Apple Notes vs Fantastical
Which is better in 2026? Five scores, side by side.
Apple Notes is the better app overall, scoring 9.0 to 8.9. Apple Notes wins on 3 of the 5 scores, Fantastical on 2.
iPhone, iPad and Mac owners who want a fast, free place for everyday notes
Busy Apple users juggling work and personal calendars
Score by score
The details
| Feature | Apple Notes | Fantastical |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Productivity & Notes | Productivity & Notes |
| Category rank | #5 of 17 | #8 of 17 |
| Developer | Apple | Flexibits |
| Pricing | Free | Free + paid plans |
| Usable for free | Yes | Yes |
| iPhone & iPad | ✓ | ✓ |
| Mac | ✓ | ✓ |
| Windows | — | ✓ |
| Web | ✓ | — |
Common questions
Is Apple Notes better than Fantastical?
Apple Notes is the better app overall, scoring 9.0 to 8.9. Apple Notes wins on 3 of the 5 scores, Fantastical on 2.
Which is cheaper, Apple Notes or Fantastical?
Apple Notes: Free; syncs with 5 GB of free iCloud storage, and iCloud+ starts at $0.99 a month. Fantastical: Free basics; Flexibits Premium is $6.99 a month or $56.99 a year on the App Store. On value for money, Apple Notes scores higher.
Do Apple Notes and Fantastical work on the same devices?
Only Apple Notes runs on Web. Only Fantastical runs on Windows.
Which is more private, Apple Notes or Fantastical?
Apple Notes scores higher on privacy (9.0/10). App Store label: no tracking. Your note content and an ID are linked to you; usage data is not. Turn on Advanced Data Protection and your iCloud notes are end-to-end encrypted.
Strengths and weaknesses
Apple Notes
- Free and built into every iPhone, iPad and Mac
- Handwriting, scans, tables and transcripts in one app
- No tracking, according to the App Store label
- No Android or Windows app, only iCloud.com in a browser
- Free iCloud storage is just 5 GB
- Not end-to-end encrypted unless you turn on Advanced Data Protection
Apple Notes is free, already on your iPhone, iPad and Mac, and a lot better than most people think. You get checklists, tables, document scanning, handwriting, Math Notes and audio recordings with written transcripts. Share notes with family, lock private ones and export to Markdown. Everything syncs through iCloud. The catch is that it lives in Apple's world, with only a web version for Windows and Android.
Full Apple Notes review
Fantastical
- Add events by typing a normal sentence
- Polished apps for iPhone, iPad, Mac and Windows
- Works with Microsoft 365 and Google accounts
- Most power features need the subscription
- No Android phone or tablet app yet
- Microsoft 365 users must switch to Graph sync
Fantastical lets you add an event by typing a normal sentence with the who, what and when, and it fills in the rest. Around that you get the DayTicker, Calendar Sets, tasks from Todoist and Google Tasks, Openings and Proposals for scheduling, weather, and AI that turns forwarded emails and screenshots into events. Most of the best parts need Premium, and Android phones aren't supported yet.
Full Fantastical review
