ColorNote vs NotallyX
We give ColorNote a 2.8 GPA and NotallyX a 3.0, out of 4.0. NotallyX grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
ColorNote
Android notepad for color-coded notes and checklists
Free plan · from $1.99
How we grade them
| 2.8GPAColorNoteGood | 3.0GPANotallyXVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BWe can't tell you what premium costs or buys. Google Play shows in-app purchases from $1.99 to $15.99 per item, with no billing period and no list of what each one is. A B is where we put a tool whose paid side the listing can't describe. | AFree and open source under GPL 3.0. The FAQ says there are no in-app purchases, subscriptions or advertisements. Donations to the developer are optional. |
| Free plan and trial | AThe free install has the notepad: text notes, checklists, colour groups, reminders, widgets, note lock and backup. The only things Google Play names as premium are a writing assistant and a grammar checker, though it doesn't spell out what else paying adds. | AThe whole app is free, from GitHub or the IzzyOnDroid repository. There's no paid tier and no account to create, so there's nothing to run out of. |
| Features | BNotes, checklists, colour groups, repeating reminders, status bar pins, a calendar view, a master password and online sync that encrypts with AES. Solid basics. But notes can't be opened in other programs, and a forgotten master password takes the locked notes with it. | BRich text notes, task lists with subtasks, repeating reminders, pictures, PDFs and audio notes, labels, colours, home-screen widgets and an app lock. Solid basics. But there's no sync, and the README says the developer pulled it from Google Play for a time after several users reported losing notes. |
| Ease of use | BTwo note types, colours and a widget. There's not much to learn. It isn't on iPhone, so there's no App Store rating on record to go by, and a B is as high as we go. | BNo App Store rating exists for an Android-only app, so a B is our ceiling. It looks about as simple as a notes app gets. The homework is backups: uninstalling deletes your notes unless you've made one. |
| Platforms and integrations | DAndroid only. The FAQ says there's no version for other phones or for PCs, and suggests the BlueStacks emulator if you want it on a computer. Sync keeps an Android phone and tablet in step, and that's as far as it goes. | DAndroid only, on Android 5.0 and above. No iPhone, desktop or web version, and the listing shows no integrations. The nearest thing to sync is pointing the backup folder at cloud or WebDAV storage that another app mounts. |
| Best for | a plain Android notepad with sticky-note widgets | simple notes and checklists on Android, no account |
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: ColorNote and NotallyX. How we grade
Where they differ
- ColorNote starts at $1.99 - $15.99 per item (in-app purchases; billing basis not shown). NotallyX is free.
- NotallyX is open source, according to its own site.
- ColorNote also covers linked notes and calendar.
In commonFree planAndroidNotesTasks
At a glance
| ColorNote | NotallyX | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free |
| Starts at | $1.99 - $15.99 per item (in-app purchases; billing basis not shown) | Free |
| Free plan | Free to install. The Google Play listing names only a writing assistant and grammar checker as premium features and does not say what else the paid version adds. | The whole app is free and open source under GPL 3.0. The FAQ says there are no in-app purchases, subscriptions or advertisements. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Android | ||
| Made by | Social & Mobile, Inc. | Crustack |
| Price read from | play.google.com | crustack.github.io |
| Checked | Oct 6, 2026 | Oct 9, 2026 |
Who each one suits
ColorNote
- Android users who want a plain notepad with checklists
- Shopping lists and reminders kept on the home screen as widgets
- Keeping notes in step between an Android phone and tablet
NotallyX
- Android users who want a simple notes app with no ads or account
- Checklists with subtasks and reminders
- People moving notes over from Google Keep, Evernote or Quillpad
Worth knowing
ColorNote
- Android only: the FAQ says there is no version for other mobile systems or for PCs and suggests the BlueStacks emulator on a computer.
- Google Play shows in-app purchases of $1.99 to $15.99 per item without saying what each item is or how it is billed.
- Notes cannot be opened in other programs, and the FAQ's only route to another operating system is sending notes by email.
- A forgotten master password cannot be recovered; clearing it loses the notes that were locked with it.
NotallyX
- Android only, for devices running Android 5.0 (Lollipop) and above.
- The README says the developer temporarily removed the app from Google Play after several users reported losing notes, and urges daily automatic backups.
- There is no built-in sync. The docs suggest pointing the backup folder at cloud or WebDAV storage mounted by a third-party app.
- Uninstalling the app deletes its notes unless a backup has been made first.
Key features
ColorNote
- Text notes and checklists
- Text notes hold free-form writing, and checklists cover to-do and shopping lists whose items are checked off with a tap.
- Color-coding
- Notes are sorted into color groups. Each group can be given a name and shows how many notes it holds.
- Reminders and status bar pins
- A note can have a time, all-day or repeating reminder, or be pinned to the Android status bar so it stays in view.
- Home screen widgets
- Sticky-note widgets put individual notes on the Android home screen.
- Calendar view
- Notes can be attached to dates on a calendar, and the app raises a reminder for a note on the date it was assigned to.
- Note lock and backup
- A master password locks individual notes. Notes back up to device storage or to the online sync service, which encrypts them with AES before upload.
NotallyX
- Rich text notes
- Text notes support bold, italic, monospace and strikethrough formatting, clickable links for web addresses, phone numbers and email addresses, and undo and redo.
- Task lists with subtasks
- List notes have checkboxes and subtasks. Checked items are sorted to the bottom automatically, which can be switched off in the settings.
- Reminders
- A note can carry a reminder for a chosen date and time, optionally repeating at a set interval, and raises a notification when it comes due.
- Attachments and audio notes
- Pictures, PDFs and other files can be added to a note, and quick audio recordings can be made inside the app.
- Labels, colors and pinning
- Notes can be labeled, colored and pinned to the top, sorted by title, creation date or last modified date, and shown as a list or a grid.
- App lock and automatic backups
- The app can be locked with the device's biometric or PIN. Backups go to a chosen folder on exit from a note or periodically, and can be password-protected.
Plans
ColorNote
ColorNote$0
Free install from Google Play, with text notes, checklists, color groups, reminders, widgets, note lock and backup among the listed features.
Premium (in-app purchases)$1.99 - $15.99
per item; the billing basis is not shown on Google Play
The listing's release notes place a writing assistant and grammar checker in the premium version. The individual items are not itemized.
NotallyX
NotallyX$0
The full app, downloadable from the GitHub releases page or the IzzyOnDroid repository. Donations to the developer are optional.
