Jones wrote most of the lyrics and the music around early 2005, and Alexander helped her finish it near the end of the album's production.

Andy Strickland of Dotmusic listed the track's "sparse, piano pop" quality among the highlights of Not Too Late.

[2] Tom Woods from MusicOMH described the song as "stripped-down, simple and expertly delivered", while praising its chorus line "It's not too late for love" by writing that Jones "manages to legitimise every innocent turn of phrase that comes from her mouth".

[3] Writing for PopMatters, Elizabeth Newton emphasized that the album's "hopeful" theme manifests itself most affectingly on "Not Too Late".

She further called the song "subtle and understated, touched with simple piano chords, guitar, bass, and drums.