Comparison

Dotty vs Pellet

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

Head to head
About

Dotty

Features
Read full description

A private notebook where everyone you know gets a page, including you. Contact apps store phone numbers. Dotty stores the things you would never put in a contact card: that she hates surprise calls, that his sister is called Ada, that his dad had surgery and you should ask. Everything is encrypted on your device. You do not need an account, and nothing leaves your phone unless you decide it should. EVERY PAGE IS YOURS TO SHAPE • Notes, lists, checklists, custom fields, files and folders, mixed in whatever way that person needs • A page for a friend looks nothing like a page for a client, and both are right • You get a page too, for the things you want to remember about yourself THE MAP Your relationships are not folders. The map draws them as a network, so you can see how they actually sit. • People move closer as you stay in touch, and drift apart when you do not • Someone can be family, gym, and work at the same time. You create the circles. • Drifting shows who you have not spoken to in weeks, before it becomes months MOMENTS • Birthdays repeat every year on their own, pulled from the person’s page • Reminders repeat when you want them to, like a monthly call or a yearly anniversary • Plans stay on one calendar, with everyone on it • Notifications for events, birthdays, and reminders PRIVATE, EITHER WAY You choose where your people live: on this phone alone, or in an account that follows you. • On-device only means there is no account and no copy stored anywhere else • The database is encrypted with SQLCipher, using standard cryptography • The key stays in your Keychain, marked for this device, and is left out of every backup • Photos and attachments are excluded from backups too, so no readable copy reaches iCloud • Sign in with Apple or Google if you want to sync. There is no password to lose. • No analytics, no ad SDK, no data brokers. Nothing you write is sent to any AI model, and search runs on your device • Export everything as a single file whenever you like, and delete your account in the app, iPhone and iPad. Questions or ideas? Write to us. We read everything.

About

Pellet

Organize notes, tasks, and projects using plain markdown files. Features include a live preview editor, wiki-style linking, task management with Kanban boards, and calendar integration. Supports offline use, handwriting, voice notes, and user-controlled syncing.

Highlights
  • Plain markdown notes
  • Live preview editor
  • Wiki-style linking
  • Task management with Kanban
  • Calendar integration
  • Handwriting and voice notes
  • User-controlled sync
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Pellet keeps your notes as plain markdown files in a folder you own. No account, no server, no proprietary format — open the same folder in any other editor and everything is still there. AN EDITOR THAT STAYS OUT OF THE WAY Write in markdown with live preview, wiki-style links between notes, backlinks, tags and full-text search. Your vault is just files, so nothing is trapped behind an export button. A TASK MANAGER THAT LIVES IN YOUR NOTES Tasks are ordinary markdown files with front matter, so a task can be a note and a note can be a task. Due dates, recurrence, subtasks, checklists and kanban boards — all reading from the same folder. CALENDAR ALONGSIDE YOUR WORK See your day next to your notes. Connect Google Calendar or your existing calendar accounts, or work entirely offline with dated notes. CANVAS, HANDWRITING AND VOICE Sketch on an infinite canvas, write by hand with Apple Pencil, and record voice notes. Handwriting and recordings can be turned into searchable text so they join the rest of your vault instead of sitting in a corner. SYNC YOU CONTROL Sync between your devices is end-to-end encrypted and runs through a relay you choose or host yourself. There is no Pellet account and no Pellet server holding your notes. WORKS OFFLINE, ALWAYS Everything works with no network. Nothing is fetched to open a note, and nothing phones home. Pellet reads and writes ordinary markdown, so it fits alongside whatever else you already use.

Screenshots

Dotty4 screens
Pellet4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Pellet at none against Dotty's 1. Dotty's advantage is update cadence (every 2 days vs every 3 weeks). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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. Dotty sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Pellet asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Dotty ships an update every 2 days, Pellet every 3 weeks. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Dotty versus Pellet: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDottyPellet
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 days — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.1 — better16.4
Further details — not scored
Size43 MB64 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBASRI KEREM ALHANBuildraai LLC

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Dotty

One-time1
  • Unlock all of Dotty$9.99
None

Pellet

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Dotty free?
Dotty is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Pellet free?
Pellet is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Dotty or Pellet have ads?
Neither Dotty nor Pellet shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Dotty or Pellet?
Dotty ships an update every 2 days, and Pellet every 3 weeks. Most recently, Dotty was updated on October 24, 2026 and Pellet on October 24, 2026.

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