Comparison

Note Box (Minimalistic Notes) vs Color Notepad

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

Head to head
About

Note Box (Minimalistic Notes)

A minimalist note-taking app with a sticky-note interface for quick organization. Use color-coding to categorize information and simple markdown editing for content. Ideal for keeping important tasks and ideas visible and accessible.

Highlights
  • Sticky-note interface
  • Color-coded organization
  • Simple markdown editing
  • iCloud Syncing
  • iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch support
  • Lock screen to-do list
Features
Read full description

Welcome to Note Box, the quick and simple way to take your notes. The sticky-note style interface is easy to understand and puts what's important right in front of your eyes. The colors let you quickly organize your information without overdoing it. NoteBox keeps it simple so you can stay focused. This app has been used to: - Write books. The color coding of notes allowed a user to mark whether or not his chapters have been completed! - Keep track of what is important to users - Put a to do list as the background of your lock screen. This feature makes your to-do list super accessible while keeping your lock screen looking gorgeous! Features: - Simple markdown editing - Beautiful, easy to use interface - iCloud Syncing - iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch support. - Supports iOS 11 and iOS 10.

About

Color Notepad

A clean and simple note-taking app that lets you personalize your experience with over 20 colorful themes. It offers a minimalist design for distraction-free writing, iCloud sync, and robust backup options.

Highlights
  • Minimalist design
  • 20+ colorful themes
  • Light & Dark Mode
  • iCloud sync
  • Sort notes
  • Export notes
  • Automatic local backups
Features
Read full description

Color Notepad is a clean and simple note-taking app designed to match your personal style. Whether you’re jotting down quick thoughts, daily tasks, or important ideas, Color Notepad keeps things fast, easy, and customizable. Choose from 20+ colorful themes to match your mood — or let the app surprise you with a random one each time you open it. Key Feature: • Minimalist design for quick and distraction-free note-taking. • 20+ colorful themes to suit your mood. • Light & Dark Mode support for every theme. • iCloud sync to keep your notes up to date across devices. • Sort your notes by date or alphabetically. • Export individual notes or your entire archive for backup or sharing. • Automatic local backups with the ability to restore notes. Color Notepad is perfect for anyone looking for a lightweight, private, and beautifully customizable notes app — with no ads, no accounts, and no clutter.

Screenshots

Note Box (Minimalistic Notes)3 screens
Color Notepad3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Color Notepad at 4.5 against Note Box (Minimalistic Notes)'s 3.2. Color Notepad also leads on ratings volume (603 vs 30). On price, review sentiment, update cadence 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. Note Box (Minimalistic Notes) sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Color Notepad 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

Color Notepad holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Color Notepad has 603 ratings behind it against 30, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 49% of Note Box (Minimalistic Notes)'s written reviews are positive against 47% of Color Notepad's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Note Box (Minimalistic Notes) ships an update every 3 months, Color Notepad every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Note Box (Minimalistic Notes) versus Color Notepad: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNote Box (Minimalistic Notes)Color Notepad
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.2 (30 ratings)4.5 (603 ratings) — better
Positive reviews48.8% of reviews — better46.5% of reviews
Number of ratings30603 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 months — betterEvery 5 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS14.014.0
Further details — not scored
Size16 MB4 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMumick Mobile LLCDmytro Vynokurov

Customer experience

Note Box (Minimalistic Notes)

All ratings30 ratings
Positive46.7%
Neutral16.7%
Negative36.7%
Written reviews80 reviews
Positive48.8%
Neutral17.5%
Negative33.8%

Color Notepad

All ratings603 ratings
Positive86.1%
Neutral4.5%
Negative9.5%
Written reviews43 reviews
Positive46.5%
Neutral7.0%
Negative46.5%

User reviews

Note Box (Minimalistic Notes)

From 30 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Simple and minimalistic design
  • 🎨 Attractive and aesthetic interface
  • ✅ Does what it's meant to do
  • 🚀 Fast and easy to use
  • 💡 Great for jotting quick notes

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Data loss and deletion issues
  • 🐛 Notes disappearing or getting deleted
  • 🐛 Duplication of notes
  • 🐛 Overwriting of notes
  • 🐛 App crashing or not opening

Color Notepad

From 603 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🎨 Colorful customization options
  • 💾 One-time purchase pricing model
  • 📝 Simple and easy-to-use interface
  • 🔤 Adjustable font size options
  • ✅ Cross-device synchronization

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Notes frequently disappear or fail to save
  • 🐛 App crashes and won't open
  • 🐛 Text scrolls out of view when keyboard appears
  • 💰 Expensive pricing for unlimited storage
  • ❌ Limited to 3 notes in free version

Bugs and requests

Note Box (Minimalistic Notes)

Reported bugs

36 issues
  • Duplicates most recent note and overwrites second most recent
  • Occasionally lose an entry or creates a second version
  • Unable to open notes after an update
  • Notes disappear after reaching a certain number
  • Deletes information on its own
Show 31 more
  • Changes information from the way it was set up
  • Grocery list makes a double copy and erases another note
  • All four notes become the same, original notes are gone
  • Notes erase or display in double
  • Notes disappear after saving or 2 seconds after
  • Apparent complete disappearance of created notes
  • Deletes and duplicates notes
  • Spontaneously deletes notes
  • Copies and spams one note multiple times, overwriting others
  • App stopped saving new notes
  • Changes disappear after closing and reopening the app
  • Background color changes with phone orientation
  • Deleted notes reappear
  • Slow on iPad Air 2 after update
  • Cannot open last notes after update
  • Need iPhone present to read synced notes on Apple Watch
  • Disappears when closing the app
  • Cannot read or edit notes in landscape view
  • Glitch enlarges notes to fit only one at a time
  • Not syncing with Watch OS 3
  • Syncing to iWatch appears slow or requires reboot
  • Program doesn't work with iPhone off or out of range
  • No iCloud safety back-up
  • Lost all notes in a phone update despite prior backup
  • Doesn't sync well with iWatch
  • Changes to notes don't appear on watch without reinstalling watch app
  • Works only in landscape on iPads
  • Cannot delete a note
  • Cannot mark a note as priority
  • Constantly crashes when trying to delete notes
  • Cannot see typed content when it exceeds one page

Requested features

15 requests
  • Folders for organization
  • Undo functionality
  • Home screen widget
  • Notification widget
  • Option to leave notes unsorted
Show 10 more
  • Scroll bars or automatic stretching for blocks
  • More color options
  • Ability to manage multiple topics
  • Ability to scroll lengthy notes
  • Tutorial or help menu
  • Portrait mode on iPad
  • Sync directly with laptops
  • Add to notes using dictation on iWatch
  • Force touch to refresh watch app notes list
  • Sorting by Title/Date/Color

Color Notepad

Reported bugs

7 issues
  • Notes deleted unexpectedly after saving
  • App crashes and fails to reopen
  • Text disappears or becomes invisible
  • Keyboard covers note content during editing
  • Inconsistent save functionality (8 out of 10 times fails)
Show 2 more
  • App unresponsive to input commands
  • Notes lost after app closure

Requested features

6 requests
  • Password protection for notes
  • Different colors for individual notes
  • Checklist functionality with reset capability
  • Note sharing capabilities
  • Multiple font options
Show 1 more
  • Apple Pencil support

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Note Box (Minimalistic Notes)

One-time1
  • Notebox Premium$0.99
1 purchases

Color Notepad

One-time1
  • Unlimited Storage$4.99

Questions

Is Note Box (Minimalistic Notes) free?
Note Box (Minimalistic Notes) is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Color Notepad free?
Color Notepad is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Note Box (Minimalistic Notes) or Color Notepad?
Color Notepad is rated higher. Note Box (Minimalistic Notes) averages 3.2 out of 5 from 30 ratings, while Color Notepad averages 4.5 from 603 ratings.
Do Note Box (Minimalistic Notes) or Color Notepad have ads?
Neither Note Box (Minimalistic Notes) nor Color Notepad shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Note Box (Minimalistic Notes) or Color Notepad?
Note Box (Minimalistic Notes) ships an update every 3 months, and Color Notepad every 5 months. Most recently, Note Box (Minimalistic Notes) was updated on October 7, 2026 and Color Notepad on October 14, 2026.

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