Comparison

Notepad vs NoteBuddy

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

Head to head
About

Notepad

Capture thoughts, create to-do lists, and organize ideas with a versatile digital notebook. Supports handwriting, text notes, and secure cloud syncing. Personalize your experience with custom themes and icons.

Highlights
  • Create to-do lists with checkboxes
  • Unlimited text notes
  • Handwritten notes with Apple Pencil
  • Organize notes into folders
  • Pin and sort notes
  • iCloud backup and sync
  • Advanced search functionality
Features
Read full description

Jot down notes and organize your ideas with Notepad—the classic notepad writing app designed for keeping track of everything that matters. [ TO-DO LISTS ] • Create beautiful task lists with interactive checkboxes to track your daily tasks and goals. • Drag and drop to reorder items—organize your to-dos exactly how you want them. • Enjoy the satisfying experience of checking off completed tasks as you get things done. • Perfect for shopping lists, daily chores, project tasks, and everything in between. [ NOTES ] • Create unlimited text notes with rich formatting—quickly and easily. • Tap anywhere to start typing—it's simple, fast, and always saved automatically. • Works perfectly in both light and dark mode. [ RICH TEXT FORMATTING ] • Style your notes with bold, italic, underline, and strikethrough. • Choose from 7 text colors and 7 highlight colors to make important details stand out. • Pick from 18 handpicked font families—each with proper bold and italic variants. • A convenient formatting toolbar sits right above the keyboard for fast access. • Switch fonts anytime—your existing formatting is preserved. [ HANDWRITTEN NOTES WITH APPLE PENCIL ] • Capture your thoughts naturally with fluid, responsive handwriting that feels like pen on paper. • Create beautiful handwritten notes, diagrams, and drawings with realistic ink flow and pressure sensitivity. • Choose from fountain pens, pencils, and highlighters with customizable colors for a personalized writing experience. • Enjoy our adaptive paper grid that works perfectly in any orientation or device. [ FOLDERS - ORGANIZE YOUR NOTES ] • Organize notes into folders and subfolders with a clean, nested structure. • Assign a unique color to each folder, making it simple to categorize and find notes at a glance. • Drag-and-drop to reorder, and move multiple notes easily. [ PIN & SORT NOTES ] • Pin important notes to the top and sort by date, custom order, or alphabetical order. [ BACKUP WITH ICLOUD ] • Keep notes safe with automatic backups and iCloud sync across your devices. [ PERSONALIZE YOUR NOTEPAD ] • Give your notepad a personal touch with unique app icons, custom colors, stylish fonts, and a sleek dark mode for night owls. [ FIND NOTES FAST ] • Use advanced search tools and text highlighting to track down exactly what you're looking for. [ KEEP YOUR NOTES SAFE ] • Lock your notes with FaceID or TouchID for extra privacy. [ SHARE & PRINT ] • Send your notes to other apps like Mail or WhatsApp, or print them directly from Notepad. [ PREMIUM FEATURES FOR POWER USERS ] • Go ad-free, unlock exclusive themes, and get advanced sorting options with Premium. Notepad combines the nostalgic feel of a simple notebook with the functionality of today's tech. Use Notepad for everything from brainstorming ideas and setting personal reminders to creating shopping lists, to-do lists, grocery lists, chores lists, appointment notes, class notes, daily goals, password hints, birthday reminders, packing lists, travel itineraries, and more. Write, organize, and stay on top of everything that matters—download Notepad now and stay productive your way! Terms of Use & Privacy Policy: https://www.oldnotepad.com/terms.

About

NoteBuddy

This note-taking application offers a comprehensive suite of tools for organizing thoughts and ideas. It supports rich text formatting, image insertion, and freehand drawing. Features like folder organization and iCloud synchronization ensure your notes are accessible and secure.

Highlights
  • Rich text editing
  • Add images and drawings
  • Folder and subfolder support
  • iCloud synchronization
  • Backup feature
  • Apple Pencil support
Features
Read full description

Note taking app with all important features you need: - rich text editing (bold, italic, underline, text alignments, text color, etc.) - add images - add drawings and hand written notes - support for folders and subfolders - iCloud synchronization - backup feature Including Support for: - Dynamic Type - Split Screen - Apple Pencil

Screenshots

Notepad4 screens
NoteBuddy3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Notepad at 84% against NoteBuddy's 22%. Notepad also leads on rating (4.8 vs 3.3) and update cadence (every 8 days vs every 3 months). NoteBuddy's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 18.0). On price, in-app purchases, monetization model and device support 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. Notepad sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and NoteBuddy sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Notepad holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Notepad has 28K ratings behind it against 16, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 84% of Notepad's written reviews are positive against 22% of NoteBuddy's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Notepad ships an update every 8 days, NoteBuddy every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and August 17, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Notepad versus NoteBuddy: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNotepadNoteBuddy
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (28K ratings) — better3.3 (16 ratings)
Positive reviews84.1% of reviews — better22.2% of reviews
Number of ratings28K — better16
Update frequencyEvery 8 days — betterEvery 3 months
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS18.012.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size75 MB14 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developer1381802 Ontario Inc.Oleg Mueller

Customer experience

Notepad

All ratings28,224 ratings
Positive96.6%
Neutral1.8%
Negative1.5%
Written reviews961 reviews
Positive84.1%
Neutral4.5%
Negative11.4%

NoteBuddy

All ratings16 ratings
Positive56.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative43.8%
Written reviews9 reviews
Positive22.2%
Neutral0.0%
Negative77.8%

Bugs and requests

Notepad

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Notes randomly disappearing
  • Ads covering up the note-taking area

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add drawing/highlighting tools
  • Integrate with calendar and contacts
  • Ability to sort and organize notes
  • Option to password protect specific notes

NoteBuddy

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

7 purchases

Notepad

Subscriptions4
  • Monthly Premium Membership$1.991 Month
  • Monthly Premium Subscription$2.991 Month
  • Yearly Premium Subscription$14.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Yearly Premium Subscription$17.991 Year
One-time3
  • Lifetime Premium Membership$19.99
  • Lifetime Premium Membership$29.99
  • Lifetime Premium Membership$39.99
1 purchases

NoteBuddy

One-time1
  • NoteBuddy Pro$2.99

Questions

Is Notepad free?
Notepad is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is NoteBuddy free?
NoteBuddy is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Notepad or NoteBuddy?
Notepad is rated higher. Notepad averages 4.8 out of 5 from 28K ratings, while NoteBuddy averages 3.3 from 16 ratings.
Do Notepad or NoteBuddy have ads?
Notepad shows ads; NoteBuddy does not.
Which is updated more often, Notepad or NoteBuddy?
Notepad ships an update every 8 days, and NoteBuddy every 3 months. Most recently, Notepad was updated on September 25, 2026 and NoteBuddy on August 17, 2026.

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