Comparison

Simple Notes vs Category Tabs for Google Keep

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

Head to head
About

Simple Notes

A powerful yet simple note-taking application offering cross-device syncing, customizable themes, and robust security features. It allows users to set reminders, highlight text, and even save notes as images.

Highlights
  • Cross-device syncing (Dropbox/iCloud)
  • Zoomable font sizes
  • Searchable highlighted text
  • Note reminders
  • Password protection (AES 256-bit)
  • Shake to undo/redo
  • Customizable themes and fonts
Features
Read full description

Simple, Clean and Easy to Use, Yet Powerful and Loaded with Features. Key Features: --------------------- - One universal app for all your IOS Devices. - Sync your notes with Dropbox and/or iCloud. - Zoom in or out on any note to get the ideal font size suitable for your vision. - Highlight words and search terms inside your notes. - Set reminders to your notes to read them later. - Save text as an image to your camera roll. - Use Password Protection with Advanced Encryption Standard (AES 256-bit) to secure data and to protect your notes from prying eyes. - Shake your device to undo or redo: delete, creating, editing, restoring and more. - 9 font styles with five font colors. - Sort your notes chronologically or alphabetically. - Choose from six different color themes to modify your notes to suit your taste. - The ability to AirPrint your notes. - Auto Paste: when you run the app it will save text that you copied (Text in the Clipboard) automatically as a note. - Night Mode that makes reading in the dark easier on your eyes. - And much more..

About

Category Tabs for Google Keep

Organize your Google Keep notes by color with custom tabs. Quickly filter and view notes by category, or see all your content in list or grid view. Seamlessly integrates with your existing Keep experience.

Highlights
  • Sort notes by color
  • Filter notes by category
  • View all notes option
  • List and grid view support
  • Seamless integration
  • Supports all Google Keep colors
Features
Read full description

Tired of wasting time looking look through and re-sorting all of your notes on Google Keep? With Category Tabs for Google Keep™, you can now sort your new and existing notes by color. When you want to view the notes you have sorted by color, simply click on the note color you wish to view. If you would like to view your you entire collection of notes/checklists, there is an “All” option next to the color options (this option is set by default). Category Tabs for Google Keep™ seamlessly integrates into the page and the options to look at your notes/checklists in list view or gird view is still available. The ability to post a quick note/list/picture is still available as well and is still placed in the same spot as it usually is. This application supports all the colors offered by Google Keep. You can access the settings by opening the menu in google keep, and hit “Customize Categories”

Screenshots

Simple Notes4 screens
Category Tabs for Google Keep1 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Simple Notes at 82% against Category Tabs for Google Keep's 0%. Simple Notes also leads on rating (4.0 vs 1.0) and ratings volume (39 vs 3). Category Tabs for Google Keep's advantage is price ($0.99 vs $2.99). On update cadence, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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

Simple Notes costs $2.99 and Category Tabs for Google Keep $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Simple Notes holds the better App Store score, 4.0 against 1.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Simple Notes has 39 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 82% of Simple Notes's written reviews are positive against 0% of Category Tabs for Google Keep's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Simple Notes versus Category Tabs for Google Keep: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSimple NotesCategory Tabs for Google Keep
Price$2.99$0.99 — better
Rating4.0 (39 ratings) — better1.0 (3 ratings)
Positive reviews82.0% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings39 — better3
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac
Requires iOS13.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size25 MB7 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSadah Software Solutions, LLCCarlos Jeurissen

Customer experience

Simple Notes

All ratings39 ratings
Positive74.4%
Neutral5.1%
Negative20.5%
Written reviews61 reviews
Positive82.0%
Neutral4.9%
Negative13.1%

Category Tabs for Google Keep

All ratings3 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

In-app purchases

None

Simple Notes

No in-app purchases

None

Category Tabs for Google Keep

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Simple Notes free?
Simple Notes costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Category Tabs for Google Keep free?
Category Tabs for Google Keep costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Simple Notes or Category Tabs for Google Keep?
Simple Notes is rated higher. Simple Notes averages 4.0 out of 5 from 39 ratings, while Category Tabs for Google Keep averages 1.0 from 3 ratings.
Do Simple Notes or Category Tabs for Google Keep have ads?
Neither Simple Notes nor Category Tabs for Google Keep shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Simple Notes or Category Tabs for Google Keep?
Simple Notes ships an update every 2 months, and Category Tabs for Google Keep every 2 months. Most recently, Simple Notes was updated on October 13, 2026 and Category Tabs for Google Keep on October 15, 2026.

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