Comparison

Sidebar | Fast Notes vs Idea Think

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

Head to head
About

Sidebar | Fast Notes

Quickly capture thoughts and ideas without the need for organization. Entries are timestamped logs that can be tagged as to-dos or personal wins/losses. Syncs across devices with custom themes and a stealth mode.

Highlights
  • Instant note capture
  • Timestamped entries
  • To-do list integration
  • Personal scoreboard
  • Cross-device sync
  • Custom themes
  • Stealth mode
Features
Read full description

Open. Type. Done. Sidebar opens with the keyboard ready, so you can catch an idea in seconds and get back to what you were doing. No folders, no file names, no formatting. Just get it down before it's gone. EVERY ENTRY IS A LOG Notes are quick, timestamped logs, not documents. Add a tag when one needs to do more: - Todo: adds it to your task list - Win or Loss: counts toward your scoreboard - Love: marks the ideas worth coming back to KEEP SCORE Track wins and losses for anything: running, flossing, screen time. Your scoreboard shows what's on track and what needs attention. MAKE IT YOURS Choose any color for your theme. AND A FEW EXTRAS - Widget: pin an idea to your home screen - Sync across iPhone, iPad, and Mac - Stealth Mode: keep sensitive notes private - Time Travel: revisit a random day

About

Idea Think

Capture, organize, and visualize your thoughts with a mind mapping tool. Branch ideas naturally, search your entire library, and export your thinking as PDFs. Keep your ideas private and offline.

Highlights
  • Capture ideas in one tap
  • Unlimited branching
  • Interactive Tree Map view
  • Search by text or tag
  • Export as PDF
  • Private and offline storage
Features
Read full description

Capture ideas fast, branch them naturally, and organise everything offline. Idea Think turns scattered thoughts into a clear mind map you can search, tag, pin, visualise, and export whenever inspiration strikes. Whether you are planning a project, collecting insights, outlining content, or saving a passing idea before it disappears, Idea Think gives every thought a place to grow. CORE FEATURES - Capture ideas in one tap - Grow unlimited branches from any idea - View your structure in an interactive Tree Map - Search by text or tag across your whole library - Pin and tag important ideas for quick access - Export any idea tree as a clean PDF - Use daily reminders to build a thinking habit - Keep everything private and fully offline FAST CAPTURE Type a thought and hit send. No folders, no setup, no friction. New ideas land in your Inbox first, so you can capture now and organise later. NATURAL BRANCHING Tap any idea to drill deeper and add child branches. Start from one seed and grow it into a full mind tree as your thinking expands. VISUAL THINKING Use Tree Map view to see your idea structure at a glance. Pinch, zoom, and pan through your thinking visually. Long-press any node to edit, move, or delete. SEARCH AND ORGANISE Find any idea quickly with text or tag search. Filter by Top Level, Seedbed, Recent, Most Branched, or Deep Ideas. Pin the ideas you want to keep in focus. EXPORT AND SHARE Turn any idea tree into a beautifully formatted PDF. Share it with your team, send it to yourself, or archive your thinking for later. PRIVATE AND OFFLINE Everything stays on your device. No account. No cloud. No forced sync. Light and Dark Mode are both supported, with six accent colours to personalise your trees. FREE TO USE Idea Think is free to download and use. The app is supported by ads, which help us keep it updated and improving. Available in English, Japanese, Traditional Chinese, and Simplified Chinese.

Screenshots

Sidebar | Fast Notes4 screens
Idea Think4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Sidebar | Fast Notes at none against Idea Think's 1. Idea Think's advantage is update cadence (every 6 days vs every 2 months) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.6). On price, review sentiment, 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. Idea Think sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Sidebar | Fast Notes asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Sidebar | Fast Notes ships an update every 2 months, Idea Think every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Sidebar | Fast Notes versus Idea Think: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSidebar | Fast NotesIdea Think
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (7 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings7 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 6 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS18.615.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size2 MB28 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperChris WoodsMan Chi CHoi

Customer experience

Sidebar | Fast Notes

All ratings7 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Idea Think

Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Sidebar | Fast Notes

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Idea Think

One-time1
  • IdeaThinkPro$1.99

Questions

Is Sidebar | Fast Notes free?
Sidebar | Fast Notes is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Idea Think free?
Idea Think is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Sidebar | Fast Notes or Idea Think have ads?
Neither Sidebar | Fast Notes nor Idea Think shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Sidebar | Fast Notes or Idea Think?
Sidebar | Fast Notes ships an update every 2 months, and Idea Think every 6 days. Most recently, Sidebar | Fast Notes was updated on October 30, 2026 and Idea Think on October 31, 2026.

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