Comparison

Brain Dump vs Harold.

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

Head to head
About

Brain Dump

This minimalist note-taking app lets you capture ideas instantly with a distraction-free interface. It offers AI-powered answers to your notes and can transform them into various formats like summaries, to-do lists, or emails.

Highlights
  • Instant writing on launch
  • AI-powered questions and answers from notes
  • Create summaries, lists, emails, and more from notes
  • Minimalist, distraction-free interface
  • Organize notes with folders
  • Merge notes easily
  • iCloud backup for cross-device access
Read full description

A thought shows up while you're in the middle of something else. By the time you've opened a notes app and picked a folder, it's gone. Brain Dump opens straight to a blank note. Write it down, get back to what you were doing, and sort it out later. Made for ADHD brains and anyone who switches tasks all day. WRITE FIRST, SORT LATER • Opens on a new note, or right where you left off. You choose. • Freewriting space: empty your head across as many notes as you need, then save them all to a folder at once. • No title, no folder, no setup needed before you start typing. CAPTURE FROM WHEREVER YOU ARE • Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets for a new note, your last note, or Freewriting • Control Center and Action Button controls (iOS 18 and later) • Siri and Shortcuts: "New note", "Resume note" • Share sheet: save text and links from other apps • Menu bar access on Mac GET BACK ON TRACK • Jump back into your last note from a widget, a control, or Siri • Reminders on any note, so it comes back when you need it • Alarms that ring even with a Focus mode on (iOS 26 and later) • Location reminders when you arrive at or leave a place (iPhone and iPad, Premium) • Checklists with tappable checkboxes • Search, pinned notes, tags, and nested folders for when you're ready to organize TURN A MESSY DUMP INTO SOMETHING USEFUL • Create: turn notes into a to-do list, summary, email, meeting report, flashcards, and more • Ask: ask questions about what you've written • Rewrite and fix grammar in Freewriting • Merge several notes into one, in the order you choose The free plan includes 3 AI uses every month. CALM BY DESIGN • Three looks: Standard, Minimal, or Essential with no icons and no color • High-focus and dyslexia-friendly fonts, adjustable text size • Background sounds while you write • Light and dark mode YOUR NOTES, EVERYWHERE • iCloud sync across iPhone, iPad, and Mac • Optional Brain Dump account: back up your notes and sync them across your devices • Brain Dump on the web at app.getbraindump.com • Share a note or folder by link: anyone can read and edit in their browser, no account needed • Import from Apple Notes and Evernote • Export to plain text, HTML, RTF, Markdown, or Word (Markdown and Word with Premium) WHAT PEOPLE SAY "Finally, a notes app that gets how my brain works." (App Store review) FREE TO START Writing, quick capture, Freewriting, and merging notes are free. Brain Dump Focus unlocks unlimited reminders and alarms, location reminders, more AI, unlimited tags, and more export formats. Or get Lifetime for everything except AI, with a one-time purchase. Brain Dump is a notes app. It isn't a medical device or a treatment. Questions or ideas? Write to braindump.help@gmail.com

About

Harold.

This app allows writers to share drafts and receive precise, inline feedback from friends. Its distraction-free editor helps focus on content, and shared drafts enable collaborators to comment directly on specific text passages.

Highlights
  • Distraction-free writing editor
  • Inline commenting on text
  • Share drafts directly from app
  • Collaborative feedback tool
  • Supports various written content
Features
Read full description

Harold is for writers who want real feedback before they publish. Write a draft, share it with a friend, and let them leave inline comments to the exact words they're responding to. HOW IT WORKS Write your draft in Harold's distraction-free editor. When it's ready, share it with friends directly from the app. They'll see your draft on their phone, highlight any passage, and leave a comment tied to that exact moment in the text. Harold is for essays, short stories, cover letters, speeches, newsletters, or anything else you've written that needs a second pair of eyes before it goes out into the world.

Screenshots

Brain Dump4 screens
Harold.4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Harold. at 5.0 against Brain Dump's 4.3. Harold. also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 7) and review sentiment (100% vs 71%). Brain Dump's advantage is ratings volume (64 vs 5) and device support (4 vs 2). On price, update cadence and 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

Both are free to download. Brain Dump sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per 7 days. Harold. asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Harold. holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Brain Dump has 64 ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 71% of Brain Dump's written reviews are positive against 100% of Harold.'s.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Brain Dump ships an update weekly, Harold. every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Brain Dump versus Harold.: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBrain DumpHarold.
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (64 ratings)5.0 (5 ratings) — better
Positive reviews71.4% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings64 — better5
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 2 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac, Vision Pro — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.0 — better18.6
Further details — not scored
Size85 MB3 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperFrancesco LeoniSAI SIDDHI VINAYAK KARNATI

Customer experience

Brain Dump

All ratings64 ratings
Positive82.8%
Neutral4.7%
Negative12.5%
Written reviews28 reviews
Positive71.4%
Neutral7.1%
Negative21.4%

Harold.

All ratings5 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

7 purchases

Brain Dump

Subscriptions5
  • Weekly$3.997 Days
  • Pro: Monthly Clarity$3.991 Month
  • Monthly$10.991 Month
Show 2 more
  • Pro: Yearly Serenity$34.991 Year
  • Yearly$99.991 Year
One-time2
  • BrainDump Ask Drops$4.99
  • Lifetime$39.99
None

Harold.

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Brain Dump free?
Brain Dump is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Harold. free?
Harold. is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Brain Dump or Harold.?
Harold. is rated higher. Brain Dump averages 4.3 out of 5 from 64 ratings, while Harold. averages 5.0 from 5 ratings.
Do Brain Dump or Harold. have ads?
Neither Brain Dump nor Harold. shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Brain Dump or Harold.?
Brain Dump ships an update weekly, and Harold. every 2 weeks. Most recently, Brain Dump was updated on October 14, 2026 and Harold. on October 1, 2026.

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