Comparison

HotJot Notes vs burner notes

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

Head to head
About

HotJot Notes

Capture ideas, photos, and thoughts quickly using a familiar text thread interface. Organize your life into chronological "Stacks" for focused streams of consciousness. Export your data easily in universal Markdown format.

Highlights
  • Text-to-Save workflow
  • Organize into Stacks
  • Visual Timelines
  • Total Privacy
  • Export to Markdown
  • No ads
Features
Read full description

Stop overthinking your notes. HotJot is the fastest way to capture ideas, photos, and thoughts using an interface you already know: a text thread. Organize your life into Stacks. These are focused, chronological streams of consciousness that feel like texting yourself. Whether it’s a fleeting thought, a photo of a receipt, or a project log, HotJot keeps it organized by time and topic without the heavy feel of other note-taking apps. Why HotJot? • The "Text-to-Save" Workflow: No friction. Just pick a Stack and start typing. • Visual Timelines: Every entry is automatically timestamped. Scroll back to see exactly when an idea struck. • Total Privacy: Your data never leaves your device or your personal iCloud backup. It’s in your control. • Own Your Data: Don’t get locked in. Export any Stack (or your entire library) into a clean .zip file containing universal Markdown files and your original photos or videos. • No ads: We hate ads as much as you do. HotJot is completely free for an introductory period, and if you get it while it's free you'll get upgraded for free later. Perfect for: • Project Tracking: Document progress with photos and quick notes. • Quick Capture: Save links, quotes, book recommendations, and "to-dos" before they vanish. • Personal Journaling: A space for your daily thoughts. • Shopping & Lists: Text your family’s requests into a dedicated Stack.

About

burner notes

This app creates notes that automatically delete themselves after a set time. It offers various visual and haptic destruction effects for a unique experience. Notes can also be sent securely to nearby devices.

Highlights
  • Self-destructing notes with timers
  • Multiple visual and haptic destruction effects
  • Device-to-device note sharing (Whisper)
  • Live activity countdown on lock screen and Dynamic Island
  • Home screen widget for soonest-expiring note
  • Customizable themes, sounds, and vibrations
  • Photo attachment to notes
Read full description

stop deleting notes you write a quick thought in notes. a password. a flight number. a grocery list. a vent. then it sits there forever because you never go back to delete it. burner notes fixes that. write it, set a timer, and it's gone when you're done with it every note has a self-destruct countdown. when time runs out, it's permanently deleted from your device. no cloud. no account. no way to get it back. that's the point how it works write a note. pick a timer: 1 minute, 5 minutes, 15 minutes, 1 hour, 4 hours, 1 day, or set a custom duration down to the minute. a live countdown appears on your lock screen and dynamic island. when the timer hits zero, it's gone. or burn it early no drafts. no archive. no undo destruction rituals when a note burns, it doesn't just disappear. it's destroyed with a full visual and haptic experience. each ritual is designed for a different feeling • classic burn - fire rises from below, words char to glowing embers, ash scatters • shredder - words split into strips and fall like paper scraps • deep sea - letters fade to ocean blue and drift upward as bubbles • black hole - text shrinks into a singularity. the void doesn't give things back • dissolve - acid eats through your words, letters corrode and drip away • avalanche - boulders fall. text crushes flat. dust settles whisper: device-to-device notes send a self-destructing note to someone nearby. no server. no cloud. no login. just encrypted peer-to-peer over bluetooth and wi-fi. they read it, it burns live everywhere • live activity countdown on your lock screen and dynamic island • home screen widget shows your soonest-expiring note make it yours • 5 extra destruction rituals with unique animations • 5 burn sounds: none, fire, whoosh, crumple, glitch • 4 vibration styles: standard, strong, double tap, pulse • 6 color themes: orange, white, red, cyan, green, purple • attach photos that burn with the note • recurring notes that auto-recreate on the same timer • scheduled notes with a future start time privacy is the architecture • zero data leaves your phone. ever • no account. no email. no sign-up • no analytics. no tracking. no telemetry • notes are permanently deleted when burned • app switcher shows a privacy screen • lock screen content is redacted when locked burner pro $2.99/month or $14.99 once forever unlocks 5 premium destruction rituals, premium sounds, vibration styles, 6 color themes, whisper, photo notes, recurring notes, scheduled notes, custom timers, and export the free version includes unlimited notes, classic burn ritual, fire sound, standard vibration, all preset timers, live activities, widgets, and full privacy requires iphone with ios 17 or later Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://gist.githubusercontent.com/ardenkg/517883cd1e4f814ce926d0d61f7bacb8/raw/gistfile1.txt

Screenshots

HotJot Notes4 screens
burner notes4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: HotJot Notes at none against burner notes's 2. HotJot Notes also leads on iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.0). On price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence 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. burner notes sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. HotJot Notes asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for HotJot Notes against 5.0 for burner notes. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 2 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

HotJot Notes ships an update every 2 months, burner notes every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 18, 2026 and June 20, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 6 level
HotJot Notes versus burner notes: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHotJot Notesburner notes
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (2 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings)
Number of ratings22
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 6 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.1 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size38 MB5 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSandstorm Innovations LLC (US)Arden Knablein-Greene

Customer experience

HotJot Notes

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

burner notes

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

HotJot Notes

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

burner notes

Subscriptions1
  • Burner Pro$2.991 Month
One-time1
  • Burner Pro$14.99

Questions

Is HotJot Notes free?
HotJot Notes is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is burner notes free?
burner notes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, HotJot Notes or burner notes?
HotJot Notes and burner notes are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 2 and 2 ratings respectively.
Do HotJot Notes or burner notes have ads?
Neither HotJot Notes nor burner notes shows ads.
Which is updated more often, HotJot Notes or burner notes?
HotJot Notes ships an update every 2 months, and burner notes every 6 weeks. Most recently, HotJot Notes was updated on September 18, 2026 and burner notes on June 20, 2026.

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