FiveNotes Mobile vs Defer
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
FiveNotes Mobile
This app provides quick access to five color-coded notes on your mobile devices. It syncs with its macOS counterpart, offering a minimalist design for jotting down ideas, reminders, or to-dos instantly. Features include widgets, Markdown support, and theming options.
- Five color-coded notes
- Widgets for quick access
- iCloud sync with Mac
- Markdown formatting
- To-do list functionality
- Customizable themes
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This app is a companion app to macOS FiveNotes 3, so you can always have access to your notes. FiveNotes is a tiny note app — fast, focused, and always with you. Whether it’s an idea, number, recipe, or reminder — just jot it down instantly. You get exactly five color-coded notes — no clutter, just what matters. Why FiveNotes? – Just 5 notes: simple and effective – Widgets for quick access to your notes – iCloud sync with Mac version (Note: FiveNotes Mobile is sold separately.) – Markdown formatting – To-dos – Themes and color options – Minimal, distraction-free design – Quick and reliable – Automatic backups – watchOS app to have your notes always with you Made for creators, coders, writers, and thinkers — and everyone who just wants to keep notes fast and tidy.
Defer
This app acts as a quick capture inbox for your thoughts and tasks. Simply input items to get them out of your head and into a secure, private space. It syncs across devices and offers export options for your data.
- Quick task capture
- Private data storage
- Automatic syncing
- CSV export
- Siri and Shortcuts integration
- Customizable appearance (Pro)
- Export to Apple Reminders/JSON (Pro)
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Defer is the app to get things out of your head. It's a task inbox or a capture inbox. Simply open the app, type (or paste!), and move on, knowing the thing will be there when you need it later. It works best with the accompanying Mac app: capture something on your phone, act on it when you're back at your Mac. - Private by Design: All your data is either stored on device or in a private iCloud container if you've got an Apple ID. - Simple: No bloat. Fast. Just write! - Synced Automatically: No account creation needed. If you're signed in with the same Apple ID on multiple iOS devices, everything will just sync. - Export anytime: Take your data with you in the form of a very compatible .csv file. - Integrated with Siri, Shortcuts, and Widgets (activate Siri and then say "Defer Something") - Add dates, or don't! Put stuff out of site / out of mind until you need it. - Pro feature: Make the app your own by customizing colors and fonts. - Pro feature: Export to Apple Reminders or JSON - Pro feature: Use webhooks to send tasks to other apps, on demand or automatically. We take privacy seriously. Really. We don't track anything about you or how you use Defer. More here: https://deferapp.com/privacy Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Defer at Free against FiveNotes Mobile's $3.99. Defer also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 2 months) and ratings volume (23 vs 7). FiveNotes Mobile's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and rating (5.0 vs 4.8). On review sentiment, ads, device support 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
Defer is free to download; FiveNotes Mobile costs $3.99 up front. Defer sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. FiveNotes Mobile asks for nothing beyond the download.
FiveNotes Mobile holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 7 and 23 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 89% of FiveNotes Mobile's written reviews are positive against 91% of Defer's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
FiveNotes Mobile ships an update every 2 months, Defer every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | FiveNotes Mobile | Defer |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $3.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 5.0 (7 ratings) — better | 4.8 (23 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 88.9% of reviews | 90.9% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 7 | 23 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | Freemium — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better | iPhone, Mac |
| Requires iOS | 18 | 17.2 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 18 MB | 12 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Apptorium | Levi Nelson, LLC |
Customer experience
FiveNotes Mobile
Defer
In-app purchases
FiveNotes Mobile
No in-app purchases
Defer
- Pro Monthly$0.991 Month
- Pro Yearly$5.991 Year








