Comparison

Ariv vs Noteback

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

Head to head
About

Ariv

Features
Read full description

Ariv is a local-first second brain for notes, tasks, journaling, study, projects, and personal knowledge management. Capture ideas, organize work, search your vault, ask questions about your notes, and keep your thinking connected without building a complicated plugin setup. Everything is built in: - Markdown notes and daily writing - Smart dashboard for active work - Tasks and Kanban - Quick capture - Voice memos with transcription - Ask Brain, an AI assistant for your notes - Calendar-aware planning and meeting context - Graph view and visual maps - Templates and presentation mode - Unified search across files, tags, and content Ariv is designed around a simple idea: your notes have a life. New thoughts land in your inbox. Active notes stay visible while you are working on them. Older notes move out of the way but stay searchable, linkable, and ready to resurface when you need them. No manual filing system required. No weekend spent setting up plugins. Open the app and start thinking. Your files stay yours: - Notes are stored as plain Markdown - Works with existing Markdown folders and vaults - No proprietary format - No account required to use the local app - Optional end-to-end encrypted sync is available AI is optional and on your terms. Use your own API key, run supported local models, or use Ariv's managed AI add-on. Ask Brain can answer questions from your vault and point back to the notes it used. Whether you are a student, writer, researcher, developer, founder, or lifelong learner, Ariv gives you one place to capture, connect, and use what you know. Think freely. No setup required.

About

Noteback

Features
Read full description

Noteback is a private journal for everything worth keeping: quotes from books, lines you hear, ideas on the go. Capture something in seconds, and Noteback sends it back to you later, at a time you choose or at a surprise moment. A morning spark, an evening reflection: your inspiration returns when you need it. FEATURES • Scan text from a book page or a screen: take a photo, highlight the exact passage you want, and save it as a quote. The text is read on your phone, nothing is uploaded. • Write in seconds, no folders, no friction. Add an author and a source if you like. • Import the quotes you already have: Kindle highlights, CSV files or plain text, with a preview before anything is saved. • Reminders: your entries come back as notifications, every day or only the days you pick. • Share any entry as a clean square image. • Search your whole Collection by word, author or tag. • Light and dark mode, in English and French. FREE AND UNLIMITED • Free: your first 20 entries, with one scheduled reminder and the text scanner. • Unlimited: a single one-time purchase, no subscription. Unlimited entries, unlimited reminders, and import. Your notes stay private. Sign in with email, Google or Apple. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy: https://api.thawtback.app/privacy Terms of Use (EULA): https://thawtback-production.up.railway.app/terms

Screenshots

Ariv4 screens
Noteback4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Ariv at none against Noteback's 1. Ariv also leads on device support (3 vs 1). On price, ads and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

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

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

Both are free to download. Noteback sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Ariv asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scorecard2 real differences Ā· 4 level
Ariv versus Noteback: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterArivNoteback
PriceFreeFree
Update frequency—Every 6 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.0 — better16.4
Further details — not scored
Size86 MB45 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAriv StudiosROMAIN PIGNOUX - BERTANDEA

In-app purchases

None

Ariv

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Noteback

One-time1
  • Unlimited$4.99

Questions

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

Other comparisons