Comparison

Fast Idea Book vs Future Self Capsule

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

Head to head
About

Fast Idea Book

Capture fleeting thoughts instantly with a streamlined note-taking tool. Record voice memos, attach files, and format text with Markdown. Organize ideas with folders and tags, and set reminders to never lose a brilliant concept.

Highlights
  • Instant idea capture
  • Voice memo recording
  • File and photo attachments
  • Markdown formatting
  • Customizable folders and tags
  • Smart reminders
  • Daily creative prompts
Features
Read full description

A frictionless capture pad for the ideas you would otherwise lose. If you have ever woken at 3 AM with a great idea and nothing to write it on, or watched a brilliant phrase evaporate while you opened a heavier app, Fast Idea Book is for you. It is a calm, on-device idea book built around one job, capturing the thought before it fades, and one principle: never make you wait or sign in. WHO IT IS FOR Built for writers, founders, students, designers and anyone whose best ideas arrive at the worst possible moment. Use it for story fragments, product ideas, lecture insights, design sketches, gift lists or the plan you came up with in the shower. CAPTURE IN SECONDS A new idea is one tap away: from the plus button, from the quick actions on the app's start page or from the shortcuts on the app icon. Give it a title, write the details and save with a single tap. Brainstorm freely without folder rituals, then add tags afterward when your brain wants structure. • Record a voice memo for hands-free moments and play it back later • Take a photo with the camera or pick one from your gallery • Attach any file or document from the Files app and open it again from the idea • Format with a Markdown toolbar for bold, italic, strikethrough, headings, quotes, bulleted and numbered lists, tasks, code and dividers, then check the result in the preview ORGANISE WHEN YOU ARE READY • Start with five ready folders: General, Business Ideas, Personal, Projects and Notes • Create your own folders with a colour and an icon • Tag ideas with your own keywords and filter by them later • Bookmark the ideas that matter most and find them in one place • See related ideas that share tags or title words with the one you are reading • Each idea keeps its creation and last update date, and you can share it straight from its detail page FIND ANYTHING FAST Search surfaces the half-remembered note in seconds. Filter by tags, folders or attachment type, and sort by creation date, last change, most viewed or title. NEVER LOSE THE THREAD • Set a reminder for any idea: in an hour, tomorrow, next week or at a custom date and time, with your own message • A daily idea check and a weekly review, if you want them • See every scheduled notification in one list and clear them all with a single tap • Smart reminders that bring back week old ideas you have barely opened, ideas you have not updated in two weeks and bookmarked ideas waiting for attention STAY INSPIRED A daily prompt gives you a fresh question to think about, chosen from 31 creative prompts; tap it to start writing your answer right away. A streak counter celebrates the days you capture something new. The statistics screen shows an activity chart, your ideas this week, your weekly average, your most productive day and most active time, plus how your tags and folders are used, for today, this week, this month, this year or all time. WIDGETS AND SHORTCUTS Small, medium and large Home Screen widgets show how many ideas you have and your current streak, and the medium and large sizes add today's prompt; a tap opens the app so you can start writing. Press and hold the app icon to create a new idea, open your last idea or jump to search. EXPORT AND BACKUP Export all ideas, only your bookmarks or a single folder as PDF, Markdown, plain text, RTF or HTML and share the file wherever you like. You can also save a backup file of your ideas, folders and tags and import it again later; imported items are merged with what is already in the app. YOUR LANGUAGE, YOUR LOOK The interface ships in 39 languages, and you can switch the app language in Settings. Choose light, dark or system appearance. Designed for iPhone. PRIVATE BY DESIGN No account, no sign in. Your ideas, recordings and attachments are stored on your iPhone, and you decide what leaves the device when you export or share. Delete a single idea or attachment at any time, or clear all data from Settings when you want a fresh start.

About

Future Self Capsule

Features
Read full description

Future Self Capsule is a "Slow-Tech" app for sending heartfelt messages, photos, voice notes, and files to your future self. No endless feeds, no distractions — just a private vault of sealed memories waiting to be opened. CREATE MEANINGFUL MEMORIES • Write text messages to your future self • Capture private photos that never touch your camera roll • Record voice notes with your thoughts and feelings • Attach important files and documents TRULY PRIVATE • All content stored locally on your device • Photos taken with our private camera bypass your gallery • Choose to "lock away" photos and files — removing them from your device until the capsule opens • No cloud storage, no accounts required SET YOUR OWN TIMELINE • Choose when your capsule unlocks: 1 month, 6 months, 1 year, 5 years, or any custom date • Watch the beautiful countdown timer as your memories wait to be revealed • Receive notifications when your capsules are ready to open REDISCOVER YOUR MEMORIES • Relive moments exactly as you captured them • Export photos and files back to your device • Share opened capsules with friends and family Perfect for: • Sending birthday messages to yourself • Preserving memories for future milestones • Creating time-delayed surprises • Journaling your thoughts for future reflection • Storing precious voice recordings • Keeping important documents safely sealed Time Capsule helps you slow down and appreciate the moments that matter. Start sealing memories today.

Screenshots

Fast Idea Book4 screens
Future Self Capsule4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Fast Idea Book at none against Future Self Capsule's shown. Fast Idea Book also leads on update cadence (every 6 weeks vs every 11 months). Future Self Capsule's advantage is device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.5). On price and in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Fast Idea Book ships an update every 6 weeks, Future Self Capsule every 11 months. The most recent releases landed on November 12, 2026 and November 13, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 5 level
Fast Idea Book versus Future Self Capsule: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFast Idea BookFuture Self Capsule
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeks — betterEvery 11 months
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS18.515.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size5 MB33 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBahattin DuranCeltic Wards, LLC

In-app purchases

None

Fast Idea Book

No in-app purchases

None

Future Self Capsule

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Fast Idea Book free?
Fast Idea Book is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Future Self Capsule free?
Future Self Capsule is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Fast Idea Book or Future Self Capsule have ads?
Future Self Capsule shows ads; Fast Idea Book does not.
Which is updated more often, Fast Idea Book or Future Self Capsule?
Fast Idea Book ships an update every 6 weeks, and Future Self Capsule every 11 months. Most recently, Fast Idea Book was updated on November 12, 2026 and Future Self Capsule on November 13, 2026.

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