Comparison

Minimalist Notes vs NotchBook

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

NotchBook

Features
Read full description

Habits, tasks, timers and a journal — in one calm app. Most days need the same four things: something to keep up, something to get done, something to focus on, and a line about how it went. NotchBook puts all four behind one tab bar, instead of four separate apps and four separate places to forget about. No feed. No ads. No streaks shouting at you. HABITS — two taps in the morning Tick it, or tap plus until you hit the target. Meditation is done or not done. Reading is five pages of ten, and the bar fills as you go. - Simple habits you tick off, and counted habits with a target - Run every day, or only on the days that make sense - A week strip showing what was due and what you did - Streaks that keep count quietly — miss a day and you pick it back up - Step back through the week to fill in yesterday - Archive habits you're finished with, and keep the history TASKS — a list for the things that only happen once Groceries, errands, the thing you promised on Tuesday. They live on their own lists, right next to the habits. - Separate lists — Inbox, Errands, Grocery List — a tap apart - New things land in the Inbox until you file them - Tasks group themselves by when they're due - A date only when something needs one; everything else sits under "No date" - Completed tasks fold away behind a single line TIMERS — four ready to go, before you've decided what focus means Most timer apps hand you an empty screen and a form. NotchBook hands you four that already work, and they become yours the moment you tap one. - Pomodoro — 25 minutes focus, 5 minute break, four rounds - Meditate — one quiet stretch, with nothing after it - HIIT — 20 seconds on, 10 off, eight rounds, work and rest as separate phases - Quick timer — a plain five minute countdown - Rename and retune any of them, or build your own from scratch JOURNAL — write down how today went. A line is enough. Most journals fail because they ask for too much. This one asks for a sentence and treats everything else as optional. - The date, the mood and the tags are all optional - Add mood and tags and your entries become searchable later - Backdate freely — write Tuesday's entry on Thursday - Nothing is shared, published or shown to anyone Mark the day, then get on with it. Privacy Policy: https://notchbook.app/privacy-policy Terms (EULA): https://notchbook.app/eula

Screenshots

Minimalist Notes4 screens
NotchBook4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: NotchBook at none against Minimalist Notes's 1. NotchBook also leads on iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.0). Minimalist Notes's advantage is update cadence (every 4 days vs fortnightly). On price, ads and device support 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. NotchBook asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Minimalist Notes ships an update every 4 days, NotchBook fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 6 level
Minimalist Notes versus NotchBook: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMinimalist NotesNotchBook
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (2 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings2 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterFortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemium—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS18.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size46 MB38 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAlexandre BantzBUTTERFLYRAY LIMITED

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Minimalist Notes

Subscriptions1
  • Bloom Pro7 Days trial$14.991 Year
None

NotchBook

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Minimalist Notes free?
Minimalist Notes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is NotchBook free?
NotchBook is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Minimalist Notes or NotchBook have ads?
Neither Minimalist Notes nor NotchBook shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Minimalist Notes or NotchBook?
Minimalist Notes ships an update every 4 days, and NotchBook fortnightly. Most recently, Minimalist Notes was updated on October 25, 2026 and NotchBook on October 24, 2026.

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