Comparison

Simple Notes vs Lumina

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

Lumina

Features
Read full description

Lumina – Your Ideas, Connected Lumina is a private, local-first second brain that helps you capture your thoughts, connect ideas, and rediscover everything you’ve learned — instantly. All processing happens on your device. Your data stays yours. Think. Capture. Connect. Write notes, record voice memos, scan text, or import information — Lumina automatically identifies names, concepts, and entities and links them together for you. Built-in offline AI lets you search and understand your knowledge base with natural language, without sending anything to the cloud. A Smarter Way to Remember Entities & Connections – Lumina detects people, places, topics, and ideas across your notes and maps how they relate. AI Search (Offline) – Ask questions in your own words and get accurate answers powered by a local LLM. Voice & OCR Capture – Transcribe audio or extract text from images quickly and privately. Knowledge Graph – Visualize how your notes and ideas connect. Explore your mind like a map. Simple by Design – No folders, no friction. Just capture and let Lumina organize. Private & Local – Notes, embeddings, AI models — everything stays securely on your device. Optional iCloud Backup – Encrypted, effortless backups to restore your knowledge on a new device. Export Anytime – Your data is yours. Export it in an open format whenever you want. Built for People Who Think Better with Connections Lumina is perfect for: Students & lifelong learners Writers, researchers, creators Professionals with lots of ideas Anyone who wants a simple, powerful second brain People who value privacy above everything else No subscriptions. No ads. No tracking. Lumina is free to use. If you enjoy it, you can support development directly from the app.

Screenshots

Simple Notes4 screens
Lumina4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Lumina at Free against Simple Notes's $2.99. Lumina also leads on update cadence (weekly vs every 2 months). Simple Notes's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and device support (4 vs 2). On 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

Lumina is free to download; Simple Notes costs $2.99 up front. Lumina sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Simple Notes asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Simple Notes ships an update every 2 months, Lumina weekly. The most recent releases landed on September 21, 2026 and June 11, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Simple Notes versus Lumina: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSimple NotesLumina
Price$2.99Free — better
Rating4.0 (39 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews82.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings39 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaid—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS13.0 — better18.6
Further details — not scored
Size25 MB1.6 GB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSadah Software Solutions, LLCRodrigo Uroz

In-app purchases

None

Simple Notes

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Lumina

One-time3
  • Small Tip$2.99
  • Medium Tip$8.99
  • Large Tip$18.99

Questions

Is Simple Notes free?
Simple Notes costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Lumina free?
Lumina is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Simple Notes or Lumina have ads?
Neither Simple Notes nor Lumina shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Simple Notes or Lumina?
Simple Notes ships an update every 2 months, and Lumina weekly. Most recently, Simple Notes was updated on September 21, 2026 and Lumina on June 11, 2026.

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