Comparison

Mindrafts vs smalltype

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

Head to head
About

Mindrafts

This privacy-focused note-taking app offers an on-device AI assistant for offline writing improvements, summarization, and analysis. It features a rich editor supporting Rich Text and Markdown, with robust organization and export options.

Highlights
  • On-device AI assistant (MindChat)
  • Offline AI processing
  • Rich Text and Markdown editor
  • Note organization (notebooks, tags)
  • Import/Export (Markdown, HTML, ZIP)
  • Privacy-focused, no tracking
Features
Read full description

Mindrafts is a flexible, and privacy-focused note-taking app built with a true local-first design. The app includes an on-device AI (LLM) that runs entirely offline. All data and AI processing stay on your device, with no uploads, no accounts, no syncing, and no tracking. The local AI assistant, MindChat, works without an internet connection. It can improve writing clarity, correct grammar, expand or shorten paragraphs, summarize documents, extract key points, and analyze the content of selected notes. You can get fast, reliable AI assistance anytime, even in airplane mode or with no signal. Mindrafts provides a powerful editor that supports both Rich Text and Markdown. You can create headings, lists, to-dos, code blocks, quotes, formulas, images, and more, making it easy to capture ideas, tasks, writing, and study notes. Notes can be organized using notebooks and tags. You can search titles and content, pin important notes, sort your notes. The mobile experience is designed to be simple and intuitive. Swipe right to open the sidebar, long-press a note for quick actions, and tap the title to add icons or tags. Mindrafts supports importing Markdown, HTML, and ZIP files, and exporting to Markdown, HTML, and TXT. You can also export all notes at once as a ZIP file for backup or migration. If you encounter issues or have suggestions, feel free to email us at mindrafts.ai@gmail.com . Your feedback helps us continue improving the experience.

About

smalltype

Read full description

Short notes, many times a day, saved as plain .md files in real folders. Open the same folder on your Mac in VS Code, Vim, or any editor. Calm, minimal, and ready for iPhone Duo. smalltype is for your notes. The small ones, the quick ones, the big ones, the unpolished ones. It's a fast, quiet place to type. ## Start No tutorial, no setup screen. Tap New Note and start typing. Leave one empty and it quietly disappears, so you never end up with a pile of blank untitled notes. That's the whole app. ## Yours Every note is a real .md file, sitting right there in the Files app. You can open it, copy it, or back it up yourself, anytime. Delete one and it still goes to Recently Deleted, same as any other file: nothing's gone for good. ## Sync or Don't Keep notes in iCloud Drive to have them on every device. Or keep them On My iPhone, fully local, never leaving your device. Either way, you can switch anytime. ## Visible Markdown Markdown markers stay gently visible as you type. What you see is exactly what's in the file. A bar above the keyboard types the markers for you, with undo and redo a tap away. ## Organize Folders, search, and quick note-making, all from one screen. Nothing to set up first. Put "daily" in a folder's name and new notes inside it get today's date as their name. ## No Catch No ads. No subscription. No tracking. No account, ever. Markdown notes. Yours to keep.

Screenshots

Mindrafts4 screens
smalltype4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: smalltype at none against Mindrafts's 2. Mindrafts's advantage is iOS requirement (16.6 vs 26.0). On price, update cadence, ads and device support 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. Mindrafts sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. smalltype asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Mindrafts ships an update weekly, smalltype every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on September 29, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Mindrafts versus smalltype: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMindraftssmalltype
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyWeeklyEvery 4 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemium—
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS16.6 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size512 MB8 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperShan ChengliangHerman Haidin

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Mindrafts

Subscriptions2
  • Mindrafts Pro - Monthly7 Days trial$0.991 Month
  • Mindrafts Pro - Annual7 Days trial$49.991 Year
None

smalltype

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Mindrafts free?
Mindrafts is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is smalltype free?
smalltype is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Mindrafts or smalltype have ads?
Neither Mindrafts nor smalltype shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Mindrafts or smalltype?
Mindrafts ships an update weekly, and smalltype every 4 days. Most recently, Mindrafts was updated on September 29, 2026 and smalltype on September 22, 2026.

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