Comparison

Secret Notes vs Narrativ Timeline

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

Head to head
About

Secret Notes

Features
Read full description

Secret Notes is the private notepad for everything that’s nobody else’s business: thoughts, lists, plans, recordings. No account, no tracking, no ads — your notes stay on your device, encrypted and behind PIN or Face ID. PRIVACY FIRST • App lock with PIN or Face ID, auto-locking after a timeout you choose • Note contents are stored encrypted on your device (AES-256) • Lock individual notes — content only shows after re-authenticating • No account required, no data collection, no ads SEVEN NOTE TYPES • Text with formatting (bold, italic, colors) and [[links]] between notes • Checklists with sub-items and smart auto-checking • Spreadsheets, Markdown, audio and video notes, tally counters ORGANIZE & FIND • Categories, nested folders, colors, pinning, ratings • Search and filters, custom sort by drag & drop • Reminders — including recurring — with an overview screen • “At a Glance” home screen, archive, and trash with auto-cleanup • Templates for recurring notes BACK UP & SYNC • Encrypted backups, portable between devices • Cloud backup and multi-device sync via your own server (Nextcloud/WebDAV) — your data lives only where you decide • Direct device-to-device transfer on your local network EVERYDAY EXTRAS • Widgets: quick add and recently edited notes • Share sheet: save text, links, images and files from other apps • Read notes aloud • Fully localized in English and German FREE & PRO Text, checklist and tally notes, app lock, note lock, categories, reminders and widgets are free. Secret Notes Pro (one-time purchase, no subscription) unlocks spreadsheets, Markdown, audio/video, folders, attachments, note history, PDF export, backups and device sync.

About

Narrativ Timeline

This app helps creative writers plan their stories by mapping out plotlines, characters, locations, and world events. It allows for detailed character and scene planning, capturing loose thoughts, and organizing entire story universes. Export your comprehensive story bible in various formats when planning is complete.

Highlights
  • Character planning with relationships and traits
  • Scene mapping with summaries and plotline tags
  • World event tracking
  • Notepad for loose ideas
  • Series planning and universe building
  • Character relationship graph visualization
  • Exportable story bible (PDF, Word, Markdown)
Features
Read full description

Narrativ is a planning tool for creative writers. Map out the shape of your story. Add a cast, sketch your plotlines, create locations, note important world events, and link it all to the timeline so you can get a clear picture of the structure of your story. Plan your cast Build characters with photos, roles, traits, relationships, and the connections that make them more than a list of names. See who knows whom in a graph. Track who appears in which scene. Plan your scenes Scenes with summaries, tension, cast, and plotline tags. View them as cards, on a timeline, or in story order. This is where the story takes shape. The manuscript comes later, in your writing app of choice. Plan your world The story is ten per cent on the page. The world is the ninety per cent underneath. World Events is where that ninety per cent lives. Everything you know about your world that the reader never sees. Add events with your own when-labels and link them to the scenes that show them. Capture loose thoughts Not every idea is ready to become a character or a scene. Notepad is where it waits until it is. Write one note or a hundred, right inside the story you're planning. Plan a series A universe holds multiple stories that share characters, locations, and world events. Add a story and it inherits the cast. The bundled Sherlock Holmes example shows a three-book universe in action. See the connections The character graph maps your cast as a force-directed network. Characters who share scenes pull closer together, loosely connected characters drift apart. Tap a node to open a character card. Tap a line to see the scenes they share. The graph shows you where relationships are overloaded, where they are thin, and where a connection is missing that the story needs. Wherever the idea strikes Narrativ is universal across iPhone, iPad, and Mac, so you can work at your desk or on the go. Your work syncs through iCloud. One-time purchase, no subscription. Exports When the planning is done, export everything as a story bible. Choose PDF, Word, Markdown, or plain text. Select which sections to include: characters, scenes, plotlines, world events, or the full document. A clean reference to keep open while you write. Go dark With Narrativ, you can choose between light and dark mode, or let the app follow your system settings. Before the story, there's Narrativ.

Screenshots

Secret Notes4 screens
Narrativ Timeline4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Secret Notes at Free against Narrativ Timeline's $24.99. Secret Notes also leads on update cadence (every 3 days vs weekly). Narrativ Timeline's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and iOS requirement (18.0 vs 26.2). On 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

Secret Notes is free to download; Narrativ Timeline costs $24.99 up front. Secret Notes sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Narrativ Timeline asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Secret Notes ships an update every 3 days, Narrativ Timeline weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Secret Notes versus Narrativ Timeline: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSecret NotesNarrativ Timeline
PriceFree — better$24.99
Rating—3.5 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—2 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 days — betterWeekly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
Monetization—Paid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, MaciPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS26.218.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size4 MB20 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAndreas GraufEIRIK ANDRE STEEN

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Secret Notes

One-time1
  • Secret Notes Pro$2.99
None

Narrativ Timeline

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Secret Notes free?
Secret Notes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Narrativ Timeline free?
Narrativ Timeline costs $24.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do Secret Notes or Narrativ Timeline have ads?
Neither Secret Notes nor Narrativ Timeline shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Secret Notes or Narrativ Timeline?
Secret Notes ships an update every 3 days, and Narrativ Timeline weekly. Most recently, Secret Notes was updated on October 14, 2026 and Narrativ Timeline on October 9, 2026.

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