Benchpad vs NanoPad

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.

NanoPad is a quiet place to catch a thought, keep a checklist, and save a useful link. Notes, tasks, and URLs stay connected: write in a note, then find the task or link in its own view. WRITE YOUR WAY Use Markdown or the formatting toolbar for headings, lists, checkboxes, tables, links, and images. Search across your notes, return to recently opened work, and export your writing as Markdown, plain text, or PDF. KEEP YOUR NOTES TOGETHER Your notes are stored on your device and sync through your personal iCloud account when available. Share text or a web page to NanoPad from other apps. START FREE, UNLOCK WHEN YOU NEED MORE Free includes five fully editable personal notes, plus iCloud sync and export. If you have more than five notes after a trial or purchase ends, every note stays visible, searchable, copyable, and exportable; the first five remain editable. NanoPad Lifetime is one in-app purchase for unlimited editable notes and every available theme, font, and paper style. You can choose a free 7-day trial of the full app first. It requires no payment and does not renew automatically. When the trial ends, paid features lock unless you buy Lifetime; your writing stays yours. On Mac, the same App Store purchase also unlocks sticky note windows, Focus Writing, and linked Markdown folders.