Comparison

Hyphen vs CalibratedNotes

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

CalibratedNotes

Features
Read full description

CalibratedNotes Capture ideas, solve problems, and organize everything in one powerful digital notebook. CalibratedNotes combines the freedom of handwriting with intuitive organization to help you take better notes. Whether you're recording lecture notes, solving mathematical equations, sketching engineering concepts, or planning projects, CalibratedNotes provides a clean, distraction-free workspace designed to keep you focused. Create notebooks for school, work, or personal use, customize your pages, and keep everything organized exactly the way you want. Write Naturally Enjoy a responsive handwriting experience with adjustable pen sizes, multiple ink colors, a highlighter, and an eraser. Every tool is designed to make writing feel comfortable, whether you're taking quick notes or filling pages with detailed calculations and sketches. Stay Organized Create unlimited notebooks, organize them into folders, customize notebook colors, and quickly switch between subjects or projects. As your collection grows, finding your notes remains simple and efficient. Custom Page Templates Choose the page layout that fits your work. Select from blank, lined, dotted, graph, and grid paper for everything from lecture notes to engineering drawings, mathematical calculations, bullet journals, and project planning. Handwriting & Text Combine handwritten notes with movable text boxes to create organized, professional-looking pages. Easily add mathematical and scientific symbols whenever you need them. Draw and Sketch Create engineering diagrams, graphs, charts, flowcharts, geometric figures, scientific illustrations, and technical sketches directly within your notebooks. Keep drawings and written notes together for a more organized workflow. Built for STEM CalibratedNotes makes it easy to organize engineering calculations, mathematical equations, scientific notes, laboratory observations, and technical diagrams in one place. Perfect for documenting complex ideas while keeping everything neat and easy to review. Flexible Pages Add, duplicate, and delete pages whenever you need. Whether you're writing a single page or an entire semester's worth of notes, your notebooks grow with your ideas. Customize Your Workspace Personalize notebook colors, organize folders your way, and choose page templates that match your workflow. CalibratedNotes adapts to your style instead of forcing you into a fixed layout. Features Writing Smooth handwriting Adjustable pen sizes Multiple pen colors Highlighter tool Eraser tool Organization Unlimited notebooks Unlimited pages Folder organization Custom notebook colors Fast notebook navigation Page Templates Blank paper Lined paper Dotted paper Graph paper Grid paper Productivity Movable text boxes Mathematical symbols Scientific symbols Duplicate pages Delete pages Drawing Engineering diagrams Graphs and charts Flowcharts Technical sketches Scientific illustrations Geometric drawings Whether you're taking notes in class, solving equations, sketching ideas, planning projects, or organizing your daily tasks, CalibratedNotes provides a flexible workspace designed to help you write naturally and keep everything in one place. Download CalibratedNotes today and experience a smarter way to write, organize, and create. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Hyphen4 screens
CalibratedNotes4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Hyphen at none against CalibratedNotes's 1. CalibratedNotes's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.0). On price, update cadence, ads and device support 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. CalibratedNotes sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $2.99 per month. Hyphen asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on September 21, 2026 and September 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Hyphen versus CalibratedNotes: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHyphenCalibratedNotes
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (7 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings7 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 daysEvery 2 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS18.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size4 MB50 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperCHRISTOPH J WHITELAMAIDEN JASON SEXTON

In-app purchases

None

Hyphen

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

CalibratedNotes

Subscriptions1
  • CalibratedNotes Premium7 Days trial$2.991 Month

Questions

Is Hyphen free?
Hyphen is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is CalibratedNotes free?
CalibratedNotes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Hyphen or CalibratedNotes have ads?
Neither Hyphen nor CalibratedNotes shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Hyphen or CalibratedNotes?
Hyphen ships an update every 2 days, and CalibratedNotes every 2 days. Most recently, Hyphen was updated on September 21, 2026 and CalibratedNotes on September 12, 2026.

Other comparisons