FlatNote vs Differently
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
FlatNote
This app allows you to create and organize notes using markdown formatting. It offers live formatting, image support, and robust organization features. Your notes are stored as plain files and sync via iCloud across your Apple devices.
- Live markdown formatting
- Image embedding in notes
- Folder organization and pinning
- Real checkboxes
- In-note search
- Cross-device iCloud sync
- Plain .md file export
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FlatNote is a markdown notes app for people who want their writing to stay plain, portable, and theirs. It runs on iPhone, iPad, and Mac, and your notes sync across all of them through your own iCloud, or stay in a folder you choose. Type markdown and watch it format as you go. Headings, bold, italic, strikethrough, links, quotes, bullet lists, and tappable checkboxes all render while you write. The raw symbols stay out of your way and reappear only on the line you are editing, so you always know exactly what you typed. WHAT YOU GET - Live formatting. See the result as you type, with a one minute reference note included. - Photos in your notes. Paste an image or attach one; it is saved next to the note as an ordinary file, not in a database. - Folders, pins, and sorting. Organize notes into real directories and keep the ones you use on top. - Real checkboxes. Tap to check things off, right in the note. - Find in a note. Search the open note and jump between highlighted matches. - Quick formatting. A formatting bar above the keyboard on iPhone and iPad, and standard shortcuts on Mac. - Find your notes fast. Search the whole library by title or content. YOUR WORDS BELONG TO YOU - Every note is a plain .md file. No proprietary format, no lock-in, readable in any app, on any device, years from now. - Your notes live in your iCloud and sync across your iPhone, iPad, and Mac automatically, signed in with your Apple ID. No separate account to make. - Export carries everything. Share any note as markdown, with its pictures included, or export your whole library as one zip of ordinary files. The files are also right there in the Files app on iOS and Finder on Mac. - Delete is honest. Deleted notes go to Trash, where they can be recovered. QUIET BY DESIGN - No ads. No tracking. No analytics. Nothing about you leaves your devices and your iCloud. - Works on iPhone, iPad, and Mac, in light and dark. FlatNote keeps the format simple so you can keep your thinking clear.
Differently
This app helps individuals with ADHD overcome common productivity challenges. It offers a focus timer, task management, and brain-warming exercises to aid in starting and completing tasks. Visual tools and ambient sounds support sustained attention and task organization.
- Micro-step task timers
- Brain-warming warm-up puzzles
- Four-quadrant priority board
- Calendar with task integration
- Notebooks and thought boards
- Body doubling feature
- Customizable themes and fonts
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Most productivity apps assume you can just start. Differently doesn't. It's a focus timer and task manager built around the three things that actually stall an ADHD brain: starting, staying, and knowing where the time went. FOCUS ONE MINUTE AT A TIME One task, a shrinking timer, and a buddy drawing beside you. Micro-steps turn "reply to that email" into three steps small enough to feel silly — each with its own small timer. STUCK? WARM UP YOUR BRAIN FIRST An arrow puzzle or a brain maze — thirty seconds of motion before the real work. Can't choose? Let the wheel pick your next task. KNOW WHAT MATTERS FIRST A four-quadrant priority board that answers "what first?" before you can spiral. Sort once, then do the top-left box. EVERY DEADLINE IN ONE PLACE A calendar with dots on the days, overdue folded away, and a task you can add right on the date. Reminders reach you even when the app is closed. EMPTY YOUR HEAD INTO NOTEBOOKS Brain dump, two ways: notebooks for writing, a board for spreading thoughts out and connecting them — switch with one tap, on phone and desktop. Lock private notes with a 4–6 digit PIN: titles and bodies are encrypted on your device before they sync, so only ciphertext ever reaches the server. SEE WHAT YOU ACTUALLY GOT DONE Focus time, completion rate and the week in one glance. A graph view turns your tasks into a small constellation. STAY WITH IT Body doubling — see when friends are focusing. Status only, never your tasks and never your screen. Eleven ambient sounds, breaks with a game or with nothing at all. MADE TO BE LOOKED AT FOR HOURS Light, dark, and three neurodivergent moods — Neon Sign, Maple, Forest. Accent colors, a font choice, and a reduce-motion switch. YOUR ACCOUNT Sign in with Apple or Google. Your work syncs across phone, desktop and web, and the app keeps running offline. Delete your account and everything in it from Settings at any time. Available in English, 한국어, 日本語, Deutsch, Español, Français, Italiano, Português, हिन्दी, and Bahasa Indonesia. Differently is a focus and planning tool. It is not a medical device and does not diagnose or treat any condition.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Differently at every 5 days against FlatNote's every 2 months. Differently also leads on iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for FlatNote against 5.0 for Differently. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 1 respectively.
FlatNote ships an update every 2 months, Differently every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | FlatNote | Differently |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 5 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 1 MB | 198 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Kate Benediktsson | ko young hyeon |
Customer experience
FlatNote
Differently
In-app purchases
FlatNote
No in-app purchases
Differently
No in-app purchases






