Comparison

PinNote vs Lock Screen Notes

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

Head to head
About

PinNote

Features
Read full description

PinNote turns your daily notes into Live Activities, right there on your Lock Screen, without unlocking your phone. Create a daily note in seconds. It appears instantly on your Lock Screen. Note: iPhone clears Lock Screen live activities after up to 8 hours. As long as you open PinNote at least every 8 hours, your notes refresh on their own and stay pinned for good. Nothing is ever lost. FEATURES — Inline editing directly in the list — Gesture-based: swipe to edit or delete, drag to reorder, pull to create — Custom colors, fonts, and text alignment — Up to 5 notes on your Lock Screen at once — Add a note directly from Control Center — one tap, anywhere HOW IT WORKS PinNote is for your daily notes, the quick things you want in sight all day. Each note is a Live Activity. Add a note → it pins to your Lock Screen. Done with it → swipe it away and it will appear as "done". Tick a note to switch it between to do and done. Only to dos show on your Lock Screen. Clear one from your Lock Screen and it's marked done automatically. FREE TRIAL Try every feature free for 7 days. After that, choose your plan: — One-time purchase: unlock forever, no recurring fees. — Monthly plan: low monthly subscription, cancel anytime. Made with love in Brussels, by Quentin Hocdé. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Lock Screen Notes

Features
Read full description

LockCards keeps the one thing you need to remember visible on your iPhone Lock Screen. Write a note, choose a color, and tap its circle to start a Live Activity. Your note appears on the Lock Screen and in Dynamic Island on supported iPhones. Tap it to reopen LockCards. Edit and save the note, and the Live Activity refreshes with your changes. START WITH A FREE NOTE • Create, edit, and reuse your first note for free • Choose from seven bold colors or a clean white card • Start, stop, and restart its Live Activity for free • Archive your note and restore it later • Start without creating an account • Keep note content stored locally on your device DO MORE WITH LOCKCARDS PREMIUM • Create more notes for quick tasks, shopping lists, and ideas • Keep multiple Live Activities running at once • Update a live note simply by editing and saving it • Restore purchases at any time from Settings Creating a second note or running multiple Live Activities at once requires an active LockCards Premium subscription. Editing, archiving, and restoring existing notes is free. Live Activity availability, placement, and duration are controlled by iOS. Dynamic Island is available only on supported iPhone models. LockCards does not schedule alarms or notification-based reminders. Privacy Policy: https://five-bubbler-90e.notion.site/Privacy-policy-ef30cbd8d57f828e88ca01c19cc99256 Terms of Use: https://five-bubbler-90e.notion.site/Terms-of-use-6b00cbd8d57f8394802e013349bc854e Support: https://five-bubbler-90e.notion.site/Support-ec90cbd8d57f8341a81d810f25d8df75

Screenshots

PinNote4 screens
Lock Screen Notes4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Lock Screen Notes at every 2 days against PinNote's every 8 days. Lock Screen Notes also leads on iOS requirement (15.1 vs 18.6). 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. PinNote sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.00 per month and Lock Screen Notes sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PinNote ships an update every 8 days, Lock Screen Notes every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 2, 2026 and September 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 4 level
PinNote versus Lock Screen Notes: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPinNoteLock Screen Notes
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 8 daysEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPod — better
Requires iOS18.615.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size2 MB52 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperQuentin HocdeAjay A S

In-app purchases

2 purchases

PinNote

Subscriptions1
  • PinNote Monthly$2.001 Month
One-time1
  • PinNote Lifetime$5.99
2 purchases

Lock Screen Notes

Subscriptions1
  • HomeCards Pro Weekly3 Days trial$0.997 Days
One-time1
  • HomeCards Pro Lifetime$4.99

Questions

Is PinNote free?
PinNote is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Lock Screen Notes free?
Lock Screen Notes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do PinNote or Lock Screen Notes have ads?
Neither PinNote nor Lock Screen Notes shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PinNote or Lock Screen Notes?
PinNote ships an update every 8 days, and Lock Screen Notes every 2 days. Most recently, PinNote was updated on October 2, 2026 and Lock Screen Notes on September 30, 2026.

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