Comparison

GitNotēs vs Sift

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

Head to head
About

GitNotēs

This app stores your notes and to-dos as plain text files in your Git repositories, offering seamless syncing across devices and full data ownership. It supports various file formats, includes AI features, and integrates with popular Git hosts.

Highlights
  • Notes and to-dos stored in Git repositories
  • Sync via GitHub API or local clone
  • Supports Markdown, Org-mode, and Neorg formats
  • AI-powered features for transcription and suggestions
  • Integration with GitHub, GitLab, and other Git hosts
  • Offline queue and auto-sync capabilities
  • Reminders and templates
Features
Read full description

GitNotes - Notes, Todos and Canvases Backed by Git Your notes are real files in your Git repo. Nothing locks you in. Why GitNotes? - Your data, forever - Every note is a plain Markdown, Neorg, Org, or JSON file in your own Git repository. - Version everything - Edit, branch, diff, and rebase your notes the same way you code. - Works offline - Changes queue locally and sync automatically when you are back online. - Sync anywhere - Connect GitHub, GitLab, Gitea, or any Git host. - Open source - MPL-2.0 licensed, community-driven. Features - Notes, todos, journals, and Excalidraw-style canvases. - Folders, tags, colors, pins, wiki-links, backlinks. - Optional AI chat - Anthropic, OpenAI, Apple Intelligence, on-device Llama. - Biometric lock for privacy. - Light, dark, and system themes. - 6 languages: English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese, Korean.

About

Sift

Features
Read full description

Every document scanner reads your page. Then it saves the file as "2024-05-22 00:45:29" and hands you an empty folder. Sift uses what it just read. Scan a receipt and it saves as "Blue Bottle Coffee - Receipt - Mar 2026", already filed under Receipts. You tap Save, not Rename. Then, weeks later, you swipe down on your Home Screen, type "lease", and there it is - because Sift indexes the text inside every scan into iOS Spotlight. All of it happens on your iPhone. Sift has no servers, no account, and makes no network calls. THE LIBRARY THAT FILES ITSELF • Automatic titles - Sift finds the letterhead, the vendor, and the date, and writes the title for you • Automatic filing - receipts, bills, IDs, contracts, medical records, tax documents, notes • Everything editable - it's a suggestion, not a decision. Change anything before you save. FIND ANYTHING, INSTANTLY • Search the text inside your documents, not just their filenames • Find scans from your Home Screen with Spotlight - no need to open Sift first • Every result opens straight to the document SCANS THAT WORK EVERYWHERE ELSE • Real searchable PDFs - Sift writes an invisible text layer into every export, so you can select and search the text in Preview, Acrobat, or Files. Not just a picture of a page. • Clean captures with automatic edge detection and perspective correction • Four filters - Original, Enhanced, Grayscale, Black & White - applied to every page at once, not one at a time • Import what you already have - photos and PDFs from Photos or Files, read and filed the same way • Sign and mark up a page with your finger - save your signature once and stamp it on any document • Reorder, rotate, split, and drop pages; export as PDF, compressed PDF, or JPG • Fine-tune brightness and contrast on top of the four filters ASK YOUR DOCUMENTS (ON SUPPORTED DEVICES) On iPhones with Apple Intelligence, ask Sift about any scan - "what's the total?", "when does this lease end?" - and get answers from that document, generated entirely on your device. If the answer isn't in the document, Sift says so instead of guessing. No cloud AI, ever. SCAN FROM ANYWHERE • "Hey Siri, scan with Sift" • Add scanning to a Shortcut, your Action Button, or Control Center PRIVATE BY CONSTRUCTION, NOT BY PROMISE • No servers. No account. No sign-up. No network calls. • No analytics. No ads. No third-party SDKs of any kind. • No tracking permission prompt - because there is nothing in Sift to track you with. • Your IDs, contracts, and medical records never leave your iPhone. They can't - there's nowhere for them to go. • Want Sift locked? Long-press its icon and choose Require Face ID - iOS locks it system-wide FREE FOREVER - GENUINELY Unlimited scanning. Unlimited pages. Text recognition. Automatic titling. Automatic filing. Search. Spotlight. PDF export. No limits, no watermark, no ads. We can give this away because it all runs on your device and costs us nothing to serve. There is no paywall in onboarding, ever, and nothing above is gated. Sift shows the price twice on its own, after it titles your first scan and after your first export. Both have a full-size Not now and block nothing. SIFT PRO (OPTIONAL) Adds encrypted backup & restore (pack your whole library into one password-protected file you save wherever you like), document expiry reminders, batch tools, text export, watermarked exports, and password-protected PDFs. Every plan and its true cost is shown on one screen, with the price printed on the button. Weekly or Yearly (each with a 7-day free trial you have to actually choose), or a one-time Lifetime purchase in Settings. Subscriptions auto-renew unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the period ends, and are managed in your Apple Account settings. Lifetime is a one-time purchase and never renews. Privacy Policy: https://ajain26.github.io/app-policies/sift/privacy-policy.html Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

GitNotēs4 screens
Sift4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: GitNotēs at none against Sift's 3. GitNotēs also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs every 2 weeks). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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. Sift sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per 7 days. GitNotēs asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

GitNotēs ships an update every 2 days, Sift every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
GitNotēs versus Sift: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGitNotēsSift
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.0 (2 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews33.3% of reviews—
Number of ratings2 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 days — betterEvery 2 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFreemium—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.4 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size88 MB2 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperXaventraAnshul Jain

In-app purchases

None

GitNotēs

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Sift

Subscriptions2
  • Sift Pro (Weekly)7 Days trial$6.997 Days
  • Sift Pro (Yearly)7 Days trial$34.991 Year
One-time1
  • Sift Pro (Lifetime)$79.99

Questions

Is GitNotēs free?
GitNotēs is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Sift free?
Sift is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do GitNotēs or Sift have ads?
Neither GitNotēs nor Sift shows ads.
Which is updated more often, GitNotēs or Sift?
GitNotēs ships an update every 2 days, and Sift every 2 weeks. Most recently, GitNotēs was updated on October 13, 2026 and Sift on October 14, 2026.

Other comparisons