Comparison

Hyphen vs Solo

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

Head to head
About

Hyphen

This minimalist app allows for quick capture of daily thoughts, tasks, and moments. It organizes entries by day and provides a visual timeline of your year, highlighting days with more activity. Notes are automatically timestamped and can be entered via typing or voice.

Highlights
  • Quick entry via typing or voice
  • Automatic timestamping
  • Visual year-in-a-glance timeline
  • Smart grouping of related notes
  • Secure cross-device syncing
  • Private and inaccessible by developer
Features
Read full description

Hyphen is a quiet place for the details you would otherwise lose. Write a sentence, list, quotation, decision, observation, or full page. Every note belongs to its day, so you can move naturally through time and return by date, month, year, Chronicle, or search. WRITE WITHOUT FRICTION Capture a quick thought in place. Expand into the full editor when the thought becomes something larger. MARKDOWN MADE FOR IPHONE Use headings, emphasis, lists, checklists, quotations, links, and code without hunting through the iOS keyboard for punctuation. SEE YOUR DAYS TAKE SHAPE Move naturally between Day, Month, and Year, and view time as a quiet record of activity. Hyphen shows continuity without turning your writing into a streak game. FIND WHAT YOU WROTE Search your writing, browse Chronicle, and move directly back to the day where a thought belongs.

About

Solo

This app functions like a personal chat to save thoughts, links, photos, and to-dos. It automatically organizes your saved items into smart categories and allows you to set reminders. Sync your notes across multiple devices for seamless access.

Highlights
  • Personal chat interface for saving notes
  • Automatic categorization of saved items
  • Reminders for important messages
  • Rich link previews
  • Photo and image saving
  • Cross-device synchronization
Features
Read full description

Solo is the simplest way to save anything that comes to mind. Think of it as a chat — but just with yourself. Text a thought. Drop a link. Snap a photo. Solo captures it all in a familiar messaging interface, so saving things feels as natural as sending a text. SMART SORTING, ZERO EFFORT Solo automatically categorizes your messages into smart views: • Bookmark — Links and articles to read later • To-do — Tasks and action items • Idea — Creative sparks and inspiration • Shopping — Things to buy • Money — Expenses and financial notes • Reservation — Bookings and appointments No folders to create. No tags to manage. Just send, and Solo handles the rest. NEVER FORGET Set reminders on any message so the important stuff comes back to you at the right time. EVERYTHING IN ONE PLACE • Text notes and quick thoughts • Links with rich previews • Photos and images • Checklists and to-dos PRIVATE & SECURE Your messages are encrypted on-device. Solo is built with privacy at its core — your thoughts stay yours. SYNC ACROSS DEVICES Sign in to sync your messages across iPhone, iPad, Mac, and the web. Start a thought on your phone, pick it up on your laptop. SOLO PRO Unlock custom labels, and more ways to organize — your way. Solo is free to use. No account required to get started. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Hyphen4 screens
Solo4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Hyphen at none against Solo's 2. Hyphen also leads on ratings volume (7 vs 1). Solo's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 18.0). On price, rating, update cadence and ads 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. Solo sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Hyphen asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Hyphen against 5.0 for Solo. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Hyphen has 7 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Hyphen ships an update every 2 days, Solo every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 8, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Hyphen versus Solo: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHyphenSolo
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (7 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings7 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 2 days — betterEvery 3 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS18.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size4 MB49 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperCHRISTOPH J WHITELAMOOTH

Customer experience

Hyphen

All ratings7 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Solo

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Hyphen

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Solo

Subscriptions2
  • Pro Monthly14 Days trial$1.991 Month
  • Pro Yearly14 Days trial$19.991 Year

Questions

Is Hyphen free?
Hyphen is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Solo free?
Solo is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Hyphen or Solo?
Hyphen and Solo are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 7 and 1 ratings respectively.
Do Hyphen or Solo have ads?
Neither Hyphen nor Solo shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Hyphen or Solo?
Hyphen ships an update every 2 days, and Solo every 3 days. Most recently, Hyphen was updated on October 8, 2026 and Solo on October 10, 2026.

Other comparisons