A notes app with no subscription

Gravity is a one-time purchase. You pay once, and you get the whole app with no subscription, no in-app purchases, no premium tier and no ads. In the US it costs $9.99 on the App Store and on Google Play, and other countries have local prices.

I'm Tristan, and I build Gravity on my own. This page explains exactly what you pay for, why I can sell it this way, and when a subscription app or a free one would suit you better.

What one payment gets you

There's only one version of Gravity, and you get all of it:

• As many notes as you like, in a single stream
• Search across every note, including archived ones, working offline
• Markdown, checklists and tags you create by typing a word and a colon
• The home screen widget and share sheet for quick capture
• iCloud sync between your iPhone, iPad and Mac, if you want it
• Export to JSON or Markdown whenever you like

Nothing is held back for a Pro plan, and there's no limit on notes or devices.

Each platform is its own purchase. The iPhone app also runs on iPad, so one purchase covers both. The Mac app and the Android app are sold separately.

Updates are free, including the recent one that added Markdown and checklists.

Why I don't need a subscription

Subscriptions make sense when an app has running costs for every user: servers, storage, AI models, a team on call. Gravity has almost none of those.

Your notes are stored on your device. If you turn on iCloud sync, they travel through your own private iCloud database, which Apple runs and which counts against your own iCloud storage. There's no Gravity server in the middle, so I don't pay more each month as more people use the app, and I don't need to charge you monthly to cover it.

It also means Gravity doesn't depend on me to keep working. There's no account to expire and no server to switch off. If you stopped paying attention to the app for a year, it would open exactly as you left it.

Using it, day to day

You open Gravity and the cursor is already in the box at the top. Type a thought, press Return twice, and it's saved. Older notes sink as new ones arrive. When you scroll back and something still matters, swipe it right and it returns to the top. That's the loop, based on Andrej Karpathy's append-and-review note.

There's nothing to upgrade to, so the app never interrupts that loop with an offer, a trial countdown or a locked feature.

How it compares on price

Apple Notes and Google Keep are free and capable. Neither charges a subscription, although storage in iCloud or Google may cost money if you fill it with photos and files.

Bear has a free tier and a subscription, Bear Pro, which you need for sync between devices. Drafts is free to download, with a Pro subscription for its more advanced features. Obsidian is free, and its official Sync and Publish services are paid add-ons. Notion has a free plan and paid plans aimed at teams.

Those subscriptions pay for real work, and plenty of people are happy to pay them. Gravity does less, so it can cost less over time. If you'd otherwise pay for a notes app every year, a one-time purchase pays for itself quickly.

Who it's for

Gravity suits you if you want a small, fast app for quick notes, you'd rather pay once than rent your tools, and you like the idea of one stream you review now and then. It also suits people who've bought into elaborate systems before and ended up maintaining them more than using them.

Questions

Does one purchase cover my iPad?

Yes. The iPhone app runs on iPad at no extra cost. The Mac app is a separate purchase.

Does iCloud sync cost extra?

Not from me. Notes sync through your own iCloud account and use a tiny amount of your iCloud storage, since they're text.

Will you switch to a subscription later?

No. Gravity runs without servers, so there's no ongoing cost to pass on.

Can I get my notes out if I stop using it?

Yes. Export every note as JSON, or as Markdown from the phone app.

Gravity is on the App Store for iPhone, iPad and Mac, and on Google Play for Android.