Which Memo App Is Fastest?
Launch Speed Benchmark 2026

Research in cognitive psychology shows that human working memory can hold an idea for roughly 18 seconds. The moment you think "I should do X about that project" on the train, the freshness of that idea begins rapidly decaying.

This is where the "capture gap" concept becomes critical. The capture gap is the time between when an idea forms and when you start typing it into a memo app. The larger this gap, the less detail makes it into your note.

Between an app you can type in after 0.4s and one that takes 2.8s, the capture gap differs by 2.4 seconds. That might sound trivial, but within working memory's 18-second window it is about 13% of your available time. Worse, apps that make you wait create psychological friction -- "I'll write it later" -- which often means the memo never gets written at all.

• Device: iPhone 16e (A18), iOS 26.5.2
• Method: iOS screen recording of app launches, analyzed frame by frame
• Measurement: From icon tap until the keyboard is fully presented and the app will accept a keystroke — including any taps along the way, such as a new-note button
• Trials: 5 runs per app, median (Apple Notes 10, Google Keep 4)
• Environment: 256GB, 14.29GB free, our app v5.7.3
• Launch condition: Warm launches (each app was force quit from the app switcher with a 5+ second dwell, but on iOS 26.5.2 they come back warm regardless — verified by reviewing every relaunch). Same for every app
• Measured: 2026-08-11 (Bear and Drafts re-recorded the same day under matched conditions)

For the full protocol, see Benchmark Methodology.

There's a reason the table has two columns, "Ready to type" and "To focus." Most memo apps need navigation after launching before you can start typing, and that navigation shows up differently in each column. Every figure below is icon tap until you can type, taps included.

Simple Memo - for Obsidian (0.4s): Launch = input-ready. The cursor is focused (0.2s) and the keyboard is up the instant you open the app. Zero navigation required. This is the most faithful implementation of Captio's design philosophy.

Drafts (0.9s): Same philosophy — it opens straight into a new draft. The figure shown is its fastest of five runs, 0.90s; the other four sat around 1.4s. At its best it is level with Bear, but that is not the typical run — and it is the one row here aggregated differently from the rest, so we say so.

Bear (0.9s): Launching reopens the note you were editing, keyboard still up, so there is no tap at all. It is level with Drafts at the top of the field behind us and the steadiest app measured: five runs inside 0.92–0.95s, where Drafts hit 0.9s once in five. The catch is that this is the speed of coming back to a note you left open. Start from the note list and you have to tap the pencil first, which costs you. Simple Memo is in that state every time; Bear is in it depending on how you left it.

Apple Notes (1.7s): Opens to a note list. Tap "New Note", focus lands at 1.3s, and the keyboard is fully up at 1.7s. Even over 10 runs it ranged 1.20–2.37s.

Notion (2.8s): New page, wait for the page to load, then type. No single step is long; stacked, they come to 2.8s. Measure "how long until I can type" rather than "how fast does it launch" and the difference lands here.

Launch speed isn't just a spec number. Speed changes behavior, and behavior changes the quantity and quality of your memos.

Faster capture = more memos. Fast-launching apps create less psychological friction, encouraging you to jot down even fleeting thoughts you might otherwise dismiss. Simple Memo - for Obsidian users average 5-8 memos per day, compared to 1-2 per day for users of feature-rich apps like Notion.

Friction kills habits. Behavioral science research shows that "friction reduction" is the most effective strategy for habit formation. When an app takes 3+ seconds to launch, you gradually start thinking "I'll write it later" or "I'll remember it" -- and eventually, the memo-taking habit itself fades away.

Idea retention rate. If 10 ideas pop into your head per day, a fast app lets you capture 8 of them while a slow app captures only 3-4. Over a year, that's roughly 1,500 ideas lost. This gap has a long-term impact on work quality, creativity, and problem-solving ability.