Comparison

Effery vs TabulaDB

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

Head to head
About

Effery

Features
Read full description

Some things aren't meant to last. A grocery list. A Wi-Fi password. A recipe you'll try once. A thought that only matters today. Effery is a note-taking app where every note has a countdown. Set a timer — one hour, three days, a month — and when it's up, the note disappears. No clutter. No archive guilt. Just the notes that still matter. DESIGNED TO VANISH Every note gets a time-to-live. Pick from 1 hour to 1 month. When the timer runs out, a 24-hour grace period kicks in. After that — gone. BEAUTIFUL BY DEFAULT Notes appear as book spines with hand-crafted patterns. 24 colors across 8 families. 12 base patterns. 6 hidden patterns to discover through gestures, timing, and exploration. 18 PATTERNS. 6 ARE HIDDEN. Shake your phone. Open the app at dinner time. Use a specific color. Place your phone face-down. Each secret pattern unlocks through a different interaction — no instructions, just play. 14 THEMES From warm Sepia and Paper to AMOLED black and Nord blue. A Japan theme inspired by traditional off-white. Find the one that feels like yours. PRIVATE & ENCRYPTED AES-256 encryption. Face ID or password lock. No accounts. No servers collecting your data. Your notes exist on your device and your iCloud — nowhere else. iCLOUD SYNC Seamless sync across your Apple devices. Encrypted end-to-end. Your notes follow you. SMART NOTIFICATIONS Get reminded before a note expires. Alerts from 1 to 24 hours ahead so nothing important vanishes before you're ready. 5 LANGUAGES English, Italian, German, Spanish, French. ORIGIN I wanted to bake pangoccioli — Italian chocolate chip buns — for someone I love. I needed somewhere to save the recipe. Just for that night. I built this app for that one recipe. Then I kept building. Completely free. No ads. No in-app purchases. No tracking. Just a small app made with care.

About

TabulaDB

Create custom databases to track anything, from collections to personal projects. Offers pre-built templates or design your own with various field types. Data syncs via iCloud and can be exported for portability.

Highlights
  • Custom database creation
  • Pre-built templates
  • 15 field types
  • iCloud sync
  • Data export (CSV, JSON)
  • Reports and charts
Features
Read full description

TabulaDB – Build Your Own Database Track anything — your way. TabulaDB lets you create fully custom databases right on your iPhone, with exactly the fields you need and none you don't. Whether you're cataloging a wine collection, logging workouts, managing a home inventory, or building something entirely your own, TabulaDB gives you the structure to stay organized without locking you into someone else's template. Start in seconds with built-in templates Choose from seven ready-to-use templates — Home Inventory, Book Library, Movie Watchlist, Wine Collection, Fitness Tracker, Record Collection, and Contacts — or start from a blank database and design it yourself. 15 field types for every kind of data - Text, Integer, Decimal, Date and Date & Time, Checkbox, Rating, Picklist, Currency, URL,, Email, Phone, Image, Color and File Mix and match to capture exactly what matters. iCloud sync, automatically Your databases sync across all your devices via iCloud. Add a wine to your collection on your iPhone and it's there on your iPad. Your data is also protected by iCloud Backup. Reports and insights See your data come to life with charts and summaries. Built-in templates include tailored reports; track workout trends, see your reading pace, visualize your collection by category and custom databases get auto-generated summary cards. Your data, always portable Export any database as a CSV file to open in Numbers, Excel, or any spreadsheet app. Full JSON backups let you export and restore everything — all databases, fields, records, and images — in a single file. TabulaDB Pro — One-time purchase, no subscription The free version gives you 2 databases with up to 100 records each to explore the app. Upgrade once to unlock everything: - Unlimited databases - Unlimited records - Backup and restore - CSV export - Reports and charts - Custom templates A 7-day free trial gives you full access before you decide. TabulaDB is built for iPhone and requires iOS 17 or later.

Screenshots

Effery4 screens
TabulaDB4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Effery at none against TabulaDB's 1. Effery also leads on device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.1 vs 18.6). On price 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. TabulaDB sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Effery asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Effery versus TabulaDB: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterEfferyTabulaDB
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequency—Every 9 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
Monetization—Free with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.1 — better18.6
Further details — not scored
Size38 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperStefano FagioliBrigg Thorp

In-app purchases

None

Effery

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

TabulaDB

One-time1
  • TabulaDB Pro$4.99

Questions

Is Effery free?
Effery is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is TabulaDB free?
TabulaDB is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Effery or TabulaDB have ads?
Neither Effery nor TabulaDB shows ads.

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