# 灵光纸条 vs the waterfall

The clearest difference is rating: the waterfall at 5.0 against 灵光纸条's 4.5. the waterfall also leads on review sentiment (88% vs 75%). 灵光纸条's advantage is update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 3 months) and iOS requirement (16.0 vs 18.0). On price, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. 灵光纸条 sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per year and the waterfall sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

the waterfall holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 5 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 75% of 灵光纸条's written reviews are positive against 88% of the waterfall's.

灵光纸条 ships an update every 2 weeks, the waterfall every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on August 31, 2026 and September 10, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | 灵光纸条 | the waterfall |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.5 (2 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/id6468341870/reviews) | **[5.0 (5 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-waterfall/id6470706449/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 2 | **5** |
| Positive reviews | 75.0% of reviews | **88.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 2 weeks** | Every 3 months |
| Monetization | — | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 66 MB | 6 MB |
| Requires iOS | **16.0** | 18.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Shenzhen Poplab Technology Co. Ltd.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1330153351) | [文杰 李](https://appshunter.io/developer/1590258684) |

## What reviewers say

### 灵光纸条

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/id6468341870)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 年费会员 | $2.99 | per year |
| 永久会员 | $4.99 | one-time |


### the waterfall

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-waterfall/id6470706449)

This app serves as a personal introspection companion, allowing users to record thoughts, ideas, and memories. It features guided questions for deeper self-reflection, supports Markdown for expressive text, and allows tagging and image association with entries. Data is stored locally and synced with iCloud for privacy.

**Highlights:** Guided self-reflection questions, Markdown support for text, Tagging and image association, Local data storage with iCloud sync, Pinning important memories, Record reading notes and movie reviews

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| WATERFALL UPGRADE | $7.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is 灵光纸条 free?

灵光纸条 is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is the waterfall free?

the waterfall is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, 灵光纸条 or the waterfall?

the waterfall is rated higher. 灵光纸条 averages 4.5 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while the waterfall averages 5.0 from 5 ratings.

### Do 灵光纸条 or the waterfall have ads?

Neither 灵光纸条 nor the waterfall shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, 灵光纸条 or the waterfall?

灵光纸条 ships an update every 2 weeks, and the waterfall every 3 months. Most recently, 灵光纸条 was updated on August 31, 2026 and the waterfall on September 10, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*