Local Notes vs Geodesic
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Local Notes
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Ever find yourself trying to remember the name of that one specific taco place, or the exact spot where a hiking trail got confusing? Most of us keep these mental notes, but they are easy to lose. Local Notes: Map Your Memories is your private, map-based journal for every place you want to remember. This is not a social network or a public review site. It is a space for your eyes only. Pin personal ratings, photos, and reminders to real-world locations. Whether it is a favorite coffee shop, a hidden park bench, or a hotel from your last vacation, Local Notes keeps those details organized and searchable on a map. Capture your world with ease: - Quick Pins: Long-press anywhere on the map to drop a pin, or use "Note at Current Location" to save a memory exactly where you are standing. - Post-it Style Markers: Customize your map with 10 themed color palettes (like Miami, Rio, or Bora Bora) to keep your notes visually organized. - Private Content: Write up to 10,000 characters per note, attach photos, and set star ratings without worrying about a public feed. - Specialized Templates: Use structured fields for Restaurants (cuisine, price, meal type), Hikes (difficulty, distance, trail type), Hotels, and more. Your data stays private and secure. Local Notes uses on-device encryption with keys stored in your secure keychain. Start in Guest Mode to keep everything stored locally, or sign in to sync your notes across devices via the cloud. Core Features: - Search and pin places using Google Maps integration. - Four note types: Experience, Tip, Plan, and Warning. - View notes in split, full map, list, or masonry grid modes. - Home screen widgets for nearby notes or single-note pinning. - Export your data as PDF or CSV. - Full accessibility support for VoiceOver. Subscription Tiers: - Free: $0. Includes up to 25 notes, 1 nearby alert, cloud backups, and offline support (contains ads). - Plus: $4.99 (one-time payment). Everything in Free plus zero ads, up to 100 notes, 3 collections, 3 nearby alerts, photos, smart search, and basic stats. - Pro: $1.99/mo or $19.99/year. Unlocks everything including unlimited notes and collections, travel mode, shared collections, smart templates, PDF exports, and full web app access. Stop relying on your memory and start mapping your world. Download Local Notes today. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Geodesic
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Geodesic helps you explore and visualize your personal footprint, track visited countries, and log daily locations — all while protecting your privacy. Unlocking spots is so satisfying — even on daily routes, you'll want to fill in those map gaps and explore more. - Intuitive Activity Map View: Browse your location history and visit records on an interactive map, quickly reviewing your movement trail for any given day. - Automatic Visit Detection: Automatically organizes stop points into visit records, helping you understand when and where you stayed (work, home, tourist spots, etc.). - Visit & Record Editing: Directly correct inaccurate stay durations or locations, and merge or split visit records to better reflect your real-world experience. - Reverse Geocoding: Converts coordinates into readable addresses or place names, making it easy to identify visited locations (country / city / landmark). - Country & Geographic Classification: Automatically tags locations with their corresponding country, supporting quick filtering and statistics (e.g., viewing visit counts by country). - Import & Export: Easily export raw tracks or organized visit lists, or import JSON files from other services — great for sharing and backup. - iCloud Sync & Backup Options: Optionally use iCloud to sync data across devices, with built-in backup functionality to prevent data loss. - Local-First, Privacy-Focused: Your data lives primarily on your device or iCloud (under your control) — the app never force-uploads your location to third-party servers. - Performance & Battery Optimization: Optimized for long-term location logging to minimize battery drain and storage overhead. - History Search & Filtering: Quickly search and filter past records by date, location, country, or custom tags. - Map Export & Sharing Interface: Generate shareable map views or export files in just a few steps — perfect for sharing with friends or creating personal backups. - Multilingual & Localization Support: The interface uses localized strings to deliver a great experience for users across different languages. Example use cases: - Travel Review: Quickly look up your trip routes, stop locations, and dates as a personal memory or to share with others. - Private Journal: Use visit detection and editing to build an accurate log of your daily routines without relying on third-party services. - Data Integration: Import historical tracks from other services, let Geodesic automatically clean and categorize them, and get a clean, usable visit list.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Geodesic at none against Local Notes's 3. Geodesic also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 6 days vs every 3 weeks). Local Notes's advantage is iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). On price 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
Both are free to download. Local Notes sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Geodesic asks for nothing beyond the download.
Local Notes ships an update every 3 weeks, Geodesic every 6 days. Both last shipped on October 31, 2026.
| Parameter | Local Notes | Geodesic |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Every 6 days — better |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 75 MB | 30 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Nicholas Saulino | CHENG WEI TUNG |
In-app purchases
Local Notes
- Local Notes Pro (Monthly)$1.991 Month
- Local Notes Pro (Yearly)$19.991 Year
- Local Notes Plus$4.99
Geodesic
No in-app purchases









