Junkpad vs Cortex
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side β with what reviewers say about each.
Junkpad
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Random thoughts with nowhere to go? Junkpad to the rescue! Got your next genius idea? Want to write down that book that got recommended to you? Just remembered you have to do laundry today? Write it down in Junkpad to remember it for later. Or forget about it. Junkpad wonβt judge you. Junkpad is an easy to use and minimal note taking app. Don't get caught up in overorganisation! Instead, embrace your chaotic stream of consciousness. All notes appear in the same list, sorted by last edited. This makes it easy to add notes without any fuss. Just type. Features: - Capture your thoughts easily on the go! - Mark notes as favorites & filter them out - Pin important notes - Make it your own by picking a theme - Darkmode support - Delete all notes functionality - Recover recently deleted notes - Alternative icon for an aesthetic home screen
Cortex
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Cortex is a private, local-first Markdown workspace for iPhone and iPad. Your notes are real files you control, with fast editing, links, search, and on-device intelligence. CORE FEATURES - Create and organize plain Markdown notes - Daily notes, tasks, templates, links, and backlinks - Keyword search, Smart Search, knowledge graph, and canvas - Save text and links from other apps with the Share Extension - Create, search, and summarize notes with App Shortcuts and Siri - Import, backup, and export your vault - Use Apple Speech for dictation in supported languages FREE - A complete local Markdown vault - Smart Search and knowledge graph - Encrypted notes - Basic dictation - Local attachments up to 5 MB - Import, backup, and export CORTEX PLUS - End-to-end encrypted sync across devices - Ask, Recall, Insights, and semantic Connections - Advanced dictation commands - On-device OCR and audio transcription - Attachments larger than 5 MB Cortex requires no account and contains no ads or tracking. AI inference and embeddings run on your device. If you enable sync, Cortex encrypts your notes before sending authenticated ciphertext to the managed relay or a relay you configure; the relay cannot read note contents. Terms of Use: https://cortex.jtrlabs.com/legal/terms.html Privacy Policy: https://cortex.jtrlabs.com/legal/privacy.html
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Junkpad at none against Cortex's 3. Cortex's advantage is device support (4 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price and ads there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price Β· Rating Β· Positive reviews Β· Number of ratings Β· Update frequency Β· Ads Β· In-app purchases Β· Monetization Β· Best chart rank Β· Devices Β· Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Cortex sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Junkpad asks for nothing beyond the download.
| Parameter | Junkpad | Cortex |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | β | Every 3 days |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No β better | Yes |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac β better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 15.0 β better |
| Further details β not scored | ||
| Size | 1 MB | 131 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Ulrika Andersson | JTR Labs LLC |
In-app purchases
Junkpad
No in-app purchases
Cortex
- Cortex Plus (Monthly)$4.991 Month
- Cortex Plus (Yearly)$39.991 Year
- Cortex Believer$99.99









