Quick answer: Use Apple Notes for writing: lists, drafts, checklists and anything you want synced across Apple devices. Use Snugit for collecting: links, screenshots, PDFs and snippets saved from other apps in one tap and found by search. Many people use both.
Updated October 2026. Disclosure: we make Snugit.
Apple Notes is free, already on your iPhone, and very good. So why would anyone add another app? Because Notes is built for writing, and a lot of what people put in it isn't writing at all. Here's an honest side-by-side.
At a glance
| Apple Notes | Snugit | |
|---|---|---|
| Best at | Writing, lists, checklists | Saving links, files, photos and text from other apps |
| Save from the share sheet | Yes, into a note | Yes, one tap, sorted by type |
| Search | Text, attachments, scans | Everything you've saved, in one bar |
| Organizing | Folders, tags, Smart Folders | Pinning, plus folders on Pro |
| Sync across devices | Yes, via iCloud | Not yet (stays on your iPhone) |
| Lock items | Lock individual notes | Lock any item with Face ID, free |
| Duplicate warnings | No | Yes, warns at 80% similar |
| Account needed | Apple Account for iCloud sync | No account at all |
| Price | Free | Free for 10 items, Pro subscription for unlimited |
Where Apple Notes wins
- Writing. Formatting, headings, tables, checklists and drawing. Snugit's notes are simple text by design.
- Sync. Notes appear on your iPad, Mac and iCloud.com instantly. Snugit keeps everything on your iPhone for now.
- Structure. Tags and Smart Folders are powerful once you set them up. How to organize Notes.
- Sharing. You can collaborate on a note with someone else.
- Price. Free, with no item limit.
Where Snugit wins
- Saving from other apps. Tap Share, tap Save to Snugit, done. No choosing a note, no pasting.
- Mixed content. Links, screenshots, PDFs and text each keep their type, instead of everything becoming part of a note.
- Finding things fast. One search bar across everything you've saved, designed to get you there in about two seconds.
- Privacy. No account, nothing uploaded, and Face ID lock on any item on every plan.
- Duplicates. Saving something 80% similar to what you have? Snugit asks first.
The honest answer: use both
Notes turns into a junk drawer when it's used as a dumping ground for links and screenshots. Keeping writing in Notes and collected stuff in Snugit keeps both tidy. Your shopping list and meeting notes live in Notes; the recipe link, the parking-spot screenshot and the boarding pass PDF live in Snugit.
Who should stick with just Apple Notes
If you mostly write, need your notes on a Mac or iPad, and rarely save links or files, Notes is all you need. Do you need a separate notes app at all?
Who should add Snugit
If your Notes app is full of pasted links, screenshots and "just in case" files you can never find again, Snugit is built for exactly that. It's free to try with 10 items.
Try Snugit free alongside Apple Notes and see which one you reach for.