Comparison

Second Brain vs Atlas

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

Head to head
About

Second Brain

Features
Read full description

Second Brain is your offline-first personal knowledge management app. Capture every idea, note, and insight — and never lose a thought again. No ads. No tracking. No account required. Your data stays on your device. FEATURES: • Rich Notes — Write with Markdown support, add images, link notes together • Collections — Organize notes into collections with icons and colors • Tags — Tag anything for instant filtering • Daily Notes — One note per day, automatically created • Goals — Track personal goals with milestones and progress • Book Notes — Capture key takeaways from books you read • Quotes — Save your favorite quotes • Knowledge Graph — See how your ideas connect visually • Bi-directional Links — Link notes and see backlinks automatically • Full-Text Search — Find anything instantly • Favorites & Archive — Star important notes, archive the rest • Quick Capture — Capture thoughts from the home screen widget • Face ID / Touch ID — Lock your app for privacy • iCloud Backup — Optional, off by default • Export — PDF, CSV, Markdown • 15 Languages — English, Turkish, Spanish, German, French, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Polish, Arabic, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Russian PRIVACY FIRST: Second Brain collects zero data. No analytics, no tracking SDKs, no servers. Everything lives on your device. PREMIUM (one-time purchase): Unlock unlimited notes, collections, Knowledge Graph, exports, Face ID, and home screen widgets with a single lifetime purchase.

About

Atlas

This app helps you organize your tasks and manage your focus time. It offers a clean interface for planning your day, managing projects, and utilizing focus sessions with optional soundscapes and Pomodoro timers. Premium features include distraction blocking and calendar sync.

Highlights
  • Daily agenda and monthly calendar view
  • Task management with projects and subtasks
  • Quick capture via text or voice
  • Focus sessions with soundscapes and Pomodoro
  • Distraction blocking (Premium)
  • Calendar sync (Premium)
  • Widgets and Lock Screen integration
Features
Read full description

Atlas is a calm planner for your tasks and your focus. Plan the day, keep every project in its place, then put the phone down and do the work. No ads, no clutter, no noise. AGENDA One day at a time. The week strip at the top opens into the whole month with a tap or a pull. Overdue tasks wait at the top of today, finished ones fold away, and your progress fills in as the day goes. INBOX Everything without a date lands here, so nothing gets lost while you decide. Filter by project, and give things a day when you are ready. PROJECTS Every project gets a card in its own color, with what is open and what is overdue. Tap one to see its tasks, add to it, rename it or delete it. QUICK CAPTURE Type "Call Ana tomorrow at 3pm #Home" and Atlas picks up the day, the time and the project. Or tap the mic and just talk: say a few things in one go, and Atlas turns them into separate tasks and shows them to you before anything is saved. Your speech is transcribed and understood on your iPhone, and the audio is never saved. Works in English, Portuguese, Spanish, German, French and Italian. Tasks have reminders, repeats, subtasks and notes. FOCUS Pick a time on the dial or one of the presets, choose the tasks for the session, and start. The session takes the whole screen, and after a few seconds without a touch the controls fade away, leaving the time and your open tasks. Add a soundscape like rain, ocean or brown noise, turn on Pomodoro to work in rounds with breaks, and follow along from the Lock Screen and the Dynamic Island. When you finish, share your session as an image made for Stories. BLOCK DISTRACTIONS (Premium) Choose the apps and websites that pull you away, and Atlas blocks them for the length of a session. Or block everything except Atlas and the system apps. Set scheduled blocks that work even when Atlas is closed. Blocking uses Apple's Screen Time. BROWSE Your day at a glance: what you finished, the minutes you focused, and Insights with goals and streaks. Lists for Today, Scheduled, Inbox, Overdue, Pinned and Completed. Search across tasks and projects. ALWAYS WITH YOU Widgets for your day and your focus. A morning summary, and a reminder on Sunday evening to plan the week ahead. Reorder the tabs so Atlas opens where you want. Everything syncs to your account, so it is the same on every iPhone you sign in to and on the web at atlasapp.so. PRIVATE BY DESIGN No ads, no tracking, no third-party analytics, and your data is never sold. Voice capture runs on your device. Export your data at any time, or delete your account and everything in it from inside the app. Atlas uses a free account so your tasks can sync. ATLAS PREMIUM Atlas is useful for free, with Focus, sounds and stats included. Premium adds: • App blocking and scheduled blocks • Flow sessions: open-ended focus that counts up until you stop • Two-way sync with Apple Calendar, and your calendar events inside the Agenda • Photos on your tasks Atlas Premium is $4.99 a month or $39.99 a year in the U.S., with a 7-day free trial for new subscribers. Prices vary by country and are shown in the app before you buy. Payment is charged to your Apple Account when you confirm the purchase. The subscription renews automatically unless it is canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period, and your account is charged for the renewal within the 24 hours before the period ends. You can manage or cancel it in your App Store account settings. Any unused part of the free trial is forfeited when you buy a subscription. Atlas is made by one independent developer. Your subscription keeps it that way. Terms of Use: https://atlasapp.so/terms.html Privacy Policy: https://atlasapp.so/privacy.html

Screenshots

Second Brain4 screens
Atlas4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Atlas at every 4 days against Second Brain's every 3 months. Second Brain's advantage is device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 26.0). On price, ads and in-app purchases 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. Second Brain sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Atlas sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Second Brain ships an update every 3 months, Atlas every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 1, 2026 and October 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 6 level
Second Brain versus Atlas: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSecond BrainAtlas
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 4 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
Monetization—Freemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size25 MB21 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSelahattin BozatAdriano Fiuza

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Second Brain

One-time1
  • Second Brain Premium$9.99
2 purchases

Atlas

Subscriptions2
  • Atlas Premium Monthly7 Days trial$4.991 Month
  • Atlas Premium Yearly7 Days trial$39.991 Year

Questions

Is Second Brain free?
Second Brain is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Atlas free?
Atlas is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Second Brain or Atlas have ads?
Neither Second Brain nor Atlas shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Second Brain or Atlas?
Second Brain ships an update every 3 months, and Atlas every 4 days. Most recently, Second Brain was updated on October 1, 2026 and Atlas on October 6, 2026.

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