Comparison

Space Notes vs Nodus

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

Head to head
About

Space Notes

This app allows users to create detailed lists with expandable items, offering dedicated note-taking for each entry. It provides various list types, progress tracking, and organizational tools to manage complex information.

Highlights
  • Expandable checklist items into detailed notes
  • Multiple note types (shopping, recipe, goals)
  • Progress bars for goal tracking
  • Random item selection from lists
  • Checklist table view for quick editing
  • User-defined category tags
  • Note priorities (low, medium, high, urgent)
Features
Read full description

Space Notes was built for people who like to make lists. Shopping lists, to-do lists, recipe lists, lists of modules for the apps you're building, or cards you're collecting. But sometimes just having a list isn't good enough. You know that your recipe needs a particular type of cheese, but there's only store in town that sells it. Space Notes gives you an entire notepad for every item in your checklist, allowing you to provide as much, or as little detail as you need for every single item. Expand your notes from a galaxy to a whole universe of ideas! New in Space Notes 3.0: - Note Bundles: Keep notes organized with Note Bundles. You can create a bundle and add your notes to it so that you can quickly locate related entries. - Card Collector's Gallery: A gallery where you can store images of your favorite trading or collector's cards. - Handwriting with OCR: Use handwriting to enter text into your notes with Optical Character Recognition (OCR). Features: - Note types with exclusive functionality for creating goals with progress bars, comparing notes, making shopping lists. - Expand checklist items into notes for taking as much detail as you need, without crowding your screen. - Randomly select an item from your lists, for those times when you can't decide on something, like where to go for lunch! - Checklist table view: You can now switch to a table view for your checklists, allowing you to quickly edit your checklist items. - Convert to checklist: you can now type out rows of text in the main notepad, then convert them to items in your checklist. - Consolidated to-do list: all your due dates in one central location for quick reference and navigation. - User-defined category tags: create tags to categorize your notes any way you'd like. - Note priorities: assign priority levels for low, medium, high, and urgent. - Three new note types: shopping, recipe, and character cards. - Checklist item due dates: prior to version 2.0, due dates could only be assigned to primary notes. Now they can be assigned to checklist items for 'Goal' notes. - Custom color schemes: add a personal touch to your Space Notes experience by creating your own color schemes. - In-app calendar: access a calendar right within your notes so that you don't have to keep switching between apps when you're making to-do lists. - Due date quick add: when viewing a 'goal' note with the in-app calendar, you can tap on a date in the calendar, then tap the calendar button on a checklist item to instantly create a due date. Space Notes Pro features: - Compare checklists: see two checklists, side by side. Space Notes will automatically highlight if the same item appears in both checklists. - Historical timeline: if you're working on a project, or tracking responsibilities at your job, you can commit your completed tasks to a historical timeline, which removes them from your note lists, but keeps them in a timeline that you can access when it's time to write your resume or review. - Calculator: an in-app calculator so that you don't have to switch to a separate calculator app when you need to do basic arithmetic. Once you've arrived at the result, simply tap on it to insert it into your note. The next version of Space Notes is being completely rebuilt, from the ground up. This will provide greater performance and stability, while also reducing the app's footprint.

About

Nodus

Features
Read full description

Nodus is a minimal Zettelkasten note-taking app for iPhone and iPad. Your notes are plain Markdown files stored in iCloud Drive — no proprietary format, no lock-in, no subscription. Why Nodus? Most note apps are too complex. Nodus focuses on what matters: writing, linking, and thinking. Features - Plain Markdown files in iCloud Drive — open with any Markdown editor on Mac or iOS - Wiki-style links with [[timestamp]] syntax that survive title renames - Fast full-text AND search across filenames and body text - Clean edit / preview toggle with full GFM Markdown rendering - Sort by updated date, created date, title, backlink count, or random - Created and updated timestamps read from the file system — no front matter needed Your files, your way Select any folder in iCloud Drive as your Zettelkasten. Use Nodus alongside your existing notes and desktop editors — everything stays in sync automatically.

Screenshots

Space Notes4 screens
Nodus4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Nodus at none against Space Notes's 1. 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. Space Notes sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Nodus asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Space Notes ships an update every 9 days, Nodus every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 8 level
Space Notes versus Nodus: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSpace NotesNodus
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.7 (3 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings3 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 9 daysEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.617.6
Further details — not scored
Size8 MB1 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSpace Japan StudiosNakada Kyota

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Space Notes

One-time1
  • SpaceNotes Pro$0.99
None

Nodus

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Space Notes free?
Space Notes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Nodus free?
Nodus is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Space Notes or Nodus have ads?
Neither Space Notes nor Nodus shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Space Notes or Nodus?
Space Notes ships an update every 9 days, and Nodus every 5 days. Most recently, Space Notes was updated on November 5, 2026 and Nodus on October 28, 2026.

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