Comparison

GlassPane vs Local Memo

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

Head to head
About

GlassPane

A distraction-free scratchpad for capturing thoughts, notes, and ideas. Customize your writing experience with various fonts, backgrounds, and colors. Syncs seamlessly across Apple devices and offers secure, private note-taking.

Highlights
  • Distraction-free writing interface
  • 140+ font options
  • Customizable backgrounds and colors
  • iCloud sync across Apple devices
  • Export as image, PDF, or plain text
  • Biometric note locking (Face ID/Touch ID)
  • Adjustable layout and display options
Features
Read full description

GlassPane is a distraction-free scratch pad that keeps your thoughts in one place, synced across all your Apple devices via iCloud. WRITE WITHOUT DISTRACTIONS Open the app and start typing. Your note saves automatically — no files to manage, no folders to organize, no clutter. Just a clean space for your words. MAKE IT YOURS Choose from 140+ fonts — serif, sans-serif, monospace, and rounded styles. Pick from 9 handcrafted backgrounds like Chalkboard, Linen, Night Sky, and Watercolor Wash, or upload your own image. Customize text and background colors with preset palettes or hex codes. SYNCED VIA ICLOUD Your note follows you across iPhone and iPad, updating automatically through iCloud. Toggle sync on or off anytime — your data stays under your control. SHARE YOUR WORDS Export your note as a beautifully styled image, a formatted PDF, or plain text. One tap opens the share sheet to send via Mail, Messages, AirDrop, or any app. PRIVACY FIRST Lock your note with Face ID or Touch ID. No account required, no sign-up, no data leaves your device unless you choose iCloud sync. Your words are yours alone. FINE-TUNE YOUR LAYOUT Adjust font size and line spacing. Toggle line numbers, visual stripes, and word count on or off. Every detail adapts to how you prefer to write. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Local Memo

Features
Read full description

Keep your notes close. Local Memo organizes notes, folders, photos and voice recordings on your iPhone or iPad, without an account or cloud sync. ORGANIZE YOUR WAY Create as many folders as you need, nested up to 15 levels deep. Choose folder colors from a palette or fine-tune them with hue, saturation and brightness sliders. Move items between folders, use drag and drop, and switch between grid and list views. WRITE AND COLLECT Write notes with bold, red or blue text. Add photos directly to folders or attach photos and files to notes. Record and play voice memos alongside your writing. FIND WHAT YOU NEED Search folder names, note titles and text, photo names and attachment filenames. Matching text is highlighted to help you find the right item. LOCK PRIVATE FOLDERS Protect selected folders with Face ID, Touch ID or your device passcode. Your device must have a passcode set. The app does not store your password. Locked content is excluded from the Home Screen widget. MAKE IT COMFORTABLE Choose your own background color and black or white text. If a combination becomes hard to read, restore the default colors in Settings. Red and blue note text keeps its own color. QUICK ACCESS Use the small widget to create a new note, or the medium and large widgets to read a selected note. The layout adapts to iPhone and iPad, including landscape orientation. ON YOUR DEVICE Your notes and files stay in the app on your device. There is no account, advertising, analytics or in-app purchase, and the app does not sync through iCloud or an external server. Keep a device backup: deleting the app also deletes its contents. Links to the developer’s other apps open the App Store. 20 LANGUAGES Japanese, English, Korean, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian, Ukrainian, Polish, Dutch, Turkish, Arabic, Hindi, Indonesian, Thai and Vietnamese.

Screenshots

GlassPane4 screens
Local Memo4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Local Memo at none against GlassPane's 2. Local Memo also leads on iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.2). On price, ads 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. GlassPane sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Local Memo asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scorecard2 real differences · 7 level
GlassPane versus Local Memo: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGlassPaneLocal Memo
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequency—Weekly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS26.217.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size105 MB5 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLife Utility Apps, LLCtomohide yanome

In-app purchases

2 purchases

GlassPane

Subscriptions1
  • Monthly$3.991 Month
One-time1
  • Lifetime Access$14.99
None

Local Memo

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is GlassPane free?
GlassPane is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Local Memo free?
Local Memo is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do GlassPane or Local Memo have ads?
Neither GlassPane nor Local Memo shows ads.

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