# Joplin vs Saber

The clearest difference is ratings volume: Joplin at 473 against Saber's 21. Saber's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs monthly) and review sentiment (76% vs 67%). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.1 for Joplin against 4.0 for Saber. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Joplin has 473 ratings behind it against 21, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 67% of Joplin's written reviews are positive against 76% of Saber's.

Joplin ships an update monthly, Saber fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 20, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Joplin | Saber |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.1 (473 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/joplin/id1315599797/reviews)** | [4.0 (21 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/saber-handwritten-notes/id1671523739/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **473** | 21 |
| Positive reviews | 66.6% of reviews | **76.5% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Monthly | **Fortnightly** |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 73 MB | 49 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | **15.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Laurent Cozic](https://appshunter.io/developer/1315599796) | [Adil Hanney](https://appshunter.io/developer/1671523741) |

## What reviewers say

### Joplin

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/joplin/id1315599797)

A privacy-focused note-taking and to-do application that allows you to capture multimedia notes, organize them with notebooks and tags, and sync across devices. It offers end-to-end encryption and an offline-first approach for secure and accessible information management.

**Highlights:** Capture multimedia notes (speech, photos, videos, PDFs), Organize notes with notebooks and tags, Create to-dos and set reminders, End-to-end encryption for privacy, Cross-device synchronization (Joplin Cloud, Dropbox, OneDrive), Offline-first access, OCR search for text within images and PDFs

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Great app
- 🔒 End-to-end encryption
- 👍 Excellent cross-platform support
- 👍 Intuitive Markdown support
- 👍 Flexible sync options (Dropbox, OneDrive, WebDAV)

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Sync issues, especially on iOS
- 🐛 Buggy UI, especially on iOS
- 🐛 Crashes and freezes
- 🐛 Slow performance at times
- 🐛 Confusing interface, not very intuitive

**Reported bugs**

- Sync issues with WebDAV and Dropbox
- Crashes when creating new notes
- Keyboard issues, text getting obscured
- Rendering problems in dark mode
- Compatibility issues with older iOS versions

**Requested features**

- Add web clipper functionality on iOS
- Implement nested notebooks on iOS
- Allow password/biometric protection for notes
- Improve text editing experience on mobile
- Add more font and formatting options


### Saber

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/saber-handwritten-notes/id1671523739)

Capture and organize your thoughts with a digital handwriting app designed for intuitive use. Features include dark mode inversion for eye comfort, advanced highlighter capabilities, and robust folder organization. Secure your notes with a dual-password system and enjoy seamless syncing across all your devices.

**Highlights:** Intuitive handwriting interface, Dark mode inversion for eye comfort, Advanced multi-line equation highlighting, Unlimited nested folders for organization, Dual-password note protection, Seamless cross-device syncing, Open-source code for transparency

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Joplin free?

Joplin is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Saber free?

Saber is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Joplin or Saber?

Joplin is rated higher. Joplin averages 4.1 out of 5 from 473 ratings, while Saber averages 4.0 from 21 ratings.

### Do Joplin or Saber have ads?

Neither Joplin nor Saber shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Joplin or Saber?

Joplin ships an update monthly, and Saber fortnightly. Most recently, Joplin was updated on September 20, 2026 and Saber on September 22, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*