OneThing vs Menu Bar Notes
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
OneThing
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1Thing helps you cut through the noise and focus on what truly matters each day. The concept is simple: choose ONE important goal, lock it in, and give it your full attention. When you're done, close it with context — how much impact it had, how difficult it was. If you gave up, close it honestly and move on. ONE GOAL. NOT A LIST. Most productivity apps overwhelm you with tasks. 1Thing does the opposite — it forces you to ask: "What's the ONE thing that, if I do it today, makes everything else easier?" FEATURES · Set one meaningful goal per day · Lock it in with a two-question validation · Mark it as achieved or resigned with reflection · Weekly history to track your progress · Home screen widget (small and medium) · Daily reminders to define and close your goal · Motivational quotes to keep you focused · Beautiful, distraction-free design YOUR DATA. YOUR DEVICE. Everything stays on your iPhone. No accounts, no cloud, no tracking. Just you and your one thing. 1Thing — because less is more.
Menu Bar Notes
Quickly capture thoughts, edit them across devices, and organize with markdown blocks and tabs. Notes sync privately via iCloud, with a 30-day trash recovery option. No accounts or data collection required.
- Block editor with markdown shortcuts
- Collapsible toggle blocks
- Tabbed notes with keyboard navigation
- iCloud sync across devices
- Menu bar quick capture on Mac
- 30-day trash recovery
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Easily reach into your menubar to quickly jot down a thought or reference, edit it on your synced iPhone and iPad app with your private iCloud keeping every device in step. No accounts or signups are needed and no data is collected. I always wanted a simple tool like this and I hope someone else finds it useful. On Mac, it sits in your menu bar. Click the icon or press ⌥⌘N from any app to open your notes, and click the icon again or press Esc to put them away. On iPhone and iPad, it's a clean, touch-first editor that stays out of your way. Markdown Style Blocks Every note is built from blocks: text, headings, collapsible toggles, to-dos with checkboxes, and code. Type shortcuts like "# ", "> ", or "[] " at the start of a line and the block transforms as you write. Toggles nest without limit, so a quick list can grow into a real outline. Browser Style Tabs Notes are tabs. Switch with ⌘1–⌘9, open a new note with ⌘T, close one with ⌘W. Privately Sync over iCloud- No Account Needed iCloud sync keeps iPhone, iPad, and Mac in step automatically. No account to create, no subscription — your notes live in your personal, private iCloud. Forgiving By Design Deleted notes and blocks go to the Trash, where they can be restored for 30 days. FEATURES • Block editor: text, Heading 1 and 2, toggles, to-dos, and code • Markdown-style shortcuts for instant block transforms • Collapsible toggle blocks with unlimited nesting • Duplicate any block along with its children • Menu bar quick capture on Mac, with a global ⌥⌘N (Option-Command-N) hotkey • Tabbed notes with full keyboard navigation on Mac • iCloud sync across iPhone, iPad, and Mac • 30-day Trash with restore • No accounts, no tracking, no data collection Menu Notes stores your notes on your device and syncs them through your own private iCloud database. We can't read them, and we wouldn't want to.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Menu Bar Notes at every 2 weeks against OneThing's every 6 weeks. Menu Bar Notes also leads on device support (4 vs 1) and iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.1). On price, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
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.
OneThing ships an update every 6 weeks, Menu Bar Notes every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 12, 2026 and October 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | OneThing | Menu Bar Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Number of ratings | — | 1 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | — | Free |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Vision Pro — better |
| Requires iOS | 26.1 | 17.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 3 MB | 1 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Grupo Pixeles Latinoamerica, S.A. de C.V. | Olamide Ojumu |
In-app purchases
OneThing
No in-app purchases
Menu Bar Notes
No in-app purchases







