Jotcal vs LightHouse Notes
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side โ with what reviewers say about each.
Jotcal
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Jotcal is a family calendar designed to be seen, not managed. A single calm surface that shows what's happening today, without making you tap, scroll, or search. Put it on a tablet on the kitchen wall, or keep it in your pocket. It reads the same way. WRITE IT BY HAND Jot an event with Apple Pencil. Handwriting recognition turns your note into a calendar entry. No forms, no dropdowns. FIVE WAYS TO READ YOUR DAY Agenda, Grid, Timeline, Daybook, and the Dial. Pick the one that fits how you think, or the one that reads best from across the room. BUILT FOR THE WALL On a tablet, Jotcal becomes an ambient display: large, quiet, legible at a distance. WEATHER ON THE DAY Sunrise, daylight, and rain sit on the day itself, not in a separate tab you never open. WORKS WITH WHAT YOU ALREADY USE Your existing calendars, on your device. No new account, no sign-up, no lock-in. PRIVACY No account. No analytics. We don't measure how you use the app. No ads. Your handwriting never leaves your device. Jotcal contains no third-party SDKs of any kind. PAY ONCE One payment, yours forever. No subscription. Handwriting and calendar sync are always free. Pro unlocks every view, weather on your days, and the widgets. Buy once and every future update is included at today's price.
LightHouse Notes
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LightHouse is a calm, private place for notes, documents and ideas on iPhone, iPad and Mac. Write with rich text, checklists, tables, images and attachments. Organize work into Harbors, tags, pinned notes and visual cards. Connect related notes, create calendar events, scan documents, review earlier versions and export or back up your work. Anchor keeps everyday note-taking free with unlimited notes, up to three Harbors and optional synchronization through your personal iCloud account. Beacon and Harbor Lifetime unlock unlimited Harbors, LightHouse live sync, cross-device editing protection, sharing, locked notes, scanning, revision history, templates, custom themes and advanced tools. Beacon is an annually renewing subscription; Harbor Lifetime is a one-time purchase for the current LightHouse app and product generation, including LightHouse 2.0. Privacy is built in: no ads and no third-party behavioral analytics. Document recognition runs on device. Paid live sync uses Appwrite Cloud in Frankfurt after Sign in with Apple; Anchor does not use the LightHouse Appwrite service. Account and synchronized-data deletion controls are available in Settings. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Jotcal at every 10 days against LightHouse Notes's every 3 weeks. 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
Both are free to download. Jotcal sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and LightHouse Notes sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $22.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Jotcal ships an update every 10 days, LightHouse Notes every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Jotcal | LightHouse Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Every 10 days โ better | Every 3 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, Mac โ better |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 17.0 โ better |
| Further details โ not scored | ||
| Size | 11 MB | 20 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | ASTON D GILLILAND | Giorgio Bellini |
In-app purchases
Jotcal
- Jotcal Pro$12.99
LightHouse Notes
- Beacon$22.991 Year
- Harbor Lifetime$44.99









