Comparison

F·NOTES vs Benchpad

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

Head to head
About

F·NOTES

Read full description

F·NOTES is a fast, minimal notes app. Write, organize, and access your notes from anywhere — offline or online, always in sync.

About

Benchpad

Features
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Benchpad is a scratchpad, not a second brain. Three pads. You name them — Work / Personal / Scratch, Today / This Week / Someday, whatever fits your head. No folders, no tags, no filing decisions. Open, type, close. WRITE WITHOUT DECIDING Every note app asks "where does this go?" before you've written a word. Benchpad doesn't. Three pads means the decision is already made. WORKS ON A PLANE Offline-first, not offline-tolerant. Every keystroke saves to your device before any network request. Sync happens in the background when you're online — and merges conflict-free if you edited on two devices at once. CONSTRAINT IS THE PRODUCT Benchpad is for people who want to write things down — not maintain a system. A note app that knows when to stop. When you can't create infinite folders, you write instead of organizing. Constraint isn't a compromise. It's the product. A REAL EDITOR Headings, checklists, tables, code blocks with syntax highlighting, images, file attachments all with slash commands and a block editor. NO AI. NO ADS. NO DATA MINING. Nothing reads, summarizes, or trains on your notes. Notes are encrypted at rest. Plain markdown — copy everything out anytime, no lock-in. FREE FOREVER, REALLY One pad, the full editor, offline support, sync, and an archive of 100 notes — free, no credit card, no time limit. Pro ($10/year flat) unlocks all three pads, all six themes, attachments, voice-note audio, and Markdown/PDF export. Benchpad is for people who want to write things down — not maintain a system. A note app that knows when to stop.

Screenshots

Benchpad4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: F·NOTES at none against Benchpad's 1. Benchpad's advantage is device support and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Benchpad sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $9.99 per year. F·NOTES asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scorecard3 real differences · 3 level
F·NOTES versus Benchpad: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterF·NOTESBenchpad
PriceFreeFree
Update frequency—Fortnightly
Ads—No
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
Devices—iPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size0 MB113 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNathan FastGagandeep Singh

In-app purchases

None

F·NOTES

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Benchpad

Subscriptions1
  • Benchpad Pro$9.991 Year

Questions

Is F·NOTES free?
F·NOTES is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Benchpad free?
Benchpad is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

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