoutine INC | NotePlan LLC |
Customer experience
Workflowy
NotePlan
User reviews
Workflowy
From 8.2K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Best way to organize thoughts
- 🔒 Secure and reliable
- 👍 Simple and intuitive
- 👍 Excellent for productivity and organization
- 👍 Versatile for various use cases
Room to improve
- 🐛 Occasional data loss issues
- 🐛 Offline mode not always reliable
- 🔋 Can be slow on mobile devices
- 👎 Limited customization options
NotePlan
From 1.5K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Powerful note-taking and task management
- 👍 Seamless calendar and reminders integration
- 💡 Flexible and customizable workflow
- 🔒 Secure and open-format data storage
- 👍 Responsive and helpful developer
Room to improve
- 💰 Expensive subscription model
- 🐛 Occasional sync and performance issues
- 👤 Limited collaboration and sharing features
Bugs and requests
Workflowy
Reported bugs
3 issues- Cursor sometimes gets stuck
- Syncing issues between web and mobile versions
- Inability to delete items consistently
Requested features
4 requests- Add ability to attach files and documents
- Improve mobile app experience
- Implement better notification and reminder system
- Add more formatting options (e.g., font styles, colors)
NotePlan
Reported bugs
2 issues- Inconsistent sync between devices
- Crashes when opening certain files
Requested features
4 requests- Improved iPad and mobile app experience
- Better integration with other productivity apps
- More automation and scripting capabilities
- Weekly or monthly calendar view
In-app purchases
Workflowy
- Workflowy Pro - Monthly$8.991 Month
- Workflowy Pro - Yearly$79.991 Year
NotePlan
- Personal Weekly$4.997 Days
- Personal Monthly$6.991 Month
- Personal Monthly1 Month trial$11.991 Month
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- Personal Monthly2 variants$12.001 Month
- Personal Annual7 Days trial$59.991 Year
- Personal Annual7 Days trial2 variants$99.991 Year
- Personal Annual1 Month trial$119.991 Year
- Business Class1 Month trial$199.991 Year








