Napkin vs Reflect (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Reflect grades higher than Napkin: 2.2 against 2.0 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 4, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Napkin grades higher on value for money. Reflect grades higher on the free plan. They get the same grade on features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Napkin
iPhone app for saving quotes and ideas and revisiting them as flows
Reflect
Open-source daily notes app with backlinks and local Markdown
Which one is for you
Pick Napkin if
- Fits if you collect quotes from books and articles and want to see them again later
- Works for people on an iPhone who want a calm review habit more than a note library
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want to try before paying, as there is no free plan or trial
- Skip it if you also write on a laptop: the desktop version was shut down and no replacement is promised
- Too light for notes with folders, long text or search, as it is built for short ideas
- Watch out: it needs iOS 26.0 or later, and the listing shows two pairs of subscription prices
Pick Reflect if
- Fits if you work on a Mac and want free daily notes kept as plain Markdown files
- Works for people who already pay an AI provider and will bring their own key
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you want it on your iPhone, at $9.99 a month or $99 a year for the mobile app
- Skip it if you use Windows or Android, as neither is available, neither has a release date and there's no web app
- Not for you if you want sync or end-to-end encryption built in, because both are left to iCloud Drive or Git
- Watch out: AI features need your own API key, and the AI provider bills that usage separately
How we grade them
| 2.0GPANapkinFair | 2.2GPAReflectFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | B$40 a year, or about $3.33 a month, which is the edge of the category's cheapest quarter. The listing also shows a $3 monthly and $30 yearly pair without saying why. | DThe only paid part is the iPhone and iPad app, at $9.99 a month or $99 a year on the US App Store. The dearest tenth of this category starts at $9.99, so the monthly price sits right in it, and even the yearly works out at $8.25 a month. That's a lot for mobile access to an app that's free on the Mac. |
| Free plan and trial | FNothing is free: the listing says a subscription is needed and shows no free plan or trial. | BThe Mac app is free and open source under the MIT licence, with no subscription and no account, so a Mac user could live on it for good. Not an A, because the moment you want the same notes on your iPhone the subscription starts. |
| Features | CIt does one smaller job fully: collect ideas by typing, dictating, scanning a book or sharing, then revisit them with AI topic suggestions. It isn't a notes library, and the desktop version was switched off on 30 June 2026. | CA daily note with your Apple Calendar events beside it, wiki links, backlinks, one search over notes and tags, voice notes with transcription, a Chrome clipper. But the listing names the gaps: no sync and no encryption of its own, both left to iCloud Drive or Git, and AI needs a key you bring. |
| Ease of use | BNo store rating on record. You install it and share or type something in, with nothing to set up. | BNo store rating on record for Reflect Open, so we go by the listing: it opens on today's note with no account to make and nothing to configure first. The extras are where the fiddling is, with an API key for AI and iCloud Drive or Git for sync. |
| Platforms and integrations | CiPhone only. No iPad, Mac, Windows, Android or web version, and no integrations listed. | COne family of devices: Mac, iPhone and iPad, plus a Chrome capture extension, with Apple Calendar, iCloud Drive and GitHub hooked in. The vendor says Windows and Android versions aren't available and have no release dates, and there's no web app. |
| Best for | saving quotes and ideas on an iPhone | daily notes with backlinks, free on a Mac |
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: Napkin and Reflect. How we grade
Price against what you get
Napkin starts at $3.33 a month when paid by the year and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Reflect starts at $8.25 a month when paid by the year and scores 2.3.
They score the same, and Napkin starts $4.92 a month lower. Of the other note-taking apps on the chart, 19 score higher than Napkin for less, and 41 score higher than Reflect for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Reflect is open source, according to its own site.
- Napkin also covers dictation.
- Reflect also covers Markdown, linked notes and daily notes.
At a glance
| Napkin | Reflect | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Free plan |
| Starts at | $5 per month, or $40 per year | $9.99 per month, or $99 per year, for the iPhone and iPad app |
| Free plan | None | The Mac app is free and open source, with no subscription or account required. The iPhone and iPad app needs a paid subscription. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| macOS | ||
| iOS | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Napkin GmbH | Reflect App, LLC |
| Price read from | apps.apple.com | apps.apple.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Oct 4, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Napkin
- Runs on iPhone only; the desktop prototype was shut down on June 30, 2026, and no replacement is promised.
- The App Store listing says a subscription is needed to use Napkin, and it shows no free plan or trial.
- The listing also shows a second pair of subscription prices, $3 monthly and $30 yearly, without saying what differs.
- It requires iOS 26.0 or later.
Reflect
- Only the Mac app is free; the iPhone and iPad app requires a paid subscription.
- There is no web app, and the vendor says Windows and Android versions are not available and have no release dates.
- AI features need your own API key, and the AI provider bills that usage separately.
- Reflect Open adds no end-to-end encryption of its own; sync and encryption rely on iCloud Drive or Git.
Key features
Napkin
- Share from other apps
- Send text from other apps to Napkin through the share sheet, or type an idea in with the keyboard.
- Flows of ideas
- Saved ideas are connected into short, curated playlists meant for quick moments of reflection.
- AI topic suggestions
- A personal AI reads your saved ideas and suggests topics you may want to look at again.
- Scan and dictate
- Scan a passage from a printed book or dictate an idea by voice instead of typing it.
Reflect
- Local Markdown notes
- Notes are plain Markdown files in a folder you choose. There is no account, no telemetry and no Reflect-hosted cloud service.
- Daily notes and calendar
- The app starts on today's note. Apple Calendar events appear beside the daily note and can be turned into meeting notes.
- Wiki links and backlinks
- Double-bracket links connect notes into a graph, backlinks are tracked for each note, and one search covers notes, backlinks and tags.
- Optional AI with your own key
- Add an OpenAI, Anthropic, Google or OpenRouter key to ask questions about your notes, pull out takeaways and fix grammar. Requests go directly to the provider.
- Voice notes and transcription
- Record audio inside the app and transcribe it through the transcription provider you connect.
- Capture and sync
- The Reflect Capture Chrome extension saves links, selected text and screenshots. Notes sync between devices through iCloud Drive or Git.
Plans
Napkin
All features, monthly$5
per month
Subscription with all features, billed monthly through the App Store.
All features, yearly$40
per year
The same subscription billed yearly, which works out to about $3.33 a month.
Reflect
Mac app$0
Free and open source under the MIT license. No subscription and no account.
Reflect Pro (iPhone and iPad)$9.99
per month, or $99 per year (US App Store)
Subscription for the iPhone and iPad app, bought in the App Store, where prices are set per country.
Ways to pay less
Napkin
No public discounts listed.
Reflect
- Annual discount
About 17% lower price with the yearly subscription
On the US App Store, Reflect Pro is $99 per year versus $9.99 per month, which works out to about 17% less over a year.
- Other savings
One year of the mobile app free for Classic subscribers
Reflect's site says paid Reflect Classic subscribers get one year of the iPhone and iPad app free.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Napkin or Reflect?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Napkin is cheaper to start with: $3.33 a month when paid by the year, against $8.25 a month when paid by the year for Reflect. Napkin starts at $5 per month, or $40 per year, and Reflect starts at $9.99 per month, or $99 per year, for the iPhone and iPad app.
Which has a free plan, Napkin or Reflect?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Reflect has a free plan. Napkin does not.
Which platforms do Napkin and Reflect run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Reflect lists a macOS app and a browser extension. Both list an iOS app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.