Comparison

Beaver Notes vs Notate

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

Head to head
About

Beaver Notes

Features
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Beaver Notes is a fast, native client for the open-source Beaver Notes server β€” a self-hosted note wall you run on your own infrastructure. Write markdown notes. Drop in photos, videos and files. Everything lands on your server, nowhere else. No accounts to sign up for, no third-party services, no analytics, no telemetry. FEATURES β€’ Multi-server β€” connect to as many self-hosted Beaver Notes servers as you need and switch between them from the sidebar. β€’ Local-first sync β€” an outbox queue keeps everything working offline and catches up the moment the server comes back. β€’ Markdown editor β€” bold, italic, code, lists, links, headings, with live preview. β€’ Attachments β€” photos, videos, and arbitrary files. Images appear in an adaptive grid with a fullscreen viewer. Inline video playback. β€’ Upload progress β€” per-file and per-message progress overlays, including retry on failure. β€’ Image editor β€” crop, draw, filters, and optional optimization before upload. β€’ Video trim & optimize β€” HEIC and H.265 encoding to keep uploads small. β€’ Quick input β€” a compact composer at the bottom of the wall for fast capture. β€’ Search β€” local full-text search with type, tag, pinned and date filters. β€’ Spotlight β€” your notes are findable from the system search. β€’ Privacy β€” biometric lock with Face ID / Touch ID, auto-lock timeout, and the option to hide previews in the App Switcher. β€’ Storage controls β€” per-server cache size limit and one-tap erase. β€’ Multi-platform β€” adapted layouts for iPhone, iPad, and Mac, with native sidebar, context menus, swipe actions, and keyboard shortcuts. PRIVACY The app talks only to the self-hosted server you configure. No analytics SDKs. No third-party services. No developer-side backend. Read the full privacy policy at https://eduard256.github.io/beaver-notes-apple/PRIVACY.md REQUIREMENTS You need a running Beaver Notes server. The server is open source β€” see https://github.com/eduard256/beaver-notes

About

Notate

Features
Read full description

Notate transcribes speech, music, and audio files entirely on your iPhone. No account, no cloud, no subscription. Your audio never leaves the device. Powered by an on-device Whisper model, Notate transcribes live from the microphone or from audio files you importβ€”whether it's your voice, song lyrics, podcasts, or lectures. Everything runs locally, so it works on a plane, in a basement, anywhere, and nothing you say is ever uploaded. FREE, FOREVER - Unlimited live microphone transcription - Transcribe music and lyrics - Auto, Tiny, and Base models - Full history, copy, and share - 12 languages with auto-detect VOXPRINT PRO, ONE PAYMENT - Unlimited audio file transcription - The Small model, the most accurate - One purchase. Not a subscription, ever. WHY VOXPRINT - On device. Your voice stays yours. - No account, no sign-up, no tracking. - No monthly fee. Own it once. Notate is built for people who want their words, music, and audio transcribed without uploading to a server.

Screenshots

Beaver Notes4 screens
Notate4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Beaver Notes at Free against Notate's $0.99. On ads, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

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

CostPrice Β· In-app purchases Β· Ads Β· Monetization

Beaver Notes is free to download; Notate costs $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Scorecard1 real difference Β· 5 level
Beaver Notes versus Notate: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBeaver NotesNotate
PriceFree β€” better$0.99
Update frequencyβ€”Every 2 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
DevicesiPhone, iPad, MaciPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details β€” not scored
Size2 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperArtur JeremiczJoshua Trommel

In-app purchases

None

Beaver Notes

No in-app purchases

None

Notate

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Beaver Notes free?
Beaver Notes is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Notate free?
Notate costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do Beaver Notes or Notate have ads?
Neither Beaver Notes nor Notate shows ads.

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