Comparison

Busy B Planner vs Longhand Notes

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

Head to head
About

Busy B Planner

Capture thoughts and tasks in an inbox, then organize them into categories. Plan your day and week with visual tools and gentle reminders. Syncs across devices via iCloud for seamless access.

Highlights
  • Inbox for quick capture
  • Categorization and subcategories
  • Drag-and-drop reordering
  • Due date reminders
  • iPad-optimized layout
  • iCloud sync
Features
Read full description

Busy B Planner is a warm, visual to-do app for people juggling everyday life. Brain-dump anything you need to remember into the Running list the moment it hits you, with no decisions required up front. Then file each task into a category, with optional subcategories, whenever you're ready, so capturing never gets in the way of doing. Add dates and times, flag what matters, repeat what comes back every week, and duplicate a task in one tap. Plan around Today and Tomorrow, and see your whole week at a glance on iPad. Everything syncs across your iPhone, iPad and Mac with iCloud. No account to create, no sign-up required. WHY BUSY B • Running list: capture anything, anytime, then sort it when you're ready • Capture your way: type it, say it with voice capture, or ask Siri: "Add pick up dry cleaning tomorrow to Household in Busy B." • Dates, times and reminders: including a heads-up before something is due • Today & Tomorrow views: see exactly what matters right now • Categories and subcategories: organise your way, drag and drop to arrange them, or sort alphabetically or by date added • Flag & file: swipe to flag your most important tasks or file them into a category • Repeating tasks: daily, weekly or monthly • Duplicate: copy a task, with its date, reminder, repeat and category, in one tap • iPad Command Centre: a full three-pane layout built for iPad, not a stretched iPhone app • iCloud sync: your tasks, everywhere, automatically • Nine hand-crafted themes, with dark mode BUSY B INTELLIGENCE • Daily briefing: open the app to a short, on-device read of what matters today, not just a count • One-tap filing: on-device intelligence sorts your Running list into the right categories, and you review before anything moves • Catch-up: a look at tasks you keep skipping, each with a suggested next step • Voice capture: tap the mic and just talk. Busy B adds the task with the date filled in and takes its best guess at the category Busy B Intelligence is built with Apple Intelligence. Every suggestion is generated on your device. Nothing is sent to us, and nothing trains a model. Voice capture needs iOS 26 or later, and its date and category suggestions, like the briefing, filing and catch-up, need an Apple Intelligence-capable device with Apple Intelligence turned on. The rest of Busy B works on every supported device. BUSY B PRO Try Busy B Pro free for 7 days with the yearly plan. After that, choose monthly, yearly or lifetime. Pro unlocks unlimited categories and subcategories, every theme, repeating tasks, voice capture and Busy B Intelligence. Your task data stays yours: synced privately through your own iCloud account. Simple enough to open and start typing. Powerful enough to organise a busy life. Subscription details: Busy B Pro is available as a monthly or yearly auto-renewing subscription, or as a one-time lifetime purchase. The 7-day free trial applies to the yearly plan for new subscribers; after the trial it renews at the yearly price shown in the app. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel in Settings > Apple Account > Subscriptions. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://busybplanner.com/privacy

About

Longhand Notes

Features
Read full description

Longhand is an endless board for your ideas. Put notes, checklists, documents, images, videos, audio recordings, PDFs, links and handwriting on one canvas, and arrange them however you think. Group what belongs together, connect related ideas, and zoom out to see the whole picture. Share a board and work on it together in real time. Your boards sync instantly across your Mac, iPad and iPhone through iCloud. There's no account to create. Make it yours with desk surfaces like wood, cork and dark grid, and pick your own fonts and colors. Less clutter, more clarity. LONGHAND PRO Unlock every Pro feature with a monthly or yearly subscription, or a one-time lifetime purchase. Payment is charged to your Apple Account. Subscriptions renew automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can manage or cancel them in your Apple Account settings. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://app.notion.com/p/thematigran/Longhand-Notes-375aa51a882680d5864ac338e183aa44

Screenshots

Busy B Planner4 screens
Longhand Notes3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Busy B Planner at every 4 days against Longhand Notes's fortnightly. 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. Busy B Planner sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Longhand Notes sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Busy B Planner ships an update every 4 days, Longhand Notes fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Busy B Planner versus Longhand Notes: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBusy B PlannerLonghand Notes
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (10 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings10 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterFortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, MaciPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS18.018.0
Further details — not scored
Size21 MB44 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMakram AtiyahMatias Villagran

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Busy B Planner

Subscriptions2
  • Busy B Pro - Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Busy B Pro - Annual$19.991 Year
One-time1
  • Busy B Pro - Lifetime$59.99
3 purchases

Longhand Notes

Subscriptions2
  • Longhand Pro$1.991 Month
  • Longhand Pro$19.991 Year
One-time1
  • Longhand Pro Lifetime$39.99

Questions

Is Busy B Planner free?
Busy B Planner is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Longhand Notes free?
Longhand Notes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Busy B Planner or Longhand Notes have ads?
Neither Busy B Planner nor Longhand Notes shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Busy B Planner or Longhand Notes?
Busy B Planner ships an update every 4 days, and Longhand Notes fortnightly. Most recently, Busy B Planner was updated on October 31, 2026 and Longhand Notes on October 28, 2026.

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