Comparison

Notepad vs SideNotes Mobile

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

SideNotes Mobile

Capture thoughts and to-dos on the go with this mobile note-taking app. It offers iCloud sync, Markdown formatting, and customizable themes for a personalized experience. Easily access notes from other applications.

Highlights
  • iCloud Synchronization
  • Markdown Formatting
  • Task Management
  • Customizable Themes
  • Note and Folder URLs
  • Note Colors
Features
Read full description

SideNotes Mobile is a fast notes app for iPhone and iPad. Capture notes, tasks, links, and snippets in seconds, then access them across devices with iCloud sync. Version 1.2 brings a major upgrade: - A new editor with hidden Markdown markup - the same as in SideNotes for macOS - Refreshed iOS 26-style interface (Liquid Glass look) - Note folding - Note & Folder pinning - Simple drag-and-drop reordering - New contextual menu - New formatting options - Add Note action for the iPhone Action Button - New translations: Chinese (Simplified), French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, and Spanish - UI polish, bug fixes, and quality improvements Core features: - iCloud sync across iPhone, iPad, and Mac - Themes and note colors for personalization - Tasks and checklists for daily work - Folder organization and quick search - Note and folder URLs for fast access from other apps - Text settings for comfortable writing and reading - One-time purchase (paid per major version). No subscription. Note: SideNotes Mobile is a companion app to SideNotes for macOS. SideNotes for macOS is sold separately.

Screenshots

Notepad4 screens
SideNotes Mobile4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Notepad at Free against SideNotes Mobile's $9.99. Notepad also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.2) and ratings volume (28K vs 28). SideNotes Mobile's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 7) and ads (none vs shown). On review sentiment, 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

Notepad is free to download; SideNotes Mobile costs $9.99 up front. Notepad sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. SideNotes Mobile asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Notepad holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Notepad has 28K ratings behind it against 28, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 84% of Notepad's written reviews are positive against 88% of SideNotes Mobile's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Notepad ships an update every 8 days, SideNotes Mobile monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
Notepad versus SideNotes Mobile: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNotepadSideNotes Mobile
PriceFree — better$9.99
Rating4.8 (28K ratings) — better4.2 (28 ratings)
Positive reviews84.1% of reviews88.4% of reviews — better
Number of ratings28K — better28
Update frequencyEvery 8 days — betterMonthly
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
Best chart rank—#125 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.017 — better
Further details — not scored
Size100 MB10 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developer1381802 Ontario Inc.Apptorium

Customer experience

Notepad

All ratings27,905 ratings
Positive96.7%
Neutral1.8%
Negative1.5%
Written reviews961 reviews
Positive84.1%
Neutral4.5%
Negative11.4%

SideNotes Mobile

All ratings28 ratings
Positive82.1%
Neutral0.0%
Negative17.9%
Written reviews43 reviews
Positive88.4%
Neutral0.0%
Negative11.6%

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

SideNotes Mobile

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
None

SideNotes Mobile

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Notepad free?
Notepad is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is SideNotes Mobile free?
SideNotes Mobile costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Notepad or SideNotes Mobile?
Notepad is rated higher. Notepad averages 4.8 out of 5 from 28K ratings, while SideNotes Mobile averages 4.2 from 28 ratings.
Do Notepad or SideNotes Mobile have ads?
Notepad shows ads; SideNotes Mobile does not.
Which is updated more often, Notepad or SideNotes Mobile?
Notepad ships an update every 8 days, and SideNotes Mobile monthly. Most recently, Notepad was updated on September 25, 2026 and SideNotes Mobile on September 22, 2026.

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