Comparison

Zealous Notes vs NanoPad

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

Head to head
About

Zealous Notes

Organize your thoughts with a versatile note-taking application. Link related notes, embed various media files directly, and enhance your text with markup tools. Features include searchable PDFs, video playback, and audio transcription.

Highlights
  • Stackable and linked notes
  • Inline PDF, video, and audio embedding
  • Searchable and mark-upable PDFs
  • Audio transcription
  • Hashtag organization
  • Marker mode with zoom
  • Calendar event linking
Features
Read full description

A lot like the Notes app you're used to, plus some added features: • Open several notes as a stack. - related notes can be linked together. • Subdivide your notes into Sections • PDFs, Video & Audio files attach inline, alongside your notes' other contents. - PDFs can be zoomed, scrolled, searched & marked-up. - Videos can play picture-in-picture or full-screen - Voice Notes audio files can be transcribed (with your permission) • Keep related notes together: - embed related notes as attachments - assign relatable #hashtags to your notes • Marker Mode - mark anywhere inside or outside of your notes - link markup with your highlighted or underlined text. - zoom-in for more precise drawings. • Link notes to your Calendar events (with your permission) • Case sensitive Find/Replace/Replace-All • Multiple Line-Spacing options See the included `Getting Started` guide for more, including several additional features available from within the app's Settings.

About

NanoPad

A minimalist app for capturing thoughts, tasks, and links using Markdown or a formatting toolbar. Notes are stored locally and sync via iCloud, with options to export in various formats. Start with free features and unlock unlimited editing with a one-time purchase.

Highlights
  • Markdown and rich text formatting
  • Task and link management
  • Search across notes
  • iCloud sync
  • Export to Markdown, plain text, PDF
  • One-time in-app purchase for unlimited notes
Features
Read full description

NanoPad is a quiet place to catch a thought, keep a checklist, and save a useful link. Notes, tasks, and URLs stay connected: write in a note, then find the task or link in its own view. WRITE YOUR WAY Use Markdown or the formatting toolbar for headings, lists, checkboxes, tables, links, and images. Search across your notes, return to recently opened work, and export your writing as Markdown, plain text, or PDF. KEEP YOUR NOTES TOGETHER Your notes are stored on your device and sync through your personal iCloud account when available. Share text or a web page to NanoPad from other apps. START FREE, UNLOCK WHEN YOU NEED MORE Free includes five fully editable personal notes, plus iCloud sync and export. If you have more than five notes after a trial or purchase ends, every note stays visible, searchable, copyable, and exportable; the first five remain editable. NanoPad Lifetime is one in-app purchase for unlimited editable notes and every available theme, font, and paper style. You can choose a free 7-day trial of the full app first. It requires no payment and does not renew automatically. When the trial ends, paid features lock unless you buy Lifetime; your writing stays yours. On Mac, the same App Store purchase also unlocks sticky note windows, Focus Writing, and linked Markdown folders.

Screenshots

Zealous Notes2 screens
NanoPad4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: NanoPad at Free against Zealous Notes's $4.99. NanoPad also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.3) and update cadence (every 2 days vs every 8 days). Zealous Notes's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2). On ratings volume, ads and iOS requirement 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

NanoPad is free to download; Zealous Notes costs $4.99 up front. NanoPad sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Zealous Notes asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

NanoPad holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3 and 2 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Zealous Notes ships an update every 8 days, NanoPad every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on November 14, 2026 and November 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Zealous Notes versus NanoPad: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterZealous NotesNanoPad
Price$4.99Free — better
Rating4.3 (3 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings3 — better2
Update frequencyEvery 8 daysEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS26.026.0
Further details — not scored
Size265 MB37 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperJason BrowningDigital Toys LLC

Customer experience

Zealous Notes

All ratings3 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral33.3%
Negative0.0%

NanoPad

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Zealous Notes

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

NanoPad

One-time2
  • NanoPad 7-day TrialFree
  • NanoPad Lifetime$6.99

Questions

Is Zealous Notes free?
Zealous Notes costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is NanoPad free?
NanoPad is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Zealous Notes or NanoPad?
NanoPad is rated higher. Zealous Notes averages 4.3 out of 5 from 3 ratings, while NanoPad averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do Zealous Notes or NanoPad have ads?
Neither Zealous Notes nor NanoPad shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Zealous Notes or NanoPad?
Zealous Notes ships an update every 8 days, and NanoPad every 2 days. Most recently, Zealous Notes was updated on November 14, 2026 and NanoPad on November 10, 2026.

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