# Side vs NembaNotes

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: NembaNotes at none against Side's 3. Side's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (daily vs every 9 days). On price, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Side sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days. NembaNotes asks for nothing beyond the download.

Side ships an update daily, NembaNotes every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on October 6, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Side | NembaNotes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | **[5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/nembanotes/id6755341737/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | — | **1** |
| Positive reviews | — | 100.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | **Daily** | Every 9 days |
| Monetization | — | Ad-supported |
| Size | 36 MB | 69 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 | **15.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Adam Southey](https://appshunter.io/developer/1845845950) | [Nembala LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1632305981) |

## What reviewers say

### Side

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/side-note/id6753957693)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Side Note Pro Access (Weekly) | $4.99 | per 7 days |
| Side Note Pro Access (Monthly) | $14.99 | per month |
| Side Note Pro Access (Annual) | $119.99 | per year |


### NembaNotes

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/nembanotes/id6755341737)

A private and powerful note-taking app focused on simplicity and user data ownership. It offers rich text editing, effortless organization, and local data transfer without requiring an account or cloud storage.

**Highlights:** Privacy-focused, no accounts or cloud sync, Rich text formatting with lists, tables, and images, Organize notes with labels and background colors, Instant search and quick sorting, Local data transfer and backups, Recycle bin for deleted notes

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Side free?

Side is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is NembaNotes free?

NembaNotes is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Do Side or NembaNotes have ads?

NembaNotes shows ads; Side does not.

### Which is updated more often, Side or NembaNotes?

Side ships an update daily, and NembaNotes every 9 days. Most recently, Side was updated on October 6, 2026 and NembaNotes on October 15, 2026.

---

*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*