Notely vs TakeNote
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Notely
Capture and organize your thoughts instantly with this fast, private notepad. Create, edit, and manage notes with ample space for titles and descriptions. Organize entries into custom categories with visual flair and enjoy a distraction-free, offline experience.
- Lightning fast note capture and editing
- Customizable categories with pastel colors
- Offline functionality with no account needed
- Secure local data storage
- Distraction-free, native dark mode UI
- List and grid view options
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Stop losing your brilliant ideas in cluttered, complicated applications. Notely is the straightforward, high-speed solution designed to help you capture and structure your thoughts the exact moment they happen. MAIN FEATURES Lightning Fast Capture Write down your ideas without friction. Create, edit, and manage your notes instantly. Each entry supports a clear title of up to 100 characters and a spacious description area holding up to 5000 characters, giving you plenty of room for everything from quick lists to deep reflections. See your last modified dates at a glance to stay on top of your recent work. COLORFUL CATEGORY ORGANIZATION Bring visual harmony to your productivity. Group your entries into custom categories, each clearly identifiable. Personalize your workflow by choosing from 14 beautiful, carefully selected pastel background colors including soft green, blue, pink, and more. A convenient counter displays exactly how many items are in each category, and you can navigate to a specific group with a single tap. ABSOLUTE SIMPLICITY AND PRIVACY Your privacy is non-negotiable. Notely requires zero account creation and zero internet connection. Built on robust local SQLite storage, 100% of your data remains safely on your device. We do not track you, we do not send data to external servers, and we never interrupt your focus with advertisements. PREMIUM USER INTERFACE Enjoy a distraction-free environment crafted with the elegant Inter font. The interface automatically adapts to your system settings with native dark mode support. Choose between a standard list view or a compact two-column grid layout. Experience smooth, native spring animations as you navigate, and enjoy a perfectly scaled experience whether you are typing on a phone or a tablet. Take control of your daily productivity today. Start building a personal, secure archive of your most important thoughts with Notely. Whether you need a daily personal journal, a secure offline diary, a fast text entry tool for meeting minutes, or a minimalist productivity tracker, this secure writing app provides the exact foundation you need to stay organized every single day.
TakeNote
Capture ideas effortlessly with a distraction-free, minimalist note-taking app. It supports Markdown, organizes notes with folders and tags, and syncs across Apple devices. Optional local AI features enhance formatting and search.
- Distraction-free minimalist design
- Full Markdown support with live rendering
- Organize with Folders, Tags, and Inbox
- iCloud sync across Apple devices
- Private by design, no data collection
- Optional local AI for formatting and search
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TakeNote is a fast, elegant, and distraction-free way to capture your ideas. Built exclusively for Apple platforms with SwiftUI and SwiftData, it feels right at home on macOS and iOS. Why TakeNote? • Beautifully simple: A clean, minimal design that lets your words take center stage. • Markdown first: Write naturally in plain text with full Markdown support and live rendering. • Stay organized: Quickly sort notes into Folders, Tags, or your Inbox. Star, move, and search with ease. • Syncs with iCloud: Your notes are instantly available across all your Apple devices. • Private by design: TakeNote collects nothing and tracks nothing. Your notes are yours alone. • Power features: Use AI-powered formatting and smart search (macOS) when you want a boost—always optional, always local first. Perfect for Writers, thinkers, students, developers, or anyone who wants a fast, modern, and private note-taking app that just works. TakeNote is the notebook you’ll actually want to use every day.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: TakeNote at 5.0 against Notely's 4.0. Notely's advantage is iOS requirement (15.1 vs 26.0). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and ads 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
TakeNote holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3 and 3 respectively.
Notely ships an update every 2 months, TakeNote every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 10, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Notely | TakeNote |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.0 (3 ratings) | 5.0 (3 ratings) — better |
| Number of ratings | 3 | 3 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 5 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Mac |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 31 MB | 7 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Kamel Djaber | Adam Drew |
Customer experience
Notely
TakeNote
In-app purchases
Notely
No in-app purchases
TakeNote
No in-app purchases









