Comparison

Cipher vs Nota

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

Head to head
About

Cipher

Features
Read full description

Cipher turns your voice into organized notes โ€” and now into reminders and calendar events too. 100% free. 100% on-device. Speak freely, AI does the rest. No account. No cloud. No subscription. Open the app and talk. WHAT IT DOES Tap record and speak. Cipher transcribes you in real time, then AI structures everything automatically: โ€ข A clean title and short summary โ€ข A project tag (Personal, Work, Health, Finance, or your own) โ€ข Searchable keywords NEW: AI THAT ACTUALLY DOES THINGS Cipher's AI doesn't just read your notes โ€” it acts on them. โ€ข "Remind me to call Mom on Friday" โ†’ real reminder, on your iPhone โ€ข "Schedule a call with Sarah next Tuesday at 3pm" โ†’ calendar event, created โ€ข "Find me a free hour this week" โ†’ AI checks your calendar and suggests slots โ€ข Todos with deadlines can become reminders automatically Every action asks for your confirmation first. Nothing happens behind your back. ASK FLOW โ€” CHAT WITH YOUR NOTES A built-in AI chat that already knows what you've recorded. โ€ข Ask anything about your past notes โ€” "what did I say about Q3?" โ€ข Summarize a day, a week, or a project in one tap โ€ข Brainstorm with an AI that builds on your own ideas PRIVATE BY DESIGN โ€ข 100% on-device AI โ€” works offline, on a plane, anywhere โ€ข No login, no sign-up, no tracking, no analytics โ€ข Your voice and notes never leave your phone โ€ข Stored in your iPhone's secure storage FREE FOREVER No subscription. No paywall. No in-app purchases. Use every feature, forever, without paying. CHOOSE YOUR AI Pick from a wide range of free open-source AI models that run entirely on your device โ€” from lightweight options that work on any iPhone to larger, higher-quality models for newer devices. Cipher recommends the right one for your phone. Prefer cloud AI? Bring your own key from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Groq, DeepSeek, or OpenRouter. Your key, direct to the provider โ€” no middleman, no markup. SMART TODO EXTRACTION AI catches action items from natural speech โ€” "I need to," "remember to," "should," "have to" โ€” and pulls out deadlines automatically. View every todo across every note in one place. PROJECT ORGANIZATION Notes auto-sort into projects. Create your own. See note counts and todo progress at a glance. WHO IT'S FOR โ€ข Students capturing lecture thoughts โ€ข Founders dumping ideas between meetings โ€ข Writers thinking through drafts out loud โ€ข Anyone whose best ideas show up while walking, driving, or in the shower Cipher is for people who think out loud. Capture the thought โ€” let AI do the organizing, and now, the scheduling too.

About

Nota

Features
Read full description

Stay in the conversation. Turn your recordings into notes you can use. Nota helps you capture meetings, lectures, interviews and ideas on your iPhone, then turn selected recordings into transcripts, summaries and action items with AI. RECORD OR IMPORT Record a voice note, pause when you need to, or bring an existing audio recording in from Files. Keep the original audio on your iPhone. GET THE DETAILS IN WRITING Create a transcript with speaker labels, review what was said and edit the text. Read a structured summary with key points, decisions and next steps. ASK ABOUT YOUR NOTE Ask Nota questions about the current conversation. Find a decision, clarify a detail or revisit an idea using your note's transcript and summary. FOLLOW THROUGH Keep action items in your task list and check them off. Organize notes into folders, star favorites and search by title. Copy or share summary and transcript text when you need to pass it on. CHOOSE WHAT YOU UPLOAD Your notebook and original recordings are stored on your iPhone. You choose which recordings to send to Nota's servers and OpenAI for cloud transcription and AI processing. An internet connection is required for cloud features. No app account is required. START FREE, ADD MORE WITH NOTA PRO Use local recording and organization features, plus a limited free allowance for cloud audio processing and AI answers. Nota Pro offers weekly and yearly subscriptions with larger allowances. Current prices, allowances and any eligible free trial are shown in the app before purchase. Subscriptions renew automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Payment is charged to your Apple Account. Manage or cancel your subscription in your App Store account settings. Any unused part of a free trial is forfeited when you purchase a subscription, where applicable. AI-generated transcripts, summaries and answers may contain mistakes. Review important details and obtain permission before recording others. Privacy Policy: https://notetakerservice.win/privacy/ Terms of Use: https://notetakerservice.win/terms/ Support: https://notetakerservice.win/support/

Screenshots

Cipher4 screens
Nota4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Cipher at none against Nota's 4. Cipher also leads on iOS requirement (16.0 vs 18.0). Nota's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 5 weeks) and device support (3 vs 1). On price and ads 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. Nota sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per 7 days. Cipher asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Cipher ships an update every 5 weeks, Nota weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences ยท 2 level
Cipher versus Nota: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCipherNota
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeksWeekly โ€” better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo โ€” betterYes
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch โ€” better
Requires iOS16.0 โ€” better18.0
Further details โ€” not scored
Size69 MB26 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperAgrima PandeyICHD LLC

In-app purchases

None

Cipher

No in-app purchases

4 purchases

Nota

Subscriptions4
  • Nota Pro Weekly7 Days trial$9.997 Days
  • Nota Ultra Monthly$29.991 Month
  • Nota Pro Yearly$69.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Nota Ultra Yearly$239.991 Year

Questions

Is Cipher free?
Cipher is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Nota free?
Nota is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Cipher or Nota have ads?
Neither Cipher nor Nota shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Cipher or Nota?
Cipher ships an update every 5 weeks, and Nota weekly. Most recently, Cipher was updated on October 31, 2026 and Nota on November 6, 2026.

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