Comparison

Strayfiles vs Annota Notes

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

Head to head
About

Strayfiles

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Strayfiles brings all your Markdown files together in one place without moving them. Point to any folder on your device and Strayfiles indexes your notes, docs, and files instantly. ORGANIZE WITHOUT MIGRATING Your files stay exactly where they are. No vault, no restructuring. Strayfiles reads from any folder you choose and builds a unified note tree across all your directories. WRITE IN MARKDOWN Full Markdown editor with syntax highlighting and keyboard shortcuts. Switch to a rendered preview to see your formatting, tables, code blocks, and more come to life. SEARCH EVERYTHING Full-text search across all your Markdown files by title, content, or tags. Find any note instantly no matter where it lives on your filesystem. SMART WORKSPACES Create virtual folders that group notes by project or topic without touching your filesystem. Filter by workspace to focus on what matters. TAG AND FILTER Add color-coded tags to organize notes your way. Filter by tag to find exactly what you need in seconds. SYNC ACROSS DEVICES Keep your notes in sync across iPhone, iPad, and Mac with Stray Cloud. End-to-end encrypted so your data stays private. BUILT FOR DEVELOPERS Mirror files like CLAUDE.md across multiple projects. Get pinged when AI coding agents finish tasks. Give AI assistants direct access to your notes via MCP. TEAMS (PRO) Collaborate on shared workspaces with your team in real time. Everyone sees the same notes, always up to date. KEY FEATURES - Aggregate notes from any folder - Raw Markdown and WYSIWYG editing - Full-text search across all files - Smart workspaces and color-coded tags - Cross-device sync with end-to-end encryption - File mirrors for developer workflows - AI agent notifications (Pings) - Team collaboration (Pro) Terms of Use: https://strayfiles.com/terms

About

Annota Notes

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Annota โ€” Private, Local-First Note Taking Annota is a fast, offline-first note-taking app designed for privacy, speed, and absolute data control. Your notes stay securely on your device by default, with optional end-to-end encrypted cloud sync when you need it. Key Features โ€ข Local-First by Design Your notes are stored locally on your device, allowing instant access anytime โ€” even entirely offline. โ€ข End-to-End Encryption (E2EE) Your data is completely encrypted using SQLCipher/AES-256 before it ever leaves your device. Only you hold the key. โ€ข Optional Cross-Platform Cloud Sync Sync seamlessly between your mobile devices and your desktop companion app while maintaining total mathematical privacy. โ€ข Smart AI Features (Optional) Accelerate your workflow with optional, on-demand AI utilities for note summarizing and structuring, entirely controlled by your explicit consent. โ€ข Fast & Minimal Layout A clean interface focused entirely on execution performance โ€” no clutter, no tracking, and no corporate background data harvesting. โ€ข Full Markdown Support & Clean Export Write efficiently with rich Markdown and easily export your data whenever you need it. Who is it for? Students, developers, and privacy-conscious users who want an uncompromising, elite text utility that prioritizes data ownership. Legal & Privacy Information: โ€ข Privacy Policy: [Insert Your Website Privacy Link] โ€ข Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Annota Notes4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is device support: Annota Notes at 4 against Strayfiles's โ€”. Annota Notes also leads on iOS requirement (15.1 vs 26.0). On price and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Scorecard2 real differences ยท 4 level
Strayfiles versus Annota Notes: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStrayfilesAnnota Notes
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyโ€”Every 5 days
Adsโ€”No
In-app purchasesNoNo
Devicesโ€”iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac โ€” better
Requires iOS26.015.1 โ€” better
Further details โ€” not scored
Size13 MB82 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRoberto FebusLiran Sosna

In-app purchases

None

Strayfiles

No in-app purchases

None

Annota Notes

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Strayfiles free?
Strayfiles is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Annota Notes free?
Annota Notes is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

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