# Joplin vs mDone

The clearest difference is rating: mDone at 5.0 against Joplin's 4.1. mDone also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 66%) and update cadence (weekly vs monthly). Joplin's advantage is ratings volume (478 vs 7) and iOS requirement (15.6 vs 18.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

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

mDone holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Joplin has 478 ratings behind it against 7, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 66% of Joplin's written reviews are positive against 100% of mDone's.

Joplin ships an update monthly, mDone weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 22, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Joplin | mDone |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.1 (478 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/joplin/id1315599797/reviews) | **[5.0 (7 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mdone/id6760613430/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **478** | 7 |
| Positive reviews | 66.5% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Monthly | **Weekly** |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 73 MB | 4 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.6** | 18.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Mac |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Laurent Cozic](https://appshunter.io/developer/1315599796) | [Marcus Williams](https://appshunter.io/developer/1788389114) |

## 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


### mDone

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mdone/id6760613430)

A native iOS task manager designed for self-hosted Vikunja servers. It offers smart lists, project organization, home screen widgets, and a focus timer with Live Activities. Enjoy offline support and a privacy-first approach with no tracking.

**Highlights:** Smart Lists (Today, Upcoming, Overdue), Projects and Favorites, Home Screen & Lock Screen Widgets, Focus Timer with Live Activities, Repeating Tasks, Calendar View, Offline Support

**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 mDone free?

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

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

mDone is rated higher. Joplin averages 4.1 out of 5 from 478 ratings, while mDone averages 5.0 from 7 ratings.

### Do Joplin or mDone have ads?

Neither Joplin nor mDone shows ads.

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

Joplin ships an update monthly, and mDone weekly. Most recently, Joplin was updated on October 22, 2026 and mDone on October 10, 2026.

---

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