Comparison

Grid Notes App 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

Grid Notes App

Features
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Instead of lists and folders, you get a zoomable grid where you can place notes wherever they feel right - cluster related ideas together, spread a project across the canvas, or keep a corner just for quick thoughts. FEATURES - Large canvas โ€” pan and zoom freely across a grid canvas - Place notes anywhere โ€” long press anywhere on the canvas to drop a note - Rich notes โ€” add a title, body text, color, images, videos, and PDF attachments - Pin notes โ€” lock important notes in place so they don't move while you pan - Search โ€” find any note instantly by title or content - Export & import โ€” back up all your notes as a single JSON file - Fully offline โ€” everything stays on your device, nothing is sent anywhere DESIGNED FOR FOCUS No accounts. No subscriptions. No ads. No cloud sync. Just you and your canvas. Grid Notes is built for people who think spatially - writers mapping out a story, developers tracking ideas across a project, students connecting concepts, or anyone who finds flat lists too limiting. PRIVACY All your notes, images, and files are stored locally on your device. Grid Notes does not collect any personal data and has no internet connection.

About

Beaver Notes

Features
Read full description

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

Grid Notes App2 screens
Beaver Notes4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: Grid Notes App at 13.0 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 4 level
Grid Notes App versus Beaver Notes: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGrid Notes AppBeaver Notes
PriceFreeFree
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS13.0 โ€” better17.0
Further details โ€” not scored
Size25 MB2 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJimmy NordstromArtur Jeremicz

In-app purchases

None

Grid Notes App

No in-app purchases

None

Beaver Notes

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Grid Notes App free?
Grid Notes App 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 Grid Notes App or Beaver Notes have ads?
Neither Grid Notes App nor Beaver Notes shows ads.

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