Comparison

Notes Me vs Annotate

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

Head to head
About

Notes Me

This app offers a private, distraction-free environment for creating and organizing notes. It supports offline writing, iCloud synchronization, and features like custom categories, pinned notes, and file attachments. Enjoy a clean interface with customizable themes for enhanced productivity.

Highlights
  • Distraction-free editor
  • iCloud sync
  • Offline writing
  • Custom categories
  • Pinned notes
  • File and media attachments
  • Trash recovery
Features
Read full description

Notes Me is a private, distraction-free notes app designed for focus and productivity. Create minimal notes, write offline, and stay fully in control of your thoughts. Key features: - iCloud sync across your devices - Create unlimited notes with a distraction-free editor - Organize notes with custom categories - Pin important notes for quick access - Attach files and media - Fast search across all notes - Trash recovery for up to 30 days - Customizable appearance with themes Notes Me combines clarity, speed, and a clean native design — so your ideas are always within reach. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Annotate

Quickly enhance screenshots and images with a variety of tools for adding text, shapes, and effects. Features include auto-redaction for sensitive information and animated GIF support. Create polished visuals with layers, templates, and custom styles.

Highlights
  • 17 annotation tools
  • Animated GIF support
  • Auto-Redact sensitive info
  • Customizable styles and layers
  • Templates for quick reuse
  • Apple Pencil support
  • Shortcuts integration
Features
Read full description

Annotate helps you quickly mark up screenshots and images with clean, readable shapes and text - built for fast, polished results on iPhone and iPad. • 17 tools: Crop, Blur, Pixelate, Text, Number, Stamp, Rect, Oval, Arrow, Pen, Marker, Highlight, Loupe, Backdrop, Image, GIF, Watermark • Clean shapes and highlights, plus freehand pen and marker • Animated GIFs - bring your screenshots to life: search KLIPY right in the editor, drop a GIF on the canvas, and your export turns into a video. Powered by KLIPY • Text with font, size, alignment, and optional background • Number badges and SF Symbols stamps (with search) • Blur or pixelate areas, and use a loupe to magnify details • Auto-Redact: detect and hide sensitive info in one tap - credit cards, phone numbers, emails, license plates, and faces • Full control over style: stroke width, fill, outlines, shadow, opacity, configurable arrowheads, and more • Free rotation - turn shapes, text, stamps, images, GIFs, and more to any angle with a precision dial • ∞ Layers: one layer per annotation - select, reorder, and delete • Helpful extras: snapping for neat alignment, undo/redo, zoom to fit/100% • Apple Pencil ready - palm rejection kicks in automatically so the Pencil draws while your fingers still pan and pinch • Grow the canvas - add space on any edge to make room for callouts and shapes • Backdrop styles - frame your screenshot with gradients or solid colors, and choose whether the backdrop pads the canvas or fits inside it • Watermark - add text or a logo across the whole image (tiled) or in a corner to brand and protect your work • Templates - save a set of annotations, backdrop, and watermark, then reapply them to any image; positions adapt to the new aspect ratio • Start from Photos, Files, clipboard, or a blank canvas - or pick an iOS device preset (iPhone 17, iPad Pro, etc.) • Export and share fast (PNG, JPEG, or HEIC) • Shortcuts - run Auto-Redact and Framing from the Shortcuts app, Spotlight, and Siri Test free for the first 5 annotated images. Annotate is brought to you by the developer of Dropshare - the file sharing app for macOS and iOS.

Screenshots

Notes Me4 screens
Annotate4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Notes Me at 5.0 against Annotate's 4.7. Notes Me also leads on iOS requirement (16.6 vs 18.2). Annotate's advantage is update cadence (every 4 days vs every 10 days) and ratings volume (7 vs 1). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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. Notes Me sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month and Annotate sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Notes Me holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Annotate has 7 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Notes Me ships an update every 10 days, Annotate every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on September 30, 2026 and October 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Notes Me versus Annotate: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNotes MeAnnotate
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better4.7 (7 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings17 — better
Update frequencyEvery 10 daysEvery 4 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.6 — better18.2
Further details — not scored
Size7 MB44 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperEcologicalm UABTimo Josten

Customer experience

Notes Me

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Annotate

All ratings7 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Notes Me

Subscriptions2
  • NotebookPró Plus$3.991 Month
  • NoteBookPró Plus (Yearly)$29.991 Year
1 purchases

Annotate

One-time1
  • Full Version$8.99

Questions

Is Notes Me free?
Notes Me is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Annotate free?
Annotate is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Notes Me or Annotate?
Notes Me is rated higher. Notes Me averages 5.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while Annotate averages 4.7 from 7 ratings.
Do Notes Me or Annotate have ads?
Neither Notes Me nor Annotate shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Notes Me or Annotate?
Notes Me ships an update every 10 days, and Annotate every 4 days. Most recently, Notes Me was updated on September 30, 2026 and Annotate on October 5, 2026.

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