Sorting Thoughts vs Gather
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Sorting Thoughts
This app helps you organize your thoughts, tasks, and projects with a focus on privacy and security. It offers features like color-coding, password protection, and end-to-end encrypted syncing across devices.
- Private note-taking
- End-to-end encrypted sync
- Password protection
- Color markers
- Multiple collections
- Task and project management
- Attachments
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Simple, practical, private and sync-able that is Sorting Thoughts - a note taking app for private notes. Sorting Thoughts is a personal information and knowledge management app. It is designed to manage your thoughts such as moments of sudden inspirations, tasks, events, projects and anything else you may think of. The main aim of Sorting Thoughts is on delivering a trustworthy tool for your daily life in the knowledge-based society through security and simplicity. Furthermore, the sync service of Sorting Thoughts lets you sync all entries between multiple iOS devices and the desktop version. Privacy is a high value and for an app which collects personal notes essential. Sorting Thoughts abstains on cloud storage. All entered data stay on your device. The optional sync service used encrypted communication and a full end-to-end encryption. Only the device owner with the private key can decrypt the synced data. Additionally, the sync service collects no personal data like email addresses and the synced data will be automatically removed after a successful sync. The ensuring of privacy is a big concern for me as developer of Sorting Thoughts, because I'm a user too and enter my notes every day in Sorting Thoughts. Security feature summary: - no cloud storage - usage of Apple Data Protection - password protection (available with the Min Pack) - the optional sync service used a full end-to-end encryption with standardized technologies like RSA, AES and SSL/TLS Sorting Thoughts provides the following feature packs which are available via in-app purchasements: == 1. Free Pack == With the free feature package you can manage simple thoughts in a single thought collection. This package provides only the basic features and it is ideal to testing Sorting Thoughts. == 2. Min Pack == This package contains the password lock and color marker feature. It is ideal for users who want only manage simple thoughts with a password lock. == 3. Max Pack == This package contains all features of Sorting Thoughts but without the sync service. It is ideal for user who needs a powerful note taking app for the daily life. Feature list: Color marker - lets you mark thoughts with colors in the thought navigation tree Password lock - allows the locking of a collection Muliple collections - create multiple collections to separate work and private thoughts Projects, tasks and events - manage your projects, tasks and events and see what are your next tasks Attachments - add photos to your thoughts Tagging - use tags to find thoughts quicker Sub thoughts - create thought trees for a better thought structure Thought versions - remember the thought changes to reconstruct a train of thought == 4. Max Pack + Sync Service == With a one month or one year subscription you get all features of the "Max Pack" and the sync service. The sync service let's you sync thoughts between iOS devices and the desktop version of Sorting Thoughts 2.0. Your thought collections are synchronously on all your iOS devices and you can work across multiple devices. The service is developed by the 'privacy first' principle, that means no personal data are needed and the data transfer is completely end-to-end encrypted. Only the device owner can decrypt the sync data because only the owner holds the private key. Furthermore, the sync data will be deleted after a successful sync or after 30 days if the target device don't pick-up the data. The sync service fulfilled the strict European and German data protection guidelines. Sorting Thoughts required iOS / iPadOS 15.6 or newer. It comes in German or English. Privacy Policy: https://www.sortingthoughts.de/blog/datenschutz/ Terms of Service: https://www.sortingthoughts.de/blog/agb/
Gather
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- Link Saving and Organization: Users can easily save website addresses (URLs) in the app. This facilitates easy access to these websites later, enabling users to quickly find the information they need. - Custom Organization by Folders: Users can categorize and organize URLs into various folders based on their needs and preferences. For example, they can create folders like 'Work', 'Personal Hobbies', or 'Research Materials' to effectively manage related URLs. - Tag-based Search Functionality: Users can assign specific tags to each URL, which allows for fast and efficient searches based on these tags. This simplifies and streamlines the information search process. - Detailed URL Description Input: Users can add descriptions to each URL, which helps in remembering what the URL is about when revisiting it later. This is particularly useful when dealing with a large volume of information. - Cloud-based Synchronization and Backup: The app provides functionality to upload and download data to the cloud, ensuring that user data is safely backed up and can be synchronized across multiple devices. - Powerful Search Capabilities: With strong search features based on tags, folders, and URL descriptions, users can quickly locate the information they need. This app is suitable for researchers, students, professionals, and general web users alike, aiding in efficiently searching and saving information, thus saving time and enhancing productivity.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Gather at none against Sorting Thoughts's 6. Gather also leads on update cadence (every 3 days vs every 4 months) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.6). Sorting Thoughts's advantage is ads (none vs shown). On price 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
Both are free to download. Sorting Thoughts sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Gather asks for nothing beyond the download.
Sorting Thoughts ships an update every 4 months, Gather every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on June 5, 2026 and May 19, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Sorting Thoughts | Gather |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.5 (4 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 40.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 4 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Every 3 days — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 12.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 3 MB | 62 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Hendrik Ebel | Chanwoo Kim |
In-app purchases
Sorting Thoughts
- Max Pack + Sync 1 month$1.991 Month
- Max Pack + Sync 1 year$13.991 Year
- Min Pack$0.99
- Max Pack + Sync 1 month$1.99
- Max Pack$6.99
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- Max Pack + Sync 1 year$13.99
Gather
No in-app purchases








