Standard Notes
Standard Notes review. A writing app better suited for groups than for individual use.
The title is Standard, but it’s a writing app that seems a bit too expensive and perhaps overly feature-rich in individual use. Initially, I thought it was just a bad app, but after using it, I found it’s not entirely bad; it’s a writing app with its reasons for being what it is. It’s Standard Notes.
Table of Contents
- Standard Notes review. A writing app better suited for groups than for individual use.
- Standard Notes itself doesn’t seem to have critical features, but it’s quite limited in the free version.
- Standard Notes is too expensive…
- The interface of Standard Notes feels similar to iOS apps, and I appreciate the subtle details.
- Standard Notes is an app that places a great deal of emphasis on security.
- I think Standard Notes is a note-taking app that caters to a certain level of demand.
- Standard Notes Conclusion
Standard Notes itself doesn’t seem to have critical features, but it’s quite limited in the free version.
With the free version, you can only just try it out…
As I mentioned earlier, at first, I thought this app itself was not very good. I thought it was just a plain note-taking app where you could only write with no markdown capabilities. That the app’s name is ‘Standard Notes’ made me think that even more. However, the free version had limitations, and with the paid version, you could customize the format of your notes. Markdown was available when creating markdown format notes, and you could also create note formats using Rich Text or Super, which uses shortcuts like @. It’s possible to create spreadsheet notes. The plain note format, where you simply write with no special features, is called ‘Plain Note.’ The notes available for free are just ‘plain’…
Standard Notes is too expensive…
The price is one thing, but the value of money is quite poor…
After using the app for a while, I found some unexpectedly beneficial aspects, but the issue lies with its price. The price is a whopping $65 a year… and when you check on the Android app, it’s $84 a year if you look on the official website. I thought it was around 20 dollars in the past, but it skyrocketed at some point. Anyway, the price is too high, so the cost-effectiveness is terrible. Interestingly, even the most famous note-taking app, Evernote, has recently doubled its price, making it slightly more expensive than this app… a surprising increase in cost-effectiveness?
However, objectively speaking, it’s undeniably very expensive. This is because there are too many competitors in the writing app market. Frankly, if you’re just using it for personal use, using Notion is practically free, isn’t it? Writing apps are writing apps, but if it’s $84 a year… it’s almost the same price as Microsoft 365. Considering the exchange rate, in Korea, it becomes an app much more expensive than MS Office… It hurts to see it this way… Please, don’t raise the price of Word…
The interface of Standard Notes feels similar to iOS apps, and I appreciate the subtle details.
It seems like they’re trying to find their personality.
The interface of Standard Notes is unassuming, resembling iOS apps in a way, and particularly resembling an iOS app called Things, which is quite popular. Of course, it’s not exactly plagiarized, but it gives off a slightly similar vibe. Therefore, it has a somewhat different interface compared to typical writing apps like Evernote. I think these aspects also contribute to its own personality, which I quite like. There are a few minor details that I quite like, such as the clean layout of the document information, and the way the editor allows for adjusting the width, which I found somewhat unique. It offers a subtly high level of freedom.
Standard Notes is an app that places a great deal of emphasis on security.
Personally, it’s a note app that takes security so seriously to the point of making you think, ‘Do we really need this much security?
You can tell just by looking at the app that they’ve really put a lot of emphasis on security, to a remarkable extent. First, it’s a writing app, but it has two-factor authentication. While some writing apps offer two-factor authentication, it’s still not a common feature. Most writing apps typically offer such a feature for enterprise use and prominently display it in pricing plans, but this one provides it in the regular paid version.
Also, considering the rather high prices, it seems to target organizations rather than individuals or startups, especially with features like these. Of course, if it’s targeting enterprise-level usage, it’s expected to compete with tools like Outlook, so it would be more suitable for small to medium-sized businesses.
Anyway, it seems genuinely serious about security, likely aimed at small businesses, as it prominently emphasizes security on its official website. ‘The government collects and uses your data…’ like this. While security is important in Korea too, foreign countries are naturally sensitive about security, so I think they’re really pushing this aspect.
I think Standard Notes is a note-taking app that caters to a certain level of demand.
However, I don’t feel any need for personal use of it at all…
It seems like they’re aiming for more than just a simple note-taking app in many ways. I also got the feeling that it resembles Dropbox Paper to some extent. However, no matter how much I think about it, I don’t see any need for individuals to use this app. At a personal level, there doesn’t seem to be a significant need to focus heavily on security, and ultimately, the price is too high. There are plenty of alternatives available, offering more features at a much lower price.
Updates seem to be fairly consistent, perhaps because of a focus on corporate needs. Writing apps often suffer from slow updates, so it’s refreshing to see frequent updates with this one. Scrivener and iA Writer seem to have a lot to learn… But this also means that they have good after-sales management, which is another important aspect. Of course, if an organization cannot do proper post-management, there’s no reason for them to pay $84 per person annually, right? One could rationalize that the high price is justified by thorough management.
Standard Notes Conclusion
Good point
- An app that is very focused on security.
- The interface is surprisingly sleek, and it has a decent set of features.
Bad point
- Honestly, it’s just too expensive.
- The free version lacks many useful features.
- For personal use, it’s a bit excessive both in terms of price and overall features.
