Comparison

MWeb vs SiYuan

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

MWeb

A powerful writing and note-taking application focused on Markdown. It offers a robust editor, document management, and publishing capabilities for efficient text creation and organization.

Highlights
  • Markdown editor with CommonMark and GFM support
  • Document management via Folders mode
  • Note-taking with Library mode and tagging
  • Publishing and sharing functions
  • Cross-device synchronization
  • Image and math formula preview
Features
Read full description

MWeb was born in 2015. It is a writing, note-taking and publishing app focusing on Markdown. If you like Markdown or text writing, We highly recommend you try MWeb. MWeb is composed of a complete and stable editor, a Folders mode for managing documents, a Library mode specifically for notes, and a document publishing and sharing function set, with a total of four modules. The feature of MWeb's software is that it chooses platform-native technology for each platform. It is built using AppKit on macOS and UIKit on iOS/iPadOS. The following is a brief introduction to these four modules. If you are interested, you can continue reading. ## Editor features Here are some of the key features of an editor: * Base on CommonMark syntax and GitHub Flavored Markdown (GFM) extended syntax, supporting TOC, tables, code blocks, math formulas, task lists, footnotes, etc. * Display the text of the Markdown document completely without any deletion. * Images can be displayed directly in the Editor, supporting jpg, png, gif, webP, HEIC and etc. * Math formulas, mermaid and Echarts drawings can be previewed in the editor. * You can set your favorite font or multiple fonts for writing. * You can choose from 11 light themes and 21 dark themes, and also support custom themes. * There is a menu to facilitate the input of Markdown syntax, and a special Markdown syntax keyboard is also provided in iOS. * Convenient tools for generating and formatting Markdown table syntax. * You can view the outline and word count of Markdown documents. * Markdown documents can be previewed and support Editor & Preview mode. ## Folders mode The first requirement of Markdown is to create and edit Markdown documents, and MWeb's Folders mode does this. It supports the following features: * Create Markdown, Textbundle documents, or simply open them for editing. * Introduce a folder with Markdown documents into the Folders mode of MWeb. MWeb will provide practical functions such as management of Markdown documents, full-text search, copy and paste to insert images, and unified storage of referenced images. * iPadOS/iOS version supports Dropbox folders. ## Library mode Markdown is so easy to use, so taking notes is also in great demand. Of course, you can use Folders mode and introduce a folder to take notes, which is also very nice and easy to share. So why do we still create a separate Library mode? Mainly, the Library mode has the following features: * There is no need to consider the file name, title and storage location, Just create note and writing. * Use category trees and tags to manage notes. A single note can be classified into multiple categories, making it easier to set categories for notes. * Organizing notes is more convenient. When moving categories and notes, renaming categories will not affect each other. You don't need to worry about incorrect associations between notes, incorrect reference location of images and attachments in notes, etc. * Complete cross-device synchronization using iCloud CloudKit technology. * The Library follows the "local first" principle and is stored in a folder, very easy for backup. Even if you use iCloud sync, your Library can be completely backed up locally. * Export the entire category of notes to PDF or Epub e-book. * The macOS version of MWeb Pro also supports generating static blogs from categories. The generated blog fully supports math formulas, mermaid, echarts etc. Allows you to create your own blog in a very simple way. ## More features... * Publish documents or notes to Wordpress, Metaweblog API, Evernote, Blogger, Tumblr, Yuque, sspai Matrix, Ghost and Medium. * Upload images in documents or notes to imgur, Qiniu, SM.MS, Tencent COS, Youpai, Alibaba OSS, custom API, etc. * Export documents or notes to PDF (with Table of Contents in macOS version). * Export documents or notes to Epub or image. Privacy Policy: https://www.mweb.im/policy.html Terms of Use: https://www.mweb.im/terms.html Hope you enjoy MWeb!

About

SiYuan

A privacy-focused personal knowledge management system that allows offline use and encrypted data synchronization. It combines blocks, outlines, and bidirectional links to help users organize and refine their thoughts.

Highlights
  • Privacy-first design
  • Offline data storage
  • End-to-end encrypted sync
  • Block-based organization
  • Outline structuring
  • Bidirectional linking
Features
Read full description

SiYuan is a privacy-first personal knowledge management system that supports complete offline use, as well as end-to-end encrypted data sync. Fuse blocks, outlines, and bidirectional links to refactor your thinking.

Screenshots

MWeb4 screens
SiYuan4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: MWeb at 4.5 against SiYuan's 4.0. MWeb also leads on ratings volume (153 vs 29) and device support (4 vs 2). SiYuan's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 3 weeks). On price, review sentiment, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. MWeb sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per year and SiYuan sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

MWeb holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: MWeb has 153 ratings behind it against 29, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 67% of MWeb's written reviews are positive against 68% of SiYuan's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

MWeb ships an update every 3 weeks, SiYuan weekly. The most recent releases landed on September 2, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
MWeb versus SiYuan: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMWebSiYuan
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (153 ratings) — better4.0 (29 ratings)
Positive reviews66.9% of reviews68.4% of reviews — better
Number of ratings153 — better29
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS14.1 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size65 MB359 MB
Age rating4+17+
Developer禄海 区Yunnan Liandi Technology Co., Ltd.

Customer experience

MWeb

All ratings153 ratings
Positive88.2%
Neutral4.6%
Negative7.2%
Written reviews133 reviews
Positive66.9%
Neutral14.3%
Negative18.8%

SiYuan

All ratings29 ratings
Positive75.9%
Neutral3.4%
Negative20.7%
Written reviews19 reviews
Positive68.4%
Neutral15.8%
Negative15.8%

In-app purchases

3 purchases

MWeb

Subscriptions1
  • MWeb Yearly Subscription$9.991 Year
One-time2
  • MWeb for iPhone/iPad$14.99
  • MWeb for Mac$24.99
2 purchases

SiYuan

One-time2
  • PRO Features$79.99
  • Subscription$188.99

Questions

Is MWeb free?
MWeb is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is SiYuan free?
SiYuan is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, MWeb or SiYuan?
MWeb is rated higher. MWeb averages 4.5 out of 5 from 153 ratings, while SiYuan averages 4.0 from 29 ratings.
Do MWeb or SiYuan have ads?
Neither MWeb nor SiYuan shows ads.
Which is updated more often, MWeb or SiYuan?
MWeb ships an update every 3 weeks, and SiYuan weekly. Most recently, MWeb was updated on September 2, 2026 and SiYuan on September 23, 2026.

Other comparisons