Comparison

Minimalist Notes vs Pin

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

Head to head
About

Minimalist Notes

This app offers a streamlined writing experience, acting as a digital notebook for capturing ideas, journaling, or quick notes. It focuses on a minimalist interface and efficient capture methods, with advanced search and iCloud sync.

Highlights
  • Quick idea capture
  • Continuous writing flow
  • Advanced search with tags
  • iCloud sync
  • Offline functionality
  • Voice dictation
Read full description

Bloom is a simple, elegant notes app built for one thing: writing. No folders, no menus to dig through, no learning curve. Open the app and write. Personal notebook, journal, or quick scratchpad — it all lives in one continuous flow. Just like a good old paper notebook. Inspired by the GTD method (Getting Things Done), Bloom helps you get everything out of your head, so you forget nothing and stay focused on what matters. ► CAPTURE IDEAS THE MOMENT THEY HIT The best ideas show up anywhere, anytime. Bloom is built to catch every one: - Write from the Lock Screen, Control Center, or the Action Button - Create a note in a single tap with Home Screen widgets - Save text from any app with the share extension - No time to type? Speak, and Bloom transcribes. Everything is processed locally, on your iPhone. ► EVERYTHING IN ONE NOTEBOOK Advanced search lets you combine tags and text. Find what you're looking for in seconds — no nested folders to manage. ► MADE FOR DAILY WRITING Minimalist interface, dark mode, automatic link detection — Bloom gets out of the way so writing stays front and center. Perfect for journaling, morning pages, or simply clearing your head. ► YOUR NOTES, EVERYWHERE iCloud sync between iPhone and iPad, works offline, no account required. Your data stays in your iCloud. ► BLOOM PRO Tags, private notes, iPad sync, voice dictation, and every future Pro feature. Download Bloom and start writing today. --- Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Pin

This app helps you focus on your most important daily tasks by displaying them directly on your iPhone's Lock Screen as a Live Activity. Easily add, complete, and reset your tasks to maintain clarity and productivity throughout the day.

Highlights
  • Lock Screen Live Activities
  • Up to five daily tasks
  • Tap to complete/undo tasks
  • Customizable daily reset time
  • Dynamic Island integration
  • Light/Dark/System appearance
  • Local task storage
Features
Read full description

Your day, kept in sight. Pin gives you a small daily list and a place to keep it close: your iPhone Lock Screen. Choose up to five tasks, pin them as a Live Activity, and cross them off as you go. FIVE THINGS, A LITTLE FOCUS Write your first task and preview it during setup. Add, edit, or delete tasks in the app. Tap to complete a task and tap again to bring it back. Completed tasks keep their place until your daily reset, or you can delete one to make room. A NOTE ON YOUR LOCK SCREEN Press and hold while the button background fills to pin your list. Pinning starts automatically when the fill is complete. Lift your finger early to cancel. Complete and undo tasks from the active Live Activity, including after you finish all five. On compatible iPhones, your list also appears in the Dynamic Island. Tap the pinned control in the app once to take the card off. A FRESH PAGE AT YOUR HOUR Choose when your day begins. At that hour, completed tasks clear and unfinished tasks carry over. Turn on an optional reminder to plan the day. MAKE IT YOURS Use Pin in English or Arabic, or follow your iPhone language. Write tasks in either language or both. Choose a light, dark, or system appearance. LOCAL AND SIMPLE No account, advertising, tracking, or analytics. Pin stores your tasks locally, with no app-managed cloud sync. Live Activities run for up to eight hours. After one ends, open Pin to start a fresh card for unfinished tasks. Device authentication is required to use task buttons from a locked screen. Requires iOS 26 or later.

Screenshots

Minimalist Notes4 screens
Pin4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Pin at none against Minimalist Notes's 1. Minimalist Notes's advantage is iOS requirement (18.0 vs 26.0). On price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence 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. Minimalist Notes sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $14.99 per year. Pin asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Minimalist Notes against 5.0 for Pin. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 1 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Minimalist Notes ships an update every 5 days, Pin every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 11, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 6 level
Minimalist Notes versus Pin: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMinimalist NotesPin
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (2 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings)
Number of ratings2 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 5 daysEvery 4 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemiumFree — better
DevicesiPhoneiPhone
Requires iOS18.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size44 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAlexandre BantzForsan Sharabati

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Minimalist Notes

Subscriptions1
  • Bloom Pro7 Days trial$14.991 Year
None

Pin

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Minimalist Notes free?
Minimalist Notes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Pin free?
Pin is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Minimalist Notes or Pin?
Minimalist Notes and Pin are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 2 and 1 ratings respectively.
Do Minimalist Notes or Pin have ads?
Neither Minimalist Notes nor Pin shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Minimalist Notes or Pin?
Minimalist Notes ships an update every 5 days, and Pin every 4 days. Most recently, Minimalist Notes was updated on October 24, 2026 and Pin on October 11, 2026.

Other comparisons