SurveyNotes vs Intent
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
SurveyNotes
This professional tool assists surveyors, engineers, and contractors with precise grade and elevation calculations in the field. It functions as a digital field book, recording instrument setups, benchmark elevations, and foresight shots with timestamps. Export your data as professional PDFs for easy sharing.
- Differential leveling calculations
- Instrument setup in seconds
- Session-based field book recording
- Professional PDF export
- Offline functionality
- Custom measurement keyboard
- Dark mode interface
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SurveyNotes is a professional differential leveling tool built for surveyors, engineers, and contractors who need a reliable field book in their pocket. Set up your instrument in seconds. Enter your benchmark elevation and backsight rod reading and SurveyNotes instantly calculates your Height of Instrument. From there, enter any desired elevation and get the exact rod reading you need to hit grade. FIELD BOOK RECORDING Every shot you record is saved to a session-based field book — organized by instrument setup, exactly the way a real level book works. Each session stores your benchmark, backsight, HI, and every foresight shot with notes and timestamps. PROFESSIONAL PDF EXPORT Export any session as a clean, print-ready PDF formatted like a traditional differential leveling field book. Share it by email or AirDrop directly from the app. BUILT FOR THE FIELD • Works completely offline — no account, no internet required • Dark mode interface easy on the eyes in all lighting conditions • Custom measurement keyboard supporting decimal feet, feet-inches, and fractions to the nearest 1/16" • Sessions are saved automatically and available across app launches SURVEYING TERMINOLOGY SurveyNotes uses standard differential leveling terminology — Benchmark (BM), Backsight (BS), Height of Instrument (HI), and Foresight (FS) — so it fits naturally into any professional workflow. All data is stored locally on your device and never transmitted anywhere.
Intent
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Use your phone on purpose — not out of habit. Intent is a calm, beautiful digital wellbeing app that helps you focus, understand your screen time, and build lasting habits. It's powered by Apple's Screen Time technology, and it's completely free — no subscriptions, no in-app purchases, no ads. FOCUS SESSIONS Start a focus session in one tap. Intent gently blocks distracting apps for as long as you choose, so deep work stays deep. A Live Activity keeps your remaining time on the Lock Screen and Dynamic Island, and Home Screen widgets keep your goal in view. SCREEN TIME ANALYTICS, DONE RIGHT Apple shows you the numbers. Intent shows you what they mean. See clear daily and weekly breakdowns of where your time goes, track your focus score, and watch your progress build over time. INSIGHTS THAT RESPECT YOU Intent surfaces gentle, actionable insights like "you spend most of your social media time after 9 PM" — never shame, never judgment, never medical claims. Insights are deterministic and generated entirely on your device. DAILY GOALS & WEEKLY REPORTS Set a daily intention and let Intent help you keep it. A weekly report shows the trend that matters: are you moving toward the life you want? PRIVACY-FIRST BY DESIGN Your usage data stays on your device. Insights are computed locally — there's no advertising, no profile-building, no selling of your data. Optional iCloud sync keeps your sessions and preferences seamlessly up to date across your devices, secured by your Apple account. BUILT FOR iOS - Focus Sessions with app blocking - Live Activities on the Lock Screen & Dynamic Island - Home Screen widgets - Daily goals and streaks - Weekly reports and focus score - On-device insights - iCloud sync - Full Dark Mode, Dynamic Type, and VoiceOver support MADE FOR Students, software engineers, creators, remote workers, parents, and anyone who wants a more intentional relationship with their phone. Intent is free, forever. Start your first focus session today.
Screenshots
Verdict
SurveyNotes and Intent are too close to call on the numbers: across 6 compared parameters — price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.
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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 20, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | SurveyNotes | Intent |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (3 ratings) — better | — |
| Number of ratings | 3 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Weekly | Weekly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 26.2 | 26.2 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 2 MB | 4 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Nicholas VanderKlip | Ravikiran Basavaraju |
In-app purchases
SurveyNotes
No in-app purchases
Intent
No in-app purchases









