Sorting Thoughts vs Caffeinated Notes
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/
Caffeinated Notes
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Caffeinated Notes is a note-taking app built for speed. Capture thoughts as fast as paper, then find them faster than paper ever could with instant full-text search. SEARCH-FIRST DESIGN Start typing and results appear instantly. No folders to navigate, no tags to remember. Just type what you're looking for and it's there. Your notes are always one search away. FAST CAPTURE Tap the home screen widget to jump straight into a new note. No loading screens, no friction. Just you and your thoughts. CAPTURE FROM ANYWHERE Share text, links, or web pages from any app directly into Caffeinated Notes. Browsing an article you want to save? Share it. Found a quote you like? Share it. It becomes a note instantly. WORKS 100% OFFLINE Your notes live on your device first. No account required, no internet needed. Caffeinated Notes works anywhere: on a plane, in the subway, or off the grid. RICH TEXT EDITING - Bold, italic, headings, and lists - Checklists that sync with your To-Dos view - Code blocks with syntax highlighting - Tables, blockquotes, and dividers - Inline images and file attachments TO-DOS THAT LIVE IN YOUR NOTES Check off tasks right where you wrote them. All your open tasks appear in a unified To-Dos view. Add the To-Dos widget to your home screen to see and check off tasks at a glance. NOTEBOOKS Group related notes into notebooks, or let search do the organizing for you. SYNC ACROSS DEVICES (Optional subscription) Sign in to sync your notes across all your devices. Changes sync automatically in the background. Share notebooks with family, friends, or teammates. VERSION HISTORY Made a mistake? View and restore previous versions of any note. EXPORT & BACKUP Export individual notes as Markdown, HTML, or copy formatted text. Create full backups of all your notes anytime. PRIVACY FOCUSED Your notes stay on your device unless you choose to sync. We don't read your notes, we don't sell your data, and we never will. Terms of Use: https://caffeinatedsoftworks.com/terms/ Privacy Policy: https://caffeinatedsoftworks.com/privacy/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Caffeinated Notes at every 3 weeks against Sorting Thoughts's every 4 months. Caffeinated Notes also leads on iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.6). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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 and Caffeinated Notes sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Sorting Thoughts ships an update every 4 months, Caffeinated Notes every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and October 6, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Sorting Thoughts | Caffeinated Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 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 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 3 MB | 48 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Hendrik Ebel | Caffeinated Softworks LLC |
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
Caffeinated Notes
- Individual Account (Monthly)$4.991 Month
- Duo Account (Monthly)$7.991 Month
- Family Account (Monthly)$17.991 Month
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- Friends & Family Account (Monthly)$19.991 Month
- Individual Account (Annual)$49.991 Year
- Duo Account (Annual)$79.991 Year
- Family Account (Annual)$149.991 Year
- Friends & Family (Annual)$199.991 Year
Questions
Is Sorting Thoughts free?
Is Caffeinated Notes free?
Do Sorting Thoughts or Caffeinated Notes have ads?
Which is updated more often, Sorting Thoughts or Caffeinated Notes?
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