Fastest Note-Taking Apps for iPhone 2026: Speed Benchmarks
For five iPhone note apps, the developer's records from August 11, 2026 measure the time from tapping the Home Screen icon until the app accepts typing (warm launch, iPhone 16e). Simple Memo - for Obsidian recorded a median of 0.4s, Bear 0.917s, Apple Notes 1.726s and Google Keep 2.068s. Drafts' published 0.9s is its fastest of five runs (median 1.45s). None of these is a time to save, send or sync a note. The March 2026 table, totals and speed multiples in the earlier version of this article are withdrawn.
When you want to catch a quick thought, the time before you can type matters. This article keeps its original five apps and restates them from the one speed record the site maintains, with the conditions that record depends on.
What was measured
The measurements were made by the Simple Memo developer, not an independent testing organization.
- Date: August 11, 2026. Device: iPhone 16e (A18). iOS 26.5.2. Simple Memo version 5.7.3.
- Start: tap the Home Screen app icon. End: the keyboard is fully presented and the note accepts input. Taps an app needs along the way, such as starting a new note, are included.
- Warm launch: each app was force quit from the app switcher and opened again after a short wait, which on iOS still measures a warm launch. Cold launches and entry through widgets, Lock Screen controls or Shortcuts were not measured.
- Typing, saving, sending and syncing are not part of the figures.
Results for the five apps in this article
The rows are not a ranking. Scroll the table horizontally on a small screen.
| App | Ready to type | Observed range | Runs | Statistic |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simple Memo - for Obsidian | 0.4s | 0.366–0.433s | 5 | Median |
| Drafts | 0.9s | 0.9–1.567s | 5 | Fastest run * |
| Bear | 0.917s | 0.917–0.95s | 5 | Median |
| Apple Notes | 1.726s | 1.2–2.367s | 10 | Median |
| Google Keep | 2.068s | 1.969–2.234s | 4 | Median |
* Drafts' published figure is the fastest of its five runs; its median is 1.45s (runs: 0.900 / 1.550 / 1.450 / 1.383 / 1.567s). Keep that in mind when you set it beside the other apps' medians.
The paths differ. The five Bear runs resumed into an existing note with its keyboard open, while Apple Notes and Google Keep include the tap that starts a new note. Small decimal differences do not settle which app suits you; check whether the measured path resembles how you capture. The full eight-app table, with Evernote, OneNote and Notion, is in the speed benchmark, the method is in how we measure, and the run-by-run records are in the measurement ledger.
What these figures do not tell you
- How long it takes to save, send, sync or deliver a note. A quick "sent" screen is not a delivery measurement.
- How the apps behave on a cold launch, on other iPhone models or on older iOS versions.
- How fast widgets, Lock Screen controls, the Action button or Shortcuts are. Tapping a Lock Screen widget opens the app, which normally asks you to unlock the iPhone first.
Which app should you choose?
- Emailing notes to yourself or filling an Obsidian inbox: Simple Memo - for Obsidian opens straight into the text field and sends with one tap. The free plan allows three sends a day.
- Automation and actions: Drafts, if you want to send text to many destinations and script the workflow.
- Nothing to install: Apple Notes is already on your iPhone and syncs through iCloud.
- Markdown writing in a polished editor: Bear.
- Android, the web and a Google account: Google Keep.
Speed is one input. Where a note ends up, and whether you will find and reread it later, matter as much.