Comparison

Nokosu vs LIFE/CTRL

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

Head to head
About

Nokosu

Capture fleeting thoughts and inspirations on a clean, clutter-free interface. Organize notes effortlessly by stacking them into folders or using drag-and-drop. Unlock advanced features like favorites, nested folders, and custom themes with an optional Pro subscription.

Highlights
  • Fast idea capture
  • Stacking for automatic folder creation
  • Drag & drop organization
  • Customizable themes (Pro)
  • Favorites and nested folders (Pro)
  • iCloud sync (Pro)
Read full description

Nokosu is an app for instantly "keeping" memos, to-dos, camera photos, album images, and more. With its simple, effortless feel, you can jot down your thoughts just as they come. โ–  Capture the moment One button in the bottom-right corner. Text, a photo you snap on the spot, or an image from your library โ€” save it the instant it comes to mind. โ–  Memos and to-dos Text you want to keep goes in a memo; things to get done go in a to-do. Both are just as quick to save the moment they come to mind โ€” and you can switch between memo and to-do anytime. โ–  Stack to organize Just stack one memo onto another and a new folder is created automatically. Things tidy themselves with a simple touch. โ–  Drag & drop, freely Move memos and folders anywhere with drag & drop. Reorder them, move them in and out of folders โ€” everything just as you like. โ–  Look back on the calendar You can browse your memos on a calendar, by the date they were created. โ–  iCloud sync Sync your memos in real time across devices signed in with the same Apple ID. โ–  Bookmarks Bookmark important memos and call them up anytime from the Bookmarks list. โ€• Nokosu Pro โ€• A monthly plan that bundles features for keeping things even more conveniently. โ–  Nested folders The free version lets you create folders at the top level only; with Pro, you can also create folders on deeper levels. โ–  Locked Folder Lock sensitive memos, images, and folders with Face ID. Nothing in the Locked Folder appears on Home, in search, or in any list, and you can move existing memos, images, and folders into it. โ–  Full history in Memos & Images On the Memos and Images pages, look back at memos and images older than one month. โ–  All themes available In addition to the default Light theme, dress up the app with Dark, Beige, Navy, and White. โ–  Customize how folders look Set a color and an icon for each folder. The free version comes with the basic colors, and Pro unlocks every color and every icon. โ–  Quick input The keyboard appears the moment you open the app, so you can start writing right away without tapping the input button. โ–  Lock Screen widget Create a note or add a photo with a single tap from the Nokosu widget on your Lock Screen. โ–  Control Center widget Create a note or add a photo with a single tap from the Nokosu widget in Control Center or on the Action button. โ–  Save to Photos too When you capture a photo memo in the app, you can also copy the photo to your Photo Library. Terms of Use https://nokosu.app/en/terms/ Privacy Policy https://nokosu.app/en/privacy/

About

LIFE/CTRL

This app helps you build and manage daily routines using customizable templates. It allows you to create reusable activity blocks, arrange them into daily schedules, and assign these schedules to specific dates. Widgets provide at-a-glance progress and task completion without needing to open the app.

Highlights
  • AI-powered day creation
  • Reusable activity parts
  • Customizable LIFE templates
  • Calendar assignment
  • Home and Lock Screen widgets
  • TODO items and alarms
Features
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LIFE/CTRL turns everyday actions into reusable parts that you arrange into a daily template called a LIFE. Create separate LIFE templates for workdays, days off, night shifts and any other pattern, then assign them to dates in your calendar. โ–  Create with CTRL Answer a few questions and CTRL builds a day from wake-up to sleep. You can also type a request to adjust an existing LIFE, create a part, or add TODO items and alarms. โ–  Build reusable parts Turn brushing your teeth, meals, work, shopping and other activities into timed parts. Choose an icon and colour, then reuse each part across multiple LIFE templates. โ–  Arrange your day Place parts inside blocks such as WAKE, WORK, HOME and SLEEP. Since wake-up starts the day and sleep ends it, schedules that cross midnight, including night shifts, work naturally. โ–  Assign LIFE templates to dates Assign a LIFE to a calendar date to create that day. Keep settings that apply every time separate from changes for one specific date. โ–  Run the day from widgets Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets show the current block and its parts. Mark actions complete without opening the app. โ–  TODO items and alarms Store belongings or steps inside a part as TODO items. Alarms support sound, snooze and vibration-only options. Available in Japanese, English, Simplified Chinese, Korean and Spanish. Free, with no ads or in-app purchases. Your routine data stays on your device and is not sent outside the app. Alarm features require iOS 26 or later.

Screenshots

Nokosu4 screens
LIFE/CTRL4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: LIFE/CTRL at none against Nokosu's 1. LIFE/CTRL also leads on update cadence (daily vs every 6 days) and review sentiment (100% vs 88%). On price, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Both are free to download. Nokosu sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $2.99 per month. LIFE/CTRL asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Nokosu ships an update every 6 days, LIFE/CTRL daily. The most recent releases landed on October 2, 2026 and October 4, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences ยท 3 level
Nokosu versus LIFE/CTRL: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNokosuLIFE/CTRL
PriceFreeFree
Positive reviews87.5% of reviews100.0% of reviews โ€” better
Update frequencyEvery 6 daysDaily โ€” better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo โ€” better
MonetizationFreemiumFree โ€” better
DevicesiPhoneiPhone
Requires iOS26.017.0 โ€” better
Further details โ€” not scored
Size29 MB8 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperYuto SasakiYUKIYA SHIMODA

Customer experience

Nokosu

Written reviews8 reviews
Positive87.5%
Neutral12.5%
Negative0.0%

LIFE/CTRL

Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Nokosu

Subscriptions1
  • Nokosu Pro7 Days trial$2.991 Month
None

LIFE/CTRL

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Nokosu free?
Nokosu is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is LIFE/CTRL free?
LIFE/CTRL is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Nokosu or LIFE/CTRL have ads?
Neither Nokosu nor LIFE/CTRL shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Nokosu or LIFE/CTRL?
Nokosu ships an update every 6 days, and LIFE/CTRL daily. Most recently, Nokosu was updated on October 2, 2026 and LIFE/CTRL on October 4, 2026.

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