Comparison

Smolpad vs Stillwater Focus

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

Head to head
About

Smolpad

A minimalist Markdown editor that stores your notes as plain .md files, accessible across all your devices via iCloud. Offers beautiful writing tools and robust file management without bloat.

Highlights
  • Plain .md file storage
  • iCloud sync
  • Markdown syntax highlighting
  • Task list checkboxes
  • Folder organization and search
  • File version history
  • Menu bar app on Mac
Features
Read full description

Smolpad is a smol Markdown editor with respect for your files. Every note is a plain .md file you can open with any app, on any device, forever. Your files are your own. No database. No lock-in. No bloat. Just a tiny, fast home for your notes on Mac, iPhone, and iPad. WRITE IN MARKDOWN, BEAUTIFULLY • Syntax dims as you type, or hides away entirely with one tap • Task lists become real checkboxes. Checkboxes that check. • Headings, bold, italic, code, quotes, and tables, styled as you write • A formatting bar for common touches, plus full keyboard shortcuts • Pictures too: drag or paste one in, resize it by its corner, and it lives as a plain file beside the note YOUR FILES, ANYWHERE • Notes sync through your own iCloud Drive, included free • Open your notes folder in Finder or Files any time • Organize with folders, pins, and instant search • A Trash for deleted notes, and a history of every note's earlier versions • Find notes in Spotlight, and open them with Siri or Shortcuts • Your notes never leave your devices except to your own cloud SMOL ON PURPOSE • On the Mac, Smolpad lives in your menu bar, one hotkey away • Tear off a note into its own window when you want to stay a while • On iPhone and iPad, it opens fast and stays out of your way • Eight hand-picked fonts and a clean, quiet interface MAKE IT YOURS WITH SMOLPAD PRO • Unlimited notes (the free tier includes ten) • Dropbox, pCloud, or Google Drive sync, in a folder that belongs to you • Notepads: open any folder of Markdown files as its own notepad, an Obsidian vault or a Bear export among them • Export to PDF, HTML, or rich text, and print • Widgets on the Mac, iPhone and iPad, Lock Screen widgets on iPhone, and Smolpad on Apple Watch • Twenty-nine editor themes, from Tokyo Night to Catppuccin • Seventeen app icons and the full menu bar icon set Smolpad Pro is available as a monthly or yearly subscription, or a one-time lifetime purchase. The free tier is a real notes app, not a trial. Made by a smol team that believes plain text outlives everything. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://smolpad.com/privacy

About

Stillwater Focus

Features
Read full description

Still Water helps you put down your phone, and keep it down. Pick the apps that pull you in, choose how long, and Still Water blocks them. No snooze button, no “five more minutes.” When the timer ends, they unlock on their own. FOCUS SESSIONS • Block any apps for 15 minutes up to a full day • Run more than one session at a time • A live countdown on your Lock Screen and Dynamic Island WEEKLY SCHEDULES • Block apps at set times: mornings, work hours, bedtime • Pick the days, then repeat for 1 to 8 weeks • Once you commit, it can’t be paused or deleted until it ends INSIGHTS • Time focused today, yesterday and this week • See when you focus most, hour by hour PRIVATE BY DESIGN No account. No ads. Your app choices and history stay on your iPhone. Still Water uses Apple’s Screen Time framework. You’ll be asked to allow Screen Time access the first time you open the app.

Screenshots

Smolpad4 screens
Stillwater Focus4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Stillwater Focus at none against Smolpad's 3. Stillwater Focus also leads on iOS requirement (16.6 vs 18.0). Smolpad's advantage is device support (4 vs 1). 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Smolpad sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.49 per month. Stillwater Focus asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scorecard3 real differences · 6 level
Smolpad versus Stillwater Focus: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSmolpadStillwater Focus
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 10 days—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemium—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch — betteriPhone
Requires iOS18.016.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size76 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBaconWorks, LLCRohit Agrawal

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Smolpad

Subscriptions2
  • Smolpad Pro$1.491 Month
  • Smolpad Pro7 Days trial$14.991 Year
One-time1
  • Smolpad Pro Lifetime$29.99
None

Stillwater Focus

No in-app purchases

Questions

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

Other comparisons