Bebop vs Strflow
We give Bebop a 3.0 GPA and Strflow a 3.2, out of 4.0. Bebop grades higher on the free plan. Strflow grades higher on features and platforms. They get the same grade on value for money and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Bebop
Capture-first plain-text notes app for iPhone
Strflow
Chat-style notes timeline for iPhone, iPad and Mac
How we grade them
| 3.0GPABebopVery good | 3.2GPAStrflowVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AThe Pro upgrade is $4.99 once on the US App Store, less than a single month of the $5.99 this category typically starts at. It adds colour themes, custom templating and power-user settings. You may never need it. | AStrflow Plus is $1.49 a month or $14.99 a year, about as cheap as paid note apps get. Lifetime is $37.99 if you'd rather pay once. What it buys is encrypted iCloud sync and backup, plus private tags locked behind Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode. |
| Free plan and trial | AUnlimited notes, sync to iCloud Drive or Dropbox, the share extension and widgets, all free with no ads, logins or tracking. Most people could stay here. The developer's 2024 write-up says free caps Flashback at three notes. | BUnlimited notes, tags, reminders and attachments, free, with no account. The limit is one device: sync and backup both need Plus, so free notes on your iPhone never reach your Mac. Plus has a free trial, though the site doesn't say how long. |
| Features | BIt does one job, capture, and does it properly: a blank note on opening, files named and formatted your way, Flashback to add to recent notes, and Quick Append to tack text onto an existing file. But there's no note browser at all. | ANotes sent like messages into a timeline, a timeline per tag, a Todo timeline, and notes you can schedule to come back later with a notification. Rich text, links between notes, attachments, Markdown export and Spotlight search are all in. OCR, voice recording and a calendar view are still on the roadmap. |
| Ease of use | BWe have no App Store rating on record, so a B is as high as we go. Open, type, save, with the save button under your thumb. The one bit of setup is choosing the folder, and Dropbox needs its own app installed. | BNo rating on record, so a B is our ceiling. If you can send a text you can use this: type, send, done. There's no account to make and nothing to file first. |
| Platforms and integrations | DiPhone only. The App Store lists no iPad, Mac or Android version. It gets round that by writing plain files to iCloud Drive or Dropbox, which desktop apps like Obsidian or NVAlt can open. | CiPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Vision, with Apple Shortcuts, widgets and the share sheet for getting notes in. All Apple, though. There's no Windows, Android or web version. |
| Best for | catching a thought on your iPhone as a text file | texting notes to yourself on Apple devices |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Bebop and Strflow. How we grade
Where they differ
- Bebop starts at $4.99 one-time Pro upgrade. Strflow starts at $1.49 per month, or $14.99 per year.
- Only Strflow lists a macOS app.
- Bebop can be bought with a one-time purchase.
- Bebop also covers Markdown.
- Strflow also covers tasks.
At a glance
| Bebop | Strflow | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $4.99 one-time Pro upgrade | $1.49 per month, or $14.99 per year |
| Free plan | Unlimited notes with iCloud Drive or Dropbox sync, Flashback, the share extension and widgets, with no ads, logins or tracking. | Unlimited notes, tags, reminders and attachments on one device, with no account. Sync and backup across devices need Strflow Plus. |
| Free trial | None listed | Free trial of Strflow Plus; the site does not state its length |
| macOS | ||
| iOS | ||
| Made by | Jack Cheng LLC | Shingo Eguchi |
| Price read from | apps.apple.com | strflow.app |
| Checked | Oct 9, 2026 | Oct 9, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Bebop
- Obsidian or NVAlt users who want a fast capture app on iPhone
- People who keep notes as plain-text files in iCloud Drive or Dropbox
- Jotting down ideas to sort out later on a Mac
Strflow
- People who already text themselves notes, links and to-dos
- Jotting thoughts down on iPhone or Mac without filing them first
- Apple users who want notes kept on device or in their own iCloud
Worth knowing
Bebop
- The App Store lists it for iPhone only; there is no iPad, Mac or Android version.
- It is a capture tool with no note browser: older notes are reached through Flashback or another app that opens the same folder.
- Dropbox sync requires the Dropbox iOS app to be installed.
- Color themes, custom templating and power-user settings need the $4.99 Pro upgrade; the developer's 2024 write-up also says the free version caps Flashback at three notes.
Strflow
- The App Store listing covers iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Vision only; there is no Windows, Android or web version.
- Sync and backup between devices need Strflow Plus; the free plan keeps notes on one device.
- End-to-end encryption applies only when the user has turned on iCloud's Advanced Data Protection.
- Private tags are limited to Strflow Plus, and the roadmap still lists OCR, voice recording and a calendar view as planned or under consideration.
Key features
Bebop
- Capture-first editor
- The app opens on a blank note with the save button within thumb reach, so a thought can be typed and saved without passing through a note list.
- Plain-text files in your own folder
- Notes are saved as .txt or .md files in a chosen iCloud Drive or Dropbox folder, with custom headers, footers, filename formats and file extensions.
- Flashback
- One tap cycles back through recent notes so more can be added to them, and a long press on the button pins a note.
- Quick Append
- Starting a note with @ picks an existing file, and the text is appended to that file instead of being saved as a new note.
- Share extension, widgets and shortcut
- Links and text can be saved from other iOS apps through the share sheet, and widgets and a shortcut open Bebop ready for a new note.
- Markdown helpers
- A helper bar inserts Markdown symbols, lists continue automatically on the next line, and the editor applies light Markdown styling.
Strflow
- Chat-style timeline
- Notes are typed into a message box and sent, which builds a chronological timeline. Adding tags creates separate timelines for individual topics.
- To-do timeline and reminders
- Checklists are collected into a dedicated Todo timeline. A note can be scheduled for a future date; it stays hidden until then and arrives with a notification.
- Capture from anywhere
- Notes can be added from the share sheet, from widgets, through Apple Shortcuts actions, or on the Mac with a keyboard shortcut that opens a quick note panel.
- Rich text and attachments
- The editor handles inline and block formatting, checklists, links between notes and link previews. Images and other file types such as PDFs and videos can be attached.
- Encrypted iCloud sync
- Strflow Plus syncs and backs up notes through iCloud, encrypted with the iCloud Keychain. With Apple's Advanced Data Protection turned on, the data is end-to-end encrypted.
- Markdown export and Spotlight search
- All notes can be exported as Markdown. Notes, tags, link previews and attachment file names can be found through Spotlight on Mac, iPhone and iPad.
Plans
Bebop
Free$0
Unlimited notes saved as text files to an iCloud Drive or Dropbox folder, with no ads, logins or tracking.
Pro Upgrade$4.99
one-time in-app purchase (US App Store)
Adds color themes, custom templating and power-user settings, and supports further development of the app.
Strflow
Free$0
Unlimited notes on a single device with all core features, including tags, reminders and attachments. No account needed.
Strflow Plus (Monthly)$1.49
per month
Encrypted iCloud sync and backup across iPhone, iPad and Mac, plus private tags locked behind Face ID, Touch ID or the device passcode.
Strflow Plus (Annual)$14.99
per year
The same Strflow Plus features as the monthly plan, billed once a year through the App Store.
Strflow Plus (Lifetime)$37.99
one-time purchase
Non-renewing purchase of Strflow Plus. The US App Store also lists a $27.99 lifetime price for people who have paid for a yearly subscription.
Ways to pay less
Bebop
No public discounts listed.
Strflow
- Annual discount
About 16% off with annual billing
Strflow Plus costs $14.99 a year against $1.49 a month, which comes to $17.88 over 12 months, a saving of about 16%.
- Lifetime license
Lifetime Strflow Plus for $37.99
A one-time, non-renewing purchase gives permanent access to Strflow Plus. The terms say a discounted lifetime price may be offered to people who have paid for a yearly subscription.
