Comparison

ExcuseLess vs Pipnote

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

Head to head
About

ExcuseLess

Features
Read full description

You don't need another planner. You need to do the thing. ExcuseLess drops you into one task with the timer already running. Finish it, mark it done, and the next one loads. That's the whole app. WHY THIS ONE IS DIFFERENT Most productivity apps sell you motivation. Motivation shows up when things are easy and disappears when they count. ExcuseLess is built around the part that actually works: showing up anyway, on the days you don't feel like it. There's no dashboard to configure. No colour-coded system to maintain. No streak-shaming when you slip. Just the next right action, in front of you, with a clock running. HOW IT WORKS - Set a goal, then break it into tasks - Open the app โ€” your current task is already there, timer running - Done or Skip. The next task loads instantly - Finish one task a day to keep your streak alive FOCUS TIMER, THREE WAYS Pick the timer that suits how your brain works โ€” a progress ring, big clean numerals, or a calm ambient view. Pause when life interrupts, add time when you're in flow. WIDGETS AND LOCK SCREEN Put your next task on your home screen so it's the first thing you see. During a session, a Live Activity keeps the current task visible on the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island โ€” with Done and Skip right there, so you never have to open the app to close something out. STREAKS THAT MEAN SOMETHING One task a day keeps it alive. Miss a day and it resets โ€” no grace periods, no rescue tokens. Simple enough to hold in your head, and surprisingly hard to break once it's going. SEE THE RECEIPTS Every day becomes a clean summary: tasks done, time focused, streak intact. Share it, or keep it to yourself. Either way, the proof is real. YOUR DATA STAYS YOURS No account. No sign-up. No server. Every goal, task and streak lives in encrypted storage on your device and never leaves it. We can't read your tasks because we never receive them. Uninstall the app and it's genuinely gone. FREE, ENTIRELY Everything above is free. No trial, no paywall, no locked features. Stop making excuses. Start getting things done.

About

Pipnote

Features
Read full description

You can set a reminder for yourself. You cannot set one for your partner. Pipnote fixes that. Write a short note, pick a creature, pick a moment. It lands on their phone at exactly that moment, carried into the Dynamic Island by a small animal that is very serious about its job. Think carrier pigeon, except it is a hedgehog, and it turns up at eight on a Tuesday to say the bins need to go out. WHY A CREATURE Reminding someone you love is socially awkward. Ask twice and you are nagging. Ask nicely and you are still the person who has to remember everything. A hedgehog turning up to mention the dentist is not nagging. It is a small kindness with a face. That is the entire point of this app. HOW IT WORKS 1. Write it. 60 characters. "Bins go out tonight." "You've got this." 2. Choose who carries it and when it arrives. 3. Keep it for yourself, or send it. Sent notes travel as a link through your own Messages, so nobody signs up for anything. When a note is sent, it stays sealed. They see that something is coming and when, never what. The creature does the reveal. WHAT PEOPLE USE IT FOR Vitamins at eight. Bins on Tuesday. "Leave now or you'll miss the train." "Ring your mum, it's been three weeks." "Good luck today, I mean it." Small things, on time, from someone who was thinking about you. FREE Pip, the hedgehog. One note waiting at a time. Three sends a week. Replies are always free, so a conversation never hits a wall. A little bit of ads for other indie apps. PIPNOTE PRO All four couriers: Pip, Skye, Ember and Moss. Twenty-five notes queued at once. Snooze anything. Daily and weekly repeats for the notes you keep for yourself. Your full archive of everything anyone ever sent you. And no ad cards for other apps. THE HONEST BIT Pipnote works with the Dynamic Island on iPhone 14 Pro and later. On every other iPhone your creature arrives on the Lock Screen instead, which is the same note and almost the same magic. No account. No password. Nothing leaves your phone except the notes you choose to send, and those go through Messages, not through us. Terms of Use: https://pipnote.app/terms Apple End User License Agreement: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

ExcuseLess3 screens
Pipnote4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: ExcuseLess at none against Pipnote's 4. ExcuseLess also leads on ads (none vs shown) and iOS requirement (16.4 vs 26.0). On price 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

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Both are free to download. Pipnote sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. ExcuseLess asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scorecard3 real differences ยท 3 level
ExcuseLess versus Pipnote: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterExcuseLessPipnote
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyโ€”Every 5 days
AdsNo โ€” betterYes
In-app purchasesNo โ€” betterYes
DevicesiPhone, iPad โ€” betteriPhone
Requires iOS16.4 โ€” better26.0
Further details โ€” not scored
Size67 MB97 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperWyven Technologies (private) limitedRadomir Drndarski

In-app purchases

None

ExcuseLess

No in-app purchases

4 purchases

Pipnote

Subscriptions3
  • Pipnote Lite - Monthly$0.991 Month
  • Pipnote Pro - Monthly$1.991 Month
  • Pipnote Pro - Annual7 Days trial$14.991 Year
One-time1
  • Pipnote Pro - Lifetime$19.99

Questions

Is ExcuseLess free?
ExcuseLess is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Pipnote free?
Pipnote is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do ExcuseLess or Pipnote have ads?
Pipnote shows ads; ExcuseLess does not.

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