Comparison

JotBunker vs Beaver Notes

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

Head to head
About

JotBunker

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JotBunker is a note-taking app for your phone and your computer. You jot on your phone. You work and store in your Bunker, a secure computer on your home network. Sync happens over your local Wi-Fi when you choose. No cloud. No accounts. No data ever leaves your network. FOUR WORKSPACES โ€ข Jots: Six numbered slots for quick capture. Each slot holds text, drawings, photos, voice recordings, and file attachments. Fill the slots, sync them to your computer, and clear them for the next round. โ€ข Lists: Todos and checklists. Rename categories, reorder items, check things off on either device. Changes merge when you reconnect. โ€ข Locked Lists: Gate codes, lock combos, membership numbers, safe combinations. Protected behind biometrics and auto-locked the moment you navigate away. โ€ข Scratchpads: Six freeform text areas. Start a thought on your computer, pick it up on your phone. HOW SYNC WORKS Pair once by scanning a QR code. After that, tap Sync whenever you're on your home network. All network traffic is encrypted end-to-end with NaCl. Nothing goes through an external server. From your computer, download jots as plain files (.txt, .jpg, .m4a, .pdf) into folders you choose. Use them with anything: search tools, scripts, a PKM system, or just File Explorer. OPEN SOURCE JotBunker source code is publicly available under the GPL-3.0 license at github.com/johnbrantly/jotbunker. The companion desktop app is available at jotbunker.com.

About

Beaver Notes

Features
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Beaver Notes is a fast, native client for the open-source Beaver Notes server โ€” a self-hosted note wall you run on your own infrastructure. Write markdown notes. Drop in photos, videos and files. Everything lands on your server, nowhere else. No accounts to sign up for, no third-party services, no analytics, no telemetry. FEATURES โ€ข Multi-server โ€” connect to as many self-hosted Beaver Notes servers as you need and switch between them from the sidebar. โ€ข Local-first sync โ€” an outbox queue keeps everything working offline and catches up the moment the server comes back. โ€ข Markdown editor โ€” bold, italic, code, lists, links, headings, with live preview. โ€ข Attachments โ€” photos, videos, and arbitrary files. Images appear in an adaptive grid with a fullscreen viewer. Inline video playback. โ€ข Upload progress โ€” per-file and per-message progress overlays, including retry on failure. โ€ข Image editor โ€” crop, draw, filters, and optional optimization before upload. โ€ข Video trim & optimize โ€” HEIC and H.265 encoding to keep uploads small. โ€ข Quick input โ€” a compact composer at the bottom of the wall for fast capture. โ€ข Search โ€” local full-text search with type, tag, pinned and date filters. โ€ข Spotlight โ€” your notes are findable from the system search. โ€ข Privacy โ€” biometric lock with Face ID / Touch ID, auto-lock timeout, and the option to hide previews in the App Switcher. โ€ข Storage controls โ€” per-server cache size limit and one-tap erase. โ€ข Multi-platform โ€” adapted layouts for iPhone, iPad, and Mac, with native sidebar, context menus, swipe actions, and keyboard shortcuts. PRIVACY The app talks only to the self-hosted server you configure. No analytics SDKs. No third-party services. No developer-side backend. Read the full privacy policy at https://eduard256.github.io/beaver-notes-apple/PRIVACY.md REQUIREMENTS You need a running Beaver Notes server. The server is open source โ€” see https://github.com/eduard256/beaver-notes

Screenshots

JotBunker4 screens
Beaver Notes4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: JotBunker at 15.1 against Beaver Notes's 17.0. On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Scorecard1 real difference ยท 5 level
JotBunker versus Beaver Notes: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterJotBunkerBeaver Notes
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 3 daysโ€”
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac โ€” better
Requires iOS15.1 โ€” better17.0
Further details โ€” not scored
Size46 MB2 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJohn BrantlyArtur Jeremicz

In-app purchases

None

JotBunker

No in-app purchases

None

Beaver Notes

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is JotBunker free?
JotBunker is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Beaver Notes free?
Beaver Notes is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do JotBunker or Beaver Notes have ads?
Neither JotBunker nor Beaver Notes shows ads.

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