Comparison

Present Past vs Fire Notes

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

Head to head
About

Present Past

Features
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Present Past is a simple journaling app built around a timeline. It helps you capture small moments as they happen and quietly brings them back later, when they feel new again. Instead of long, structured entries, you can write short notes throughout the day. Thoughts, events, or even something you don’t want to forget. Over time, they form a personal history you can revisit anytime. ### Key Features - Timeline-based journaling Your entries are organized in a clean, chronological timeline, making it easy to browse your past. - Quick capture Open the app and start writing immediately. No friction, no setup. - Hashtags for flexible organization Add tags to your entries and follow threads across time. - Resurface past moments Revisit entries from the past and rediscover thoughts you’ve forgotten. - Text-first experience Designed to keep your focus on thoughts rather than media. - Private and simple Your data stays on your device. No accounts, no distractions.

About

Fire Notes

Features
Read full description

Fire Notes is a private notebook for writing, scanning paper, and dictating by voice - with one unusual feature: you can burn a note. Real fire, rendered live on your screen - the paper catches, curls, chars and falls away as ash. When the flame goes out, the note is gone. It's oddly satisfying. It's also the point. WRITE ANYTHING β€’ A fast, beautiful editor with rich text, checklists, headings and highlights β€’ Choose your paper and your handwriting β€” from clean type to a looping script β€’ Photos, shelves and pinned notes on a board you can rearrange by hand β€’ Everything stays searchable, right up until you let it go LET IT GO β€’ Burn a note in a moment, or hold for the full cinematic ceremony β€’ Blow on the microphone to light the flame β€” yes, really β€’ Burn-after timers: write something tonight, let it release itself tomorrow β€’ Every burn leaves an ember in Ashes β€” proof something was released, without the words SCAN YOUR PAPER β€’ Point the camera at a receipt, bill or letter β€” Fire Notes finds the edges, straightens the page and files it β€’ Every scan is read on your device, so the words inside are searchable. Find a receipt by what it says, not by what you named it β€’ Scans live in their own shelves β€” Receipts, Bills, Documents β€” separate from your notes β€’ And when a document has done its job, shred it. The same fire, for paper you're finished with PRIVATE BY DESIGN β€’ Your notes and your scans live on your device and in your own iCloud, never on our servers β€’ Face ID app lock, plus a separate lock for the notes that matter most β€’ No account. No tracking. No ads. ALSO IN THE BOX β€’ Dictate a note out loud with on-device speech recognition β€’ On-device AI to fix, rewrite or reshape what you wrote β€” nothing is sent away β€’ Export a note as text or PDF when you decide to keep it after all FIRE NOTES+ A one-time purchase. No subscription, ever. It unlocks the document scanner, voice dictation, the AI writing tools and clean, watermark-free exports. Buy it once and it's yours, on every device you sign in with. The notebook itself stays free. Write as much as you like. Burn as much as you like. Write it down. Let it go.

Screenshots

Present Past4 screens
Fire Notes4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Present Past at none against Fire Notes's 1. Present Past also leads on iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.0). On price, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price Β· Rating Β· Positive reviews Β· Number of ratings Β· Update frequency Β· Ads Β· In-app purchases Β· Monetization Β· Best chart rank Β· Devices Β· Requires iOS

CostPrice Β· In-app purchases Β· Ads Β· Monetization

Both are free to download. Fire Notes sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Present Past asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scorecard2 real differences Β· 4 level
Present Past versus Fire Notes: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPresent PastFire Notes
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 4 daysβ€”
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo β€” betterYes
DevicesiPhone, iPod β€” betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.1 β€” better17.0
Further details β€” not scored
Size33 MB16 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSeungEun LeeIvan Trendafilovski

In-app purchases

None

Present Past

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Fire Notes

One-time1
  • Fire Notes+ Lifetime$9.99

Questions

Is Present Past free?
Present Past is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Fire Notes free?
Fire Notes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Present Past or Fire Notes have ads?
Neither Present Past nor Fire Notes shows ads.

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