Comparison

Matters Planner vs Ashnote

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

Head to head
About

Matters Planner

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Matters is a calm daily planner built around one idea: focus on what truly matters. Most to-do apps bury you in everything at once. Matters lets you pool everything in organized lists, then pull only what matters today โ€” finish it, and let it cycle back. Calm, focused, and beautifully minimal. MAC APP INCLUDED Matters comes with a full Mac app, synced through your own iCloud โ€” no extra purchase. Work in multi-column lists side by side, plan weeks and months ahead in the planning views, capture a task from any app with a global hotkey, mindmap with pro/con feature, and drive it all from the keyboard. ORGANIZE YOUR LIFE Create lists for the areas that matter โ€” Nutrition, Movement, Skills, Projects, anything. Each list is a focused home for related tasks, so your mind stays clear and your work stays organized. Group lists into folders to see whole areas at a glance. PLAN YOUR DAY, NOT JUST YOUR TASKS - Today shows exactly what you've committed to - Time blocks let you build your day hour by hour and protect time for deep work - Drag a task onto your timeline to do it at the right moment - A built-in focus timer keeps you on track, one session at a time - Set a target for the week ahead and plan into it YOUR CALENDAR, RIGHT NEXT TO YOUR TASKS Bring your existing calendar events into the same view as your work, so you can see the meeting at 2pm before you promise the afternoon to something else. Your events stay in your own calendars โ€” Matters only reads them. BUILD HABITS THAT STICK - Track habits on the schedule you actually keep: every day, every few days, or specific weekdays - Count repetitions toward a daily target, not just done or not done - Streaks that understand your rest days instead of punishing them - A clear history so you can see the pattern, not just today TASKS THAT HOLD THE WHOLE STORY - Sub-task checklists, image attachments, and notes on any task - Deadlines with multi-day tracking - Recurring tasks: daily, weekly, monthly, and custom intervals - Rolling tasks that cycle back instead of disappearing, perfect for routines - Reminders that arrive when you asked for them SEE WORK YOUR WAY - Every list is also a Kanban board: drag work across columns - A per-list Brief keeps meetings, decisions, references, and notes in one operating page - Sort, section, and reorder each list the way that suits it ON EVERY SCREEN Built for iPhone and iPad, with widgets for your Home Screen and Lock Screen: today's agenda, your time blocks, and your habit streaks at a glance. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Your data stays yours โ€” it lives on your device and in your own iCloud, never on our servers. No sign-up, no tracking, no third-party data sharing. Beautifully minimal, light or dark to match your system, with a set of themes when you want a different feel. Built to get out of your way. Start free for 14 days. Then keep everything with a Monthly, Annual, or Lifetime plan. โ€”โ€”โ€” SUBSCRIPTION & PRICING Matters is free for 14 days. To keep using it after the trial, choose a plan: โ€ข Monthly โ€” an auto-renewing subscription billed each month โ€ข Annual โ€” an auto-renewing subscription billed each year โ€ข Lifetime โ€” a one-time purchase (not a subscription) Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. A subscription automatically renews at the same price unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can manage or cancel anytime in Settings > Apple Account > Subscriptions. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://mattersplanner.com/privacy

About

Ashnote

Features
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ASHnote is a local-first markdown notes and journaling app for personal use. All notes are saved directly on your device as plain text files. No account is required, and no data is sent to any server unless you choose to set up iCloud or Git sync. Key features - Markdown editor with slash commands and a formatting toolbar - Folder structure with custom emoji icons - Calendar and journal views for daily note organization - Mood and weather icons for journaling - Tags and favorites for quick filtering - Pin important notes to the top - Full-text search - Optional iCloud sync to keep notes across Apple devices - Optional Git sync to back up notes to a Git repository - Fully offline capable Privacy-first You can use ASHnote without logging in. Unless you explicitly enable iCloud or Git sync, no data is transmitted to our servers. ASHnote offers all core note-taking features for free, with an optional auto-renewable premium subscription that unlocks additional features. ASHnote Premium (Auto-Renewable Subscription) - Monthly: US$2.99/month - Yearly: US$24.99/year Premium subscription includes: - Version history - Sticky notes - Multiple vaults - Export and sharing (PDF, HTML, ZIP) - AI assistant Payment will be charged to your Apple account at confirmation of purchase. Subscription automatically renews unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Your account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period. You can manage or cancel your subscription in your Apple Account settings after purchase. Terms of Use: https://note.sunteq.net/terms Privacy Policy: https://note.sunteq.net/privacy

Screenshots

Matters Planner4 screens
Ashnote4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Matters Planner at every 2 days against Ashnote's every 4 days. Ashnote's advantage is device support (5 vs 2) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.0). On price, ads 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. Matters Planner sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month and Ashnote sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Matters Planner ships an update every 2 days, Ashnote every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 10, 2026 and October 17, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences ยท 3 level
Matters Planner versus Ashnote: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMatters PlannerAshnote
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 2 days โ€” betterEvery 4 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, MaciPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac, Apple Watch โ€” better
Requires iOS18.015.0 โ€” better
Further details โ€” not scored
Size15 MB46 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperModum Ventures ABSanghoon Ahn

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Matters Planner

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly$6.991 Month
  • Yearly$39.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime$99.00
2 purchases

Ashnote

Subscriptions2
  • ASHnote Premium$2.991 Month
  • ASHnote Premium (Yearly)$24.991 Year

Questions

Is Matters Planner free?
Matters Planner is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Ashnote free?
Ashnote is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Matters Planner or Ashnote have ads?
Neither Matters Planner nor Ashnote shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Matters Planner or Ashnote?
Matters Planner ships an update every 2 days, and Ashnote every 4 days. Most recently, Matters Planner was updated on October 10, 2026 and Ashnote on October 17, 2026.

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