Benchpad vs TreeNote

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.

Turn complex ideas into clear, nested outlines with TreeNote. Create boards for projects, study, planning, and everyday thoughts, then break each idea into focused subnotes. TreeNote keeps deep structures easy to scan while giving every note room for rich detail. FEATURES • Build flexible trees with unlimited nesting • Drag to reorder and swipe for quick actions • Add titles, details, tags, colors, due dates, and multiple images • Choose the simple text editor or TreeNote Pro's premium editor • Format visually or write directly in Markdown • Read safely in Preview mode, with tappable links and KaTeX equations • Import and export JSON, Markdown, and OPML • Keep data local by default, with optional private iCloud sync • Use TreeNote in English, Spanish, or Chinese TreeNote is free for boards with up to 10 notes. TreeNote Pro is a one-time purchase that unlocks unlimited notes per board and the premium Markdown editor.