Mononote vs Orvena
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Mononote
Capture your thoughts and reminders with a focus on simplicity. This app lets you jot down notes, to-dos, or motivational messages and keep them easily accessible. Pin your most important notes to your Home Screen or Lock Screen for constant visibility.
- Single note focus
- Home Screen widget
- Lock Screen Live Activity
- Dynamic Island integration
- Note archiving and restoration
- Intentional simplicity
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Mononote helps you focus on one note at a time. Simply open the app and write down anything you want your future self to remember, whether it's a to-do, reminder, or motivational note. Keep it visible on your Home Screen with a widget, or start a Live Activity to pin it to your Lock Screen and Dynamic Island when it's something more urgent. The app is intentionally simple, showing only one active note at a time. Archive or delete it when you're done, and a new blank note is ready for whatever comes next. Archived notes can always be restored if you need them again.
Orvena
A private, on-device assistant that integrates with your phone's tools and services. It prioritizes user privacy with on-device processing and explicit consent for any data sharing. A one-time purchase unlocks advanced features like voice conversations and service integrations.
- On-device AI processing
- Integrates with calendar, reminders, maps, photos, and Apple Health
- Receipts and approval for actions
- Optional cloud model integration
- Connects to Notion, GitHub, Home Assistant, and more
- Voice conversations with on-device voice generation
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Orvena is a complete assistant that runs on your iPhone. Its models run on the device itself, so conversations stay on your phone unless you choose a cloud model. There is no account, no Orvena server, and no analytics. ASK, AND IT GETS DONE Orvena works with the phone you already have: calendar, reminders, alarms and timers, maps and travel times, photos, Apple Health summaries, music, and files. Every action leaves a receipt you can read, and anything consequential asks for your approval before it runs. APPLE INTELLIGENCE, BUILT IN On iOS 27, Orvena can answer with Apple's on-device model, with nothing to download. It uses the same tools, receipts and approvals as Orvena's own model. You can also ask Orvena from Siri, Shortcuts, Spotlight and the Action button, and get the answer right where you asked. PRIVATE BY ARCHITECTURE Privacy pages usually ask for trust. Orvena's is a list: everything the app can ever send is enumerated in a short ledger in the privacy policy. On-device features work without any data leaving the phone, and anything that could ever leave asks first through a named consent step. ONE PURCHASE UNLOCKS THE REST The on-device assistant, every phone tool, web search and reading, and image understanding are free, without limits or a trial clock. A single one-time purchase adds: • Voice conversations, with a natural voice generated on the device • Connections to services you use, like Notion, Linear, GitHub, Home Assistant, and any MCP server, with sign-in built in • Apple's Private Cloud Compute on iOS 27, a larger model on Apple's servers that doesn't keep your data, within a daily limit Apple sets • Cloud models with your own API key, when you want a bigger model • Scheduled tasks, so Orvena can check on things at the right time and report back There is no subscription. REQUIREMENTS Orvena's own model runs on the phone itself, which needs recent hardware: iPhone 15 Pro or newer with 8 GB of memory, on iOS 26. The model, about 3.5 GB, downloads once. On iOS 27, iPhones with Apple Intelligence turned on can start with Apple's model instead, without the download.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Mononote at 4.9 against Orvena's 1.0. Mononote also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ratings volume (129 vs 1). Orvena's advantage is update cadence (every 3 days vs every 2 weeks). On price 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. Orvena sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Mononote asks for nothing beyond the download.
Mononote holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 1.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Mononote has 129 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Mononote ships an update every 2 weeks, Orvena every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 6, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Mononote | Orvena |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.9 (129 ratings) — better | 1.0 (1 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 94.4% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 129 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Every 3 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 7 MB | 77 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | THE DIGITAL MINIMALIST PTE. LTD. | Agnieszka Sela |
Customer experience
Mononote
Orvena
In-app purchases
Mononote
No in-app purchases
Orvena
- Premium Unlock$14.99








