Comparison

PinNote vs ShowMeTheNote

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

Head to head
About

PinNote

Features
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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 โ€” Inline editing directly in the list โ€” Gesture-based: swipe to edit or delete, drag to reorder, pull to create โ€” Custom colors, fonts, and text alignment โ€” Up to 5 notes on your Lock Screen at once โ€” Add a note directly from Control Center โ€” 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 โ†’ it pins to your Lock Screen. Done with it โ†’ 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: โ€” One-time purchase: unlock forever, no recurring fees. โ€” Monthly plan: low monthly subscription, cancel anytime. Made with love in Brussels, by Quentin Hocdรฉ. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

ShowMeTheNote

Read full description

Wake the screen. There's your list. The fresh meat's going fast. Your list shouldn't take twelve apps to find. ShowMeTheNote holds one note. Not a folder of notes, not a notebook โ€” one. It's already open when you launch, already there when you glance at your Lock Screen, and it never asks you which note you meant. ONE NOTE, ALWAYS OPEN Open the app and you're typing. Nothing to name, nothing to file. ON YOUR LOCK SCREEN Tap the neon sign and your note lights up the Lock Screen and Dynamic Island, so it's there while you shop, cook or pack. ON YOUR HOME SCREEN Small, medium and large widgets, plus a Lock Screen widget, all showing the note you're writing. TICK IT OFF Turn any line into a checklist item and tap the circle as you go. ARCHIVE, DON'T LOSE Done with a list? Archive it and start fresh. Search the archive when you need it back, then make it the active note again in one tap. YOURS ALONE Notes sync across your devices through your own iCloud account. No sign-up, no account, no tracking, nothing collected. FOUR LOOKS Navy & Ivory, Terracotta, Ochre and Sage, in light or dark.

Screenshots

PinNote4 screens
ShowMeTheNote4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: ShowMeTheNote at every 5 days against PinNote's every 2 weeks. PinNote's advantage is iOS requirement (18.6 vs 26.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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. PinNote sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.00 per month and ShowMeTheNote sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PinNote ships an update every 2 weeks, ShowMeTheNote every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences ยท 4 level
PinNote versus ShowMeTheNote: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPinNoteShowMeTheNote
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 5 days โ€” better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad โ€” better
Requires iOS18.6 โ€” better26.0
Further details โ€” not scored
Size2 MB10 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperQuentin HocdeONGroove Labs

In-app purchases

2 purchases

PinNote

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

ShowMeTheNote

One-time3
  • Small Coffee$0.99
  • Coffee$1.99
  • Large Coffee$3.99

Questions

Is PinNote free?
PinNote is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is ShowMeTheNote free?
ShowMeTheNote is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do PinNote or ShowMeTheNote have ads?
Neither PinNote nor ShowMeTheNote shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PinNote or ShowMeTheNote?
PinNote ships an update every 2 weeks, and ShowMeTheNote every 5 days. Most recently, PinNote was updated on November 5, 2026 and ShowMeTheNote on October 31, 2026.

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