Fossify Notes vs Quillpad
We give Fossify Notes a 2.8 GPA and Quillpad a 3.0, out of 4.0. Quillpad grades higher on features. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Quillpad
Open-source Android notes app with Markdown and task lists
Free
How we grade them
| 2.8GPAFossify NotesGood | 3.0GPAQuillpadVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AFree from Google Play or F-Droid, with no ads and no in-app purchases listed. Fossify runs on voluntary donations, so the only way to pay is to choose to. | AFree and open source, under GNU GPL v3.0 on F-Droid, and the project says it will never show ads. With no paid tier at all, there's nothing to set against the $5.99 a month that's typical here. |
| Free plan and trial | AThe whole app is free. There's no paid tier, no account and nothing locked away. What you install is all of it. | AThe whole app is free from F-Droid, Google Play or GitHub, with no in-app purchases listed. Every feature is in from the start. |
| Features | CThin, and on purpose: plain text notes, checklists, a home-screen widget, locks for the app or single notes, export and automatic backups to a file. There's no sync between devices at all, and Fossify still labels the app Beta. | BMarkdown notes, task lists, reminders, notebooks, tags, voice recordings and file attachments, plus pinning, archiving, hidden notes and search. Solid basics. But Nextcloud sync is labelled experimental, and moving in from Google Keep or Notally means running separate conversion scripts. |
| Ease of use | BNo account and nothing to set up. Open it, type, and edits save by themselves. 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. | BIt's Android only, so there's no App Store rating on record and a B is our ceiling. Install it and write. The only setup is sync, if you want it: a folder of Markdown files or a Nextcloud server with the Notes app installed. |
| Platforms and integrations | DAndroid only. Fossify builds its apps for Android and offers no iOS, desktop or web version. With no cloud service either, a note only leaves the phone when you share it, export it or back up the device. | DAndroid only, on Android 7.0 or newer. There's no iPhone, desktop or web version and no hosted sync service. Nextcloud is the one integration, and file sync writes plain Markdown files other apps can read. |
| Best for | Android notes that never go online | free Markdown notes and checklists on Android |
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: Fossify Notes and Quillpad. How we grade
Where they differ
- Fossify Notes is free. Quillpad is free.
- Quillpad also covers Markdown.
In commonFree planAndroidOpen sourceLocal-firstNotesTasks
At a glance
| Fossify Notes | Quillpad | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free |
| Starts at | Free | Free |
| Free plan | The whole app is free to install from Google Play or F-Droid, with no ads and no in-app purchases listed. Fossify is funded by voluntary donations. | The whole app is free and open source, and the project says it will never show ads. F-Droid lists the license as GNU GPL v3.0 only. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Android | ||
| Made by | Fossify | Quillpad |
| Price read from | play.google.com | quillpad.github.io |
| Checked | Oct 9, 2026 | Oct 9, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Fossify Notes
- Android users who want a notes app that never goes online
- Quick notes, shopping lists and checklists on the home screen
- People replacing stock phone apps with open-source ones
Quillpad
- Android users who want a free notes app with no ads
- People who self-host Nextcloud and want their notes on it
- Keeping Markdown notes, checklists and reminders in one app
Worth knowing
Fossify Notes
- Android only: Fossify builds its apps for Android and offers no iOS, desktop or web version.
- Fossify labels the app Beta, meaning it is published while active testing and development are still under way.
- There is no account or cloud service, so notes do not sync between devices; moving them means exporting or a device backup.
- Google Play and F-Droid publish releases on their own schedules, so the version on offer can differ between the two.
Quillpad
- Android only: the downloads are F-Droid, Google Play and GitHub, and F-Droid lists Android 7.0 or newer as the requirement.
- Nextcloud sync is labeled experimental and needs the Nextcloud Notes app installed on the server.
- There is no hosted sync service: notes stay on the device unless file-system or Nextcloud sync is set up.
- Moving in from Notally or Google Keep relies on separate conversion scripts linked from the README.
Key features
Fossify Notes
- Text notes and checklists
- Write plain notes, shopping lists and checklists as separate, independent notes. Edits are saved automatically, and checked items can be moved to the bottom of a list.
- Home-screen widgets
- A customizable widget keeps a note or a to-do list visible on the Android home screen and opens it with a tap.
- App and note locking
- The app as a whole or individual notes can be protected, with fingerprint access used when biometric protection is selected.
- Import, export and automatic backups
- Notes can be imported from and exported to files, and optional automatic backups create backup files on the device without manual steps.
- No Internet permission
- The app does not request Android's Internet permission. Notes leave the device only when shared, exported or included in an Android device backup.
- Color and font customization
- Colors and display settings can be changed to taste, and version 1.7.0 added support for custom fonts.
Quillpad
- Markdown notes
- Notes are written with Markdown support and can be pinned to the top of the list, archived when they are no longer needed, and found through search.
- Task lists and reminders
- A note can be a task list, and reminders can be set on notes for events that should not be missed.
- Notebooks and tags
- Related notes are grouped into notebooks, and tags can be added to notes as a second way to organize them.
- Voice recordings and attachments
- Voice recordings and other files can be attached to a note so related material stays in one place.
- Hidden notes
- Notes can be hidden from the main list so they are not shown to other people looking at the device.
- File, Nextcloud and zip backup
- Notes can sync to the file system as Markdown files in a local or cloud folder, sync with Nextcloud, or be backed up to a zip file and restored later.
Plans
Fossify Notes
Fossify Notes$0
The full app from Google Play or F-Droid, under the GNU GPL v3.0. Both stores use the same package name and signing key.
Quillpad
Quillpad$0
The full app from F-Droid, Google Play or the GitHub releases page, with no paid tier or in-app purchases listed.
