Comparison

Gnista vs Beaver Notes

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

Head to head
About

Gnista

Features
Read full description

Capture problems before they slip away. Gnista is a simple tool for writing down and organizing problems or ideas you want to work on later. β€’ Add problems or ideas quickly β€’ Group them to keep things organized β€’ Refine your thinking as you revisit them That’s it. No clutter, no distractions β€” just a focused space to think better over time.

About

Beaver Notes

Features
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Beaver Notes is a fast, native client for the open-source Beaver Notes server β€” a self-hosted note wall you run on your own infrastructure. Write markdown notes. Drop in photos, videos and files. Everything lands on your server, nowhere else. No accounts to sign up for, no third-party services, no analytics, no telemetry. FEATURES β€’ Multi-server β€” connect to as many self-hosted Beaver Notes servers as you need and switch between them from the sidebar. β€’ Local-first sync β€” an outbox queue keeps everything working offline and catches up the moment the server comes back. β€’ Markdown editor β€” bold, italic, code, lists, links, headings, with live preview. β€’ Attachments β€” photos, videos, and arbitrary files. Images appear in an adaptive grid with a fullscreen viewer. Inline video playback. β€’ Upload progress β€” per-file and per-message progress overlays, including retry on failure. β€’ Image editor β€” crop, draw, filters, and optional optimization before upload. β€’ Video trim & optimize β€” HEIC and H.265 encoding to keep uploads small. β€’ Quick input β€” a compact composer at the bottom of the wall for fast capture. β€’ Search β€” local full-text search with type, tag, pinned and date filters. β€’ Spotlight β€” your notes are findable from the system search. β€’ Privacy β€” biometric lock with Face ID / Touch ID, auto-lock timeout, and the option to hide previews in the App Switcher. β€’ Storage controls β€” per-server cache size limit and one-tap erase. β€’ Multi-platform β€” adapted layouts for iPhone, iPad, and Mac, with native sidebar, context menus, swipe actions, and keyboard shortcuts. PRIVACY The app talks only to the self-hosted server you configure. No analytics SDKs. No third-party services. No developer-side backend. Read the full privacy policy at https://eduard256.github.io/beaver-notes-apple/PRIVACY.md REQUIREMENTS You need a running Beaver Notes server. The server is open source β€” see https://github.com/eduard256/beaver-notes

Screenshots

Gnista4 screens
Beaver Notes4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is device support: Beaver Notes at 3 against Gnista's 1. On price, ads, in-app purchases and iOS requirement 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

CostPrice Β· In-app purchases Β· Ads Β· Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Scorecard1 real difference Β· 4 level
Gnista versus Beaver Notes: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGnistaBeaver Notes
PriceFreeFree
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, Mac β€” better
Requires iOS17.617.0 β€” better
Further details β€” not scored
Size4 MB2 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperVictor GustafssonArtur Jeremicz

In-app purchases

None

Gnista

No in-app purchases

None

Beaver Notes

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Gnista free?
Gnista is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Beaver Notes free?
Beaver Notes is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Gnista or Beaver Notes have ads?
Neither Gnista nor Beaver Notes shows ads.

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