Comparison

The No List vs Contextly Notes

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

Head to head
About

The No List

This app helps you focus on what truly matters by logging the opportunities, projects, and distractions you've declined. By recording your "No's," you gain clarity, protect priorities, and create space for your most important "Yeses."

Highlights
  • Log declined opportunities
  • Protect priorities
  • Celebrate boundaries
  • Organize by categories and tags
  • Track decisions with stats
  • Simple, clutter-free design
  • Private on-device operation
Features
Read full description

Focus on what matters most. The No List is a simple tool to help you live with intention. Instead of tracking endless to-dos, The No List gives you a place to capture the opportunities, projects, and distractions you've turned down. Every "No" is a reminder of the clarity and focus you're building. By logging what you don't do, you create more space for the things that truly matter. --- Why The No List? - Protect your priorities - Stop second-guessing yourself by recording the decisions you've already made. - Celebrate your boundaries - Saying "No" is powerful. The No List helps you see that progress. - Stay balanced - Filter your No's by Work, Personal, Social, or custom categories. - Gain perspective - Quick stats show how often you're making space for what matters. --- Features - Quick entry for every "No" - Organize by categories and tags - Stats to track your decisions over time - Simple, beautiful design with no clutter - Works privately on your device --- Your time is limited. The No List helps you use it wisely. Because every strong "No" creates room for your best "Yes."

About

Contextly Notes

This app links your notes to your calendar, transcribes and summarizes meetings, and generates actionable steps. It seamlessly integrates with popular task managers to turn your thoughts into to-dos, all processed privately on your device.

Highlights
  • Link notes to calendar events
  • Record and transcribe meetings on-device
  • Instant conversation summaries
  • Generate actionable next steps
  • Sync tasks with popular managers
  • Powered by Apple Intelligence
Features
Read full description

If you're writing it down in a note, it's probably important. The thing is, getting the important stuff is often too hard. Your notes should already know about your meetings and events. And, if you're taking notes in a meeting, you're probably leaving with action steps. Meetings shouldn’t end in scattered notes and forgotten follow-ups. Contextly turns what you capture into what you do—right on your Mac. Contextly connects your notes to your calendar so every thought lives in context. Record a meeting (or drop in an audio file), and Contextly transcribes it on device, summarizes the conversation, and generates clear action steps you can actually use. Then, send those action steps to your preferred task manager as to-dos with the click of a button. Connect Things 3, Reminders, Omnifocus, or Todoist, and turn your meeting notes into action without juggling multiple apps. Instead of revisiting notes later, you leave every meeting with decisions, tasks, and momentum. What you can do with Contextly: Capture notes in context Link notes to calendar events automatically so you always know when, where, and why something was written. Record and transcribe meetings Use built-in recording or import audio. Transcription runs on your Mac for speed and privacy. Summarize instantly Get clean, readable summaries that highlight what matters—no manual cleanup required. Turn conversations into action Contextly generates actionable next steps from your notes. Review, edit, and send them where you work. Sync with your task manager Send tasks to Things, OmniFocus, Todoist, or Apple Reminders. Built for Apple Intelligence Powered by on-device Apple Intelligence for fast, private summaries and insights. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

The No List2 screens
Contextly Notes4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: The No List at none against Contextly Notes's 2. The No List also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.8). Contextly Notes's advantage is update cadence (every 2 days vs every 2 weeks) and review sentiment (100% vs 75%). On price, ratings volume, ads and monetization model 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. Contextly Notes sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. The No List asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

The No List holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 7 and 18 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 75% of The No List's written reviews are positive against 100% of Contextly Notes's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

The No List ships an update every 2 weeks, Contextly Notes every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on September 30, 2026 and October 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
The No List versus Contextly Notes: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterThe No ListContextly Notes
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (7 ratings) — better4.8 (18 ratings)
Positive reviews75.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings718 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, Mac — better
Requires iOS18.518.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size0 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDavid SparksJason Aten

Customer experience

The No List

All ratings7 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive75.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative25.0%

Contextly Notes

All ratings18 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews9 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

The No List

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Contextly Notes

Subscriptions2
  • Contextly Pro14 Days trial$4.991 Month
  • Contextly Pro - Annual14 Days trial$39.991 Year

Questions

Is The No List free?
The No List is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Contextly Notes free?
Contextly Notes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, The No List or Contextly Notes?
The No List is rated higher. The No List averages 5.0 out of 5 from 7 ratings, while Contextly Notes averages 4.8 from 18 ratings.
Do The No List or Contextly Notes have ads?
Neither The No List nor Contextly Notes shows ads.
Which is updated more often, The No List or Contextly Notes?
The No List ships an update every 2 weeks, and Contextly Notes every 2 days. Most recently, The No List was updated on September 30, 2026 and Contextly Notes on October 2, 2026.

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