Comparison

PrivacyNotes vs Harbor Notes

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

Head to head
About

PrivacyNotes

Securely store notes, tasks, passwords, and files with end-to-end encryption. This open-source app prioritizes user privacy, offering offline functionality and cross-device syncing without ads or data mining.

Highlights
  • End-to-end encryption
  • Offline functionality
  • Cross-device syncing
  • Open-source code
  • Password manager
  • Task management
  • Rich note editor
Features
Read full description

Your notes app knows everything about you. PrivacyNotes does not. Notes, tasks, calendar, journal and passwords, encrypted on your device. Not mined, not sold, not shown to anyone. WHY PEOPLE SWITCH - Always encrypted, on your phone and on the way to our servers in Switzerland - No ads, no trackers, no analytics. You are not the product - Open source: anyone can check what the app does - Sign up with a 12-word phrase instead of an email - Lock the app with Face ID or a PIN - Works offline, syncs across your devices EVERYTHING IN ONE PLACE - Notes: a rich editor, tags, links between notes, instant search - Tasks: every checkbox from every note, in one list - Calendar: events, repeats and birthdays, with reminders on Pro - Journal: track your mood, sleep and medication - Vault: passwords, cards and SSH keys - Files: photos, documents, audio and video - Bookmarks: your saved links, with their icons - Contacts: an address book that stays private BRING YOUR NOTES ALONG Import from Apple Notes, Evernote, Google Keep, Obsidian, Standard Notes, Joplin, Notesnook, UpNote, Samsung Notes and plain Markdown files. Export everything, any time. FREE FOREVER Free on 2 devices, with no time limit and no credit card. Pro is a one-time purchase, not a subscription: unlimited devices, 500 MB of encrypted storage, reminders, note history and more. ABOUT THE APP PRIVACY LABEL Apple asks us to list everything that can reach our server, even when it arrives encrypted. User Content is your notes, encrypted on your device. Identifiers are a key made from your recovery phrase and a device hash, not your name. Contact Info is an email, only if you sign in with Apple, Google or GitHub. Purchases is your Pro status. Nothing is shared, sold or used for ads. Privacy Policy: https://lifetimelabs.dev/privacy/ Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Harbor Notes

Capture, organize, and securely store all your notes, tasks, files, and scanned documents. This native app offers instant search, offline access, and optional end-to-end encryption for ultimate privacy.

Highlights
  • Rich notes with checklists and tables
  • Notebooks, stacks, and tags for organization
  • Document scanning and voice memos
  • Instant search with OCR
  • Offline-first native apps
  • Optional end-to-end encryption
  • Evernote import
Features
Read full description

Harbor is your private second brain — a fast, native notes app for people who want to remember everything and own it for life. Capture notes, organize them into notebooks, tag anything, attach photos and files, scan paper documents, sketch ideas, and record voice memos. Then find any of it in seconds — Harbor's search even reads the text inside your images and scans. REMEMBER EVERYTHING • Rich notes with checklists, tables, images, links, and highlights • Notebooks and stacks that keep every part of your life organized • Tags that cut across notebooks • Tasks with due dates, right beside your notes • Scan documents with your camera; sketch with your finger or Apple Pencil • Voice memos and file attachments of every kind • Instant search across everything — including the text inside images and scans (OCR) YOURS, EVERYWHERE • Truly native apps for iPhone, iPad, and Mac — no web wrapper • Offline-first: your notes live on your device and sync automatically • The full web app at app.harbor.my from any browser • A web clipper that saves articles and pages straight into your notebooks PRIVATE BY DESIGN • No ads. No selling your data. No training AI on your notes. Ever. • Optional end-to-end encryption locks down your most sensitive notes so that no one — not even us — can read them • Export everything anytime in open formats. You are never locked in. SWITCHING FROM ANOTHER NOTES APP? Import your Evernote notebooks (.enex files) with the Mac or web app — your notebooks, tags, and attachments sync straight to your iPhone and iPad. SIMPLE, HONEST PRICING Harbor is free for up to 50 notes, 3 notebooks, and 20 tags — no credit card required. When you outgrow the free plan, Harbor Unlimited removes every limit: • $9.99/month or $99/year • Unlimited notes, notebooks, tags, tasks, and files • A written price-lock promise in our terms: your price won't go up for at least 3 years Subscriptions are billed to your Apple ID and renew automatically until cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel anytime in your App Store account settings. And even if you stop paying, you can always read and export your notes — Harbor never holds your data hostage. Privacy Policy: https://harbor.my/privacy/ Terms of Use: https://harbor.my/terms/ Questions? A real person answers: help@harbor.my

Screenshots

PrivacyNotes4 screens
Harbor Notes4 screens

Verdict

The call

PrivacyNotes and Harbor Notes are too close to call on the numbers: across 10 compared parameters — price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.

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. PrivacyNotes sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per year and Harbor Notes sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for PrivacyNotes against 5.0 for Harbor Notes. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 11 and 6 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
PrivacyNotes versus Harbor Notes: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPrivacyNotesHarbor Notes
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (11 ratings)5.0 (6 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings11 — better6
Update frequencyEvery 3 daysEvery 3 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Mac — better
Requires iOS17.4 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size16 MB42 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLifetime Labs LLCCloudmanic Labs, LLC

Customer experience

PrivacyNotes

All ratings11 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Harbor Notes

All ratings5 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

4 purchases

PrivacyNotes

Subscriptions3
  • 1 GB Encrypted Storage$4.991 Year
  • 2 GB Encrypted Storage$8.991 Year
  • 5 GB Encrypted Storage$17.991 Year
One-time1
  • PrivacyNotes Pro$49.99
2 purchases

Harbor Notes

Subscriptions2
  • Unlimited — Monthly$9.991 Month
  • Unlimited — Yearly$99.001 Year

Questions

Is PrivacyNotes free?
PrivacyNotes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Harbor Notes free?
Harbor Notes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, PrivacyNotes or Harbor Notes?
PrivacyNotes and Harbor Notes are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 11 and 6 ratings respectively.
Do PrivacyNotes or Harbor Notes have ads?
Neither PrivacyNotes nor Harbor Notes shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PrivacyNotes or Harbor Notes?
PrivacyNotes ships an update every 3 days, and Harbor Notes every 3 days. Most recently, PrivacyNotes was updated on November 3, 2026 and Harbor Notes on October 31, 2026.

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