NotallyX vs Quillpad
We give NotallyX and Quillpad the same GPA: 3.0 out of 4.0. They get the same grade on all five counts.
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
| 3.0GPANotallyXVery good | 3.0GPAQuillpadVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | 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. | 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, from GitHub or the IzzyOnDroid repository. There's no paid tier and no account to create, so there's nothing to run out of. | 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 | 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. | 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 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. | 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, 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. | 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 | simple notes and checklists on Android, no account | 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: NotallyX and Quillpad. How we grade
Where they differ
- NotallyX is free. Quillpad is free.
- Quillpad also covers Markdown.
In commonFree planAndroidOpen sourceLocal-firstNotesTasks
At a glance
| NotallyX | Quillpad | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free |
| Starts at | Free | Free |
| Free plan | The whole app is free and open source under GPL 3.0. The FAQ says there are no in-app purchases, subscriptions or advertisements. | 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 | Crustack | Quillpad |
| Price read from | crustack.github.io | quillpad.github.io |
| Checked | Oct 9, 2026 | Oct 9, 2026 |
Who each one suits
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
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
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.
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
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.
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
NotallyX
NotallyX$0
The full app, downloadable from the GitHub releases page or the IzzyOnDroid repository. Donations to the developer are optional.
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.
