Comparison

Sheet Notes vs Beaver Notes

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

Head to head
About

Sheet Notes

Features
Read full description

Sheet Notes: Notes in a Grid Sheet Notes is a flexible workspace for people who find linear documents too restrictive and spreadsheets too rigid. It organizes your ideas into a grid where every cell acts as a Markdown-ready canvas. How it works: * Grid Layout: Move beyond lists. Structure projects and data in a layout that follows your thought process. * Full Markdown: Use rich text, headers, code blocks, and images within any cell. * Seamless Sync: Works across iPhone, iPad, and Mac via iCloud, with an optional GitHub sync for version control and sync to other platforms like Windows. * Privacy First: Your data stays on your device. It’s fast, works offline, and doesn’t track you. * Customization: Choose from themes like Midnight or Sand, or build your own to suit your workflow. It’s a simple, non-linear way to keep your research, writing, and planning organized without the overhead of a complex database.

About

Beaver Notes

Features
Read full description

Beaver Notes is a fast, native client for the open-source Beaver Notes server β€” a self-hosted note wall you run on your own infrastructure. Write markdown notes. Drop in photos, videos and files. Everything lands on your server, nowhere else. No accounts to sign up for, no third-party services, no analytics, no telemetry. FEATURES β€’ Multi-server β€” connect to as many self-hosted Beaver Notes servers as you need and switch between them from the sidebar. β€’ Local-first sync β€” an outbox queue keeps everything working offline and catches up the moment the server comes back. β€’ Markdown editor β€” bold, italic, code, lists, links, headings, with live preview. β€’ Attachments β€” photos, videos, and arbitrary files. Images appear in an adaptive grid with a fullscreen viewer. Inline video playback. β€’ Upload progress β€” per-file and per-message progress overlays, including retry on failure. β€’ Image editor β€” crop, draw, filters, and optional optimization before upload. β€’ Video trim & optimize β€” HEIC and H.265 encoding to keep uploads small. β€’ Quick input β€” a compact composer at the bottom of the wall for fast capture. β€’ Search β€” local full-text search with type, tag, pinned and date filters. β€’ Spotlight β€” your notes are findable from the system search. β€’ Privacy β€” biometric lock with Face ID / Touch ID, auto-lock timeout, and the option to hide previews in the App Switcher. β€’ Storage controls β€” per-server cache size limit and one-tap erase. β€’ Multi-platform β€” adapted layouts for iPhone, iPad, and Mac, with native sidebar, context menus, swipe actions, and keyboard shortcuts. PRIVACY The app talks only to the self-hosted server you configure. No analytics SDKs. No third-party services. No developer-side backend. Read the full privacy policy at https://eduard256.github.io/beaver-notes-apple/PRIVACY.md REQUIREMENTS You need a running Beaver Notes server. The server is open source β€” see https://github.com/eduard256/beaver-notes

Screenshots

Sheet Notes4 screens
Beaver Notes4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: Beaver Notes at 17.0 against Sheet Notes's 26.1. On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

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

CostPrice Β· In-app purchases Β· Ads Β· Monetization

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

Scorecard1 real difference Β· 4 level
Sheet Notes versus Beaver Notes: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSheet NotesBeaver Notes
PriceFreeFree
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
DevicesiPhone, iPad, MaciPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS26.117.0 β€” better
Further details β€” not scored
Size15 MB2 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDan Olov HyllengrenArtur Jeremicz

In-app purchases

None

Sheet Notes

No in-app purchases

None

Beaver Notes

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Sheet Notes free?
Sheet Notes is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Beaver Notes free?
Beaver Notes is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Sheet Notes or Beaver Notes have ads?
Neither Sheet Notes nor Beaver Notes shows ads.

Other comparisons