Comparison

Menu Bar Notes vs Ego Chat

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Read full description

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.

About

Ego Chat

Features
Read full description

Ego Chat is an AI chat app that runs directly on your iPhone without sending your conversations to a cloud server by default. LOCAL-FIRST BY DEFAULT Download a GGUF model, chat offline, and keep history on your device. Built for privacy and trips without connectivity. PICK THE RIGHT MODEL Browse a catalogue (Hugging Face), see size, quantization, and a compatibility estimate based on your iPhone’s RAM. Gemma, Llama, Qwen, and more. MULTIMODAL Attach photos, files, or documents when your model supports it (vision). MEMORY & SEARCH (OPTIONAL) Save useful facts to personalize answers. Turn on web search (SearXNG, Tavily or Brave) with your own API key. REMOTE SERVER (OPTIONAL) Connect LM Studio, Ollama, or an OpenAI-compatible API on your PC over Wi‑Fi / Tailscale for larger models, still under your control. Ego Chat : your AI, on your phone.

Screenshots

Menu Bar Notes4 screens
Ego Chat4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Ego Chat at every 4 days against Menu Bar Notes's every 2 weeks. Ego Chat also leads on iOS requirement (15.6 vs 17.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Menu Bar Notes ships an update every 2 weeks, Ego Chat every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 3, 2026 and October 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 7 level
Menu Bar Notes versus Ego Chat: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMenu Bar NotesEgo Chat
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 4 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac, Vision Pro — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS17.015.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size1 MB36 MB
Age rating4+9+
DeveloperOlamide OjumuEthan Ratnarajah

In-app purchases

None

Menu Bar Notes

No in-app purchases

None

Ego Chat

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Menu Bar Notes free?
Menu Bar Notes is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Ego Chat free?
Ego Chat is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Menu Bar Notes or Ego Chat have ads?
Neither Menu Bar Notes nor Ego Chat shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Menu Bar Notes or Ego Chat?
Menu Bar Notes ships an update every 2 weeks, and Ego Chat every 4 days. Most recently, Menu Bar Notes was updated on October 3, 2026 and Ego Chat on October 1, 2026.

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