Comparison

Notes for iPhone vs Ocean

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

Head to head
About

Notes for iPhone

Easily create reminders and take notes with an intuitive interface. Manage your notes and tasks directly from your Apple Watch, and access your most recent entries via widgets. Personalize your experience with themes and ensure your data is backed up and synced across devices.

Highlights
  • Apple Watch management
  • Voice dictation for notes
  • Widget for quick access
  • iCloud backup and sync
  • Customizable themes
  • To-do list functionality
  • Color markers for notes
Features
Read full description

Just you and your note. YepNotes is a clean and focused note-taking app designed to give you a simple space to write, without visual clutter or unnecessary distractions. It is made for the small things you do not want to forget: an idea, a shopping list, a task for later, a Wi-Fi code, a parking spot, a recipe or an important reminder. A clean and fast way to capture quick notes, lists and reminders. Open, write, swipe, done. ◆ Just you and your note YepNotes is designed around a simple idea: when you need to write something down, the app should stay out of the way. No heavy workspace, no crowded interface, just a clear place for your note. ◆ Quick notes, without friction Capture your ideas in seconds with a simple and focused note-taking experience. YepNotes helps you save small thoughts, memos, lists and reminders without complicated menus. ◆ Designed around gestures YepNotes keeps the interface clean with natural swipe gestures. Swipe to save, cancel, delete, create notes or access quick actions without adding buttons everywhere. ◆ Notes, photos and checklists Create simple notes with text, photos and checklists. Keep everything useful in one place, whether you are preparing a list, saving an idea or organizing a task. ◆ Reminders and notifications Add reminders to your notes and get notified at the right time. Perfect for tasks, appointments, shopping lists or anything you do not want to forget. ◆ Tasks and to-do lists Turn quick notes into simple tasks. Use YepNotes to manage your priorities, prepare your day, organize a recipe or keep track of things to do. ◆ Lists and color markers Organize your notes with lists and colors. Keep important notes easy to spot and sort your ideas, lists, tasks and memos in a way that makes sense to you. ◆ Siri Shortcuts Create notes faster with Siri Shortcuts. Add a note to a list, create a note with a reminder, or save a note directly in a specific list without opening the app. ◆ iCloud sync Sync your notes across your Apple devices with iCloud. Keep your notes with you on iPhone, iPad and more. ◆ YepNotes on Apple Watch Create notes by dictation, add reminders, manage lists, delete notes and mark important notes with colors directly from your Apple Watch. ◆ Widgets for quick access Add YepNotes widgets to quickly see your recent notes, reminders and important information on your Home Screen, Lock Screen or Today View. ◆ Customizable themes Personalize YepNotes with different themes and make your note-taking experience feel more comfortable and personal. ◆ YepNotes Pro Unlock more ways to organize your notes with YepNotes Pro. Customize your note lists with icons and colors, create more than 10 note lists, and use advanced list widgets to keep your notes visible and easy to access. Choose the Pro option that fits you best: monthly, yearly or lifetime. YepNotes is not made to be a heavy workspace. It is made to help you capture quick notes, simple lists and everyday reminders with less friction. Just you and your note. Download YepNotes and start taking simple notes faster. __________ Twitter: YepNoteS Terms of Use: https://yepnotes.kangama.com/terms/ Privacy Policy: https://yepnotes.kangama.com/en/privacy-policy/

About

Ocean

This app intelligently sorts your Gmail inbox into actionable categories like 'Action', 'Review', and 'Cleanup'. It offers features to quickly reply, schedule, archive, and bulk delete emails, helping you manage your inbox more efficiently.

Highlights
  • Inbox classification (Action, Review, Cleanup)
  • Quick email actions (reply, schedule, dock)
  • Bulk email cleanup
  • Google Calendar integration for invites
  • Global search across emails and invites
  • VIP contact highlighting
Features
Read full description

Your Gmail inbox wasn't built for the way you work. Ocean was. Ocean brings Beacon Intelligence to your Gmail. On-demand intelligence that classifies your inbox into what actually matters, so you spend less time sorting and more time doing. Designed exclusively for Gmail and Google Workspace. ⎯ BEACON INTELLIGENCE Beacon analyses your inbox and classifies what matters into 3 swim lanes: Action, Review, and Cleanup. Each lane contains a list of emails that you need to act on. - For the Action lane, you can quickly reply, dock an email on a specific date or send a meeting invitation. - For the Review lane, you can swipe to archive or discard the email. - For the Cleanup lane, you can leverage our powerful bulk Cleanup functionality to clear hundreds of emails in seconds. ⎯ DROPS: INTELLIGENCE WITHOUT THE COMMITMENT Every new account gets 30 free Drops. Enough for about 12 to 14 days of active use. Drops never expire and are only consumed when you use them. Skip a day, skip a week. You don't pay for days you're not working. Once your free Drops are used, Ocean's core features remain free forever. Need more? Drop packs are available for quick top-ups. Or go Ocean Blue for 50 Drops every day, refreshing at midnight. No subscription required. No rush hitting cancel. ⎯ CORE FEATURES: ALWAYS FREE Email: Compose, reply, forward, and manage your Gmail. Full email client, always free. Clean Up: Filter and clear your inbox in seconds. - First Timers, Persistent Pingers, Subscriptions, and more. - Archive entire categories with one tap. Dock: Dock emails you want to action later. - Swipe into time-based buckets: Today, This Weekend, This Week, This Month, Whenever. - Never lose what needs your attention. Invites: Direct Google Calendar integration. - Share your availability, block last-minute bookings, and automatically add confirmed meetings to your calendar. Global Search: Search across emails and invites from one place. VIP Contacts: Mark important senders as VIP. Never miss their emails. ⎯ PRIVACY-FIRST Your emails are never stored on our servers. When you invoke Beacon Intelligence, we ask your consent to use our intelligence provider to analyze your email conversations. Only when you ask, never in the background. Not sneaky. ⎯ BEAUTIFULLY NATIVE Dark mode, clean design, built for iPhone. Not a web wrapper. ⎯ Built in Canada by a small team who actually use this thing every day. Privacy Policy: https://ocean.app/privacy-policy Terms and Conditions: https://ocean.app/terms-of-use

Screenshots

Notes for iPhone4 screens
Ocean4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Ocean at 5.0 against Notes for iPhone's 4.0. Notes for iPhone's advantage is monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases) and ratings volume (71 vs 1). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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. Notes for iPhone sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and Ocean sells 8 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Ocean holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Notes for iPhone has 71 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Notes for iPhone ships an update weekly, Ocean every 8 days. Both last shipped on October 14, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Notes for iPhone versus Ocean: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNotes for iPhoneOcean
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (71 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews34.3% of reviews—
Number of ratings71 — better1
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 8 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — betteriPhone
Requires iOS16.6 — better18
Further details — not scored
Size28 MB33 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperKarim AngamaBigWave Labs Inc

Customer experience

Notes for iPhone

All ratings71 ratings
Positive71.8%
Neutral8.5%
Negative19.7%
Written reviews35 reviews
Positive34.3%
Neutral17.1%
Negative48.6%

Ocean

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Notes for iPhone

Subscriptions2
  • YepNotes Pro Monthly7 Days trial$1.991 Month
  • YepNoteS Pro Annual7 Days trial$11.991 Year
One-time1
  • YepNoteS Pro Lifetime$49.99
8 purchases

Ocean

One-time8
  • Ocean Blue 14-day TrialFree
  • Ocean Drops Small$2.00
  • Ocean Drops Medium$3.00
Show 5 more
  • Ocean Drops Large$5.00
  • Ocean Drops XLarge$9.00
  • Ocean Blue (Early Adopter)$67.00
  • Ocean Blue Access$79.00
  • Ocean Blue$99.00

Questions

Is Notes for iPhone free?
Notes for iPhone is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Ocean free?
Ocean is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Notes for iPhone or Ocean?
Ocean is rated higher. Notes for iPhone averages 4.0 out of 5 from 71 ratings, while Ocean averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Notes for iPhone or Ocean have ads?
Neither Notes for iPhone nor Ocean shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Notes for iPhone or Ocean?
Notes for iPhone ships an update weekly, and Ocean every 8 days. Most recently, Notes for iPhone was updated on October 14, 2026 and Ocean on October 14, 2026.

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