Comparison

graynotes vs Notes

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

Head to head
About

graynotes

Features
Read full description

graynotes: Note-taking, simplified. Finally, a notes app that gets out of your way. graynotes strips away the complexity and gives you exactly what you need: a fast, beautiful place to capture your thoughts. Why graynotes? • Smart voice notes - record a quick note with your voice, AI will schedule it for you • Instant capture – Open and start typing immediately • Automatic sync – Your notes appear on all your devices instantly via iCloud • Beautiful design – Clean interface that adapts perfectly to light and dark mode • Action Button - wire up voice notes to your Action Button and never forget a thought or reminder again! Perfect for: • Quick thoughts and ideas • Shopping lists • Meeting notes • Daily journaling • Reminders for later graynotes works seamlessly across iPhone & iPad. Whether you're capturing a quick idea on your phone or reviewing notes on your computer, everything stays perfectly in sync. Download graynotes today for simple, fast note-taking.

About

Notes

Features
Read full description

Notes is a private, offline notebook for voice notes, transcripts, reminders, and sketches. Record in any language, dictate on your device, and find any word in seconds. Works fully offline. No account, no ads, no cloud sync. CAPTURE ANYTHING • Voice notes and meeting recordings, transcribed on your device in your chosen language • Dictate notes with on-device speech-to-text, with a full language picker • Scan documents and turn them into text with on-device OCR • Sketches, photos, videos, and any file, including PDFs, spreadsheets, and audio, shown like mail attachments • Rich text, checklists, and bullet or numbered lists REMEMBER TO ACT • Voice reminders, set up from a dedicated screen • Reminders and categories on every note • Turn any note into a real checklist, a clean outline, or a quick summary TALK TO YOUR NOTES Ask in plain language and get answers from what you've written: "What did I decide about the trip?" or "Show me my last 10 entries." Summaries and translations run on your device, and your note content is never sent to a third-party AI service. FIND AND STAY ORGANIZED • Find within a note with the in-editor find bar • Fast search by keyword, date, or media type • Find Duplicate Notes scans your collection and helps you merge near-identical entries • Archive volumes for notes you want out of your daily view but not gone for good MAKE IT YOURS • Backdrops and app-wide themes • Adjustable text size and archive density • Home screen widget with your recent notes • A quick tour on first launch, replayable any time from Settings PRIVATE BY DESIGN • Notes stay on your device. Nothing is uploaded, synced, or sold. • Lock individual notes with a password or Face ID • Deleted notes go to Trash first, so a stray tap never costs you a note • No account required to use the app Whether you keep a journal, a running list, meeting notes, or a place to think out loud, Notes is built to be entirely, privately yours.

Screenshots

graynotes4 screens
Notes4 screens

Verdict

The call

graynotes and Notes are too close to call on the numbers: across 6 compared parameters — price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.

Scored on Price Ā· Rating Ā· Positive reviews Ā· Number of ratings Ā· Update frequency Ā· Ads Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Monetization Ā· Best chart rank Ā· Devices Ā· Requires iOS

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

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

UpkeepUpdate frequency

graynotes ships an update every 5 days, Notes every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 2, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
graynotes versus Notes: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParametergraynotesNotes
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 5 daysEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.5 — better18.6
Further details — not scored
Size10 MB25 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAdam Van LenteRahul pahuja

In-app purchases

None

graynotes

No in-app purchases

None

Notes

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is graynotes free?
graynotes is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Notes free?
Notes is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do graynotes or Notes have ads?
Neither graynotes nor Notes shows ads.
Which is updated more often, graynotes or Notes?
graynotes ships an update every 5 days, and Notes every 3 days. Most recently, graynotes was updated on October 2, 2026 and Notes on October 8, 2026.

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