Comparison

Secret Notes vs Ahti

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

Ahti

This writing application provides a peaceful, uncluttered interface for planning, drafting, and finishing long-form projects like novels or screenplays. It offers tools for structuring your work, writing without distraction, and exporting your finished manuscript in various formats.

Highlights
  • Binder for chapters and scenes
  • Corkboard for scene flash cards
  • Outliner for structure overview
  • Distraction-free writing modes
  • Word goal and daily pace tracking
  • Export to ePub, Word, PDF
  • Customizable themes and styles
Features
Read full description

Ahti is somewhere quiet to finish writing your long-form book. It gives you what you need to plan, draft, and finish a novel, screenplay, or thesis. It's a peaceful, uncluttered interface that stays out of the way so you can focus on writing. PLAN THE SHAPE OF YOUR BOOK Keep your whole story in one place. The binder holds your chapters and scenes. The corkboard turns each scene into a rearrangeable flash card for structuring and quick reference. The outliner gives you a bird's-eye view of your structure and all the data that comes with it. WRITE WITHOUT DISTRACTION Write in a clean editor, or fold a chapters and scenes into one long manuscript so you can write straight through. Additionally, Composition Mode keeps it simple when all you want is the ink and the page. KEEP TRACK, AND FINISH Set a word goal and a daily pace to keep yourself moving. Take a snapshot before a big revision so you can always go back to an earlier draft. When the book is done, compile it to ePub, Word, PDF, and more, with a table of contents, chapter numbering, and your own title page. LOOK THE PART Choose between light and dark mode, or import your own custom themes so your workspace looks and feels like your story. The style editor gives you complete control over every color, font, and formatting of Ahti. YOUR WORK STAYS YOURS An Ahti project is an ordinary folder of plain text files on your own disk. You can open it in Finder or any other writing app, and nothing is trapped in a proprietary format. Turn on iCloud and your books follow you from Mac to iPad to iPhone. There are no sign ins or accounts to create, and unless you choose to sync to iCloud, everything is completely offline. There are robust features when you need them without disrupting your flow: • Wiki-style links between documents • Collections and saved searches • Places for characters and notes • Comments and footnotes • Light and dark themes • Writing targets and history Ahti is built to be calm and quiet, while being rich in functionality when you need it.

Screenshots

Secret Notes4 screens
Ahti4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Secret Notes at Free against Ahti's $5.99. Secret Notes also leads on update cadence (every 3 days vs every 6 days). Ahti's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and iOS requirement (14.0 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; Ahti costs $5.99 up front. Secret Notes sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Ahti asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Secret Notes ships an update every 3 days, Ahti every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Secret Notes versus Ahti: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSecret NotesAhti
PriceFree — better$5.99
Rating—5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—2 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 days — betterEvery 6 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
Monetization—Paid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, MaciPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better
Requires iOS26.214.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size4 MB7 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAndreas GraufBret Merritt

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Secret Notes

One-time1
  • Secret Notes Pro$2.99
None

Ahti

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Secret Notes free?
Secret Notes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Ahti free?
Ahti costs $5.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do Secret Notes or Ahti have ads?
Neither Secret Notes nor Ahti shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Secret Notes or Ahti?
Secret Notes ships an update every 3 days, and Ahti every 6 days. Most recently, Secret Notes was updated on October 14, 2026 and Ahti on October 8, 2026.

Other comparisons