Yubico Authenticator vs Ghost Markdown
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Yubico Authenticator
Secure your online accounts with hardware-backed two-factor authentication. Store unique credentials on a physical security key, eliminating the need to store sensitive data on your mobile device. Generate verification codes without an internet connection for enhanced account protection.
- Hardware-backed security key storage
- Touch or NFC authentication
- USB-C support
- Biometric unlock (FaceID/TouchID)
- QR code setup
- User presence verification
- Smart Card support
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Store your unique credentials on a hardware-backed security key and take it wherever you go from mobile to desktop. No more storing sensitive secrets on your mobile phone, leaving your account vulnerable to takeovers. With the Yubico Authenticator you can raise the bar for security. * The Yubico Authenticator will work with any USB, Lightning, or NFC-enabled YubiKeys. * As iPads do not have NFC, they will only work through a Lightning or USB connection. The Yubico Authenticator generates a code used to verify your identity as you are logging into various services. No connectivity needed! Features include: Touch or NFC Authentication - Touch the YubiKey sensor or simply tap a YubiKey with NFC to a mobile phone that is NFC-enabled to store your credential on the YubiKey USB-C support - Connect the YubiKey 5Ci or any USB-C type YubiKey. When prompted, depending on the key, touch the contacts on the sides of the key or the golden ring on the top Biometric support - Experience greater convenience by unlocking your YubiKey with FaceID or TouchID Easy Setup - QR codes available from the services you wish to protect with strong authentication User Presence - New codes generated with just a touch or NFC tap of the YubiKey Compatible - Secure all the services currently compatible with other Authenticator apps Secure - Hardware-backed strong two-factor authentication with secret stored on the YubiKey, not on the mobile device Versatile - Support for multiple work and personal accounts Portable - Get the same set of codes across our other Yubico Authenticator apps for desktops as well as for all leading mobile platforms Flexible - Support for time-based and counter-based code generation Smart Card - Support for Apple's CryptoTokenKit Extension making it possible to use certificates stored on your YubiKey to authenticate with other apps and sites Experience security the modern way with the Yubico Authenticator. Visit yubico.com to learn more.
Ghost Markdown
This app combines plain Markdown note-taking with an integrated AI assistant. It allows the AI to read, write, and plan within your notes, offering features like calendar integration, plugins for various tools, and customizable boards and tickets. Organize notes into notebooks, journals, or canvases, and manage them with workspaces and team features.
- AI assistant for reading and writing notes
- Plain Markdown note-taking
- Calendar integration
- Plugins for tools like Contacts and Webhooks
- Boards, tickets, and query-based organization
- Notebooks, journals, and canvases
- Workspaces and team collaboration
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Ghost.md is a notes app in plain Markdown with an AI assistant built in. Every note is a Markdown file on your iPhone, and the assistant can read it, write in it and plan with it while you watch. AN AI ASSISTANT, IN THE APP Ask from the dock at the head of any page. Bring your own API key, kept on this iPhone, and choose the model and how much effort it puts in. The assistant searches and reads your notes, then makes and changes them: the note opens and the words are typed in as it writes them, and the chat shows its thinking as it goes. Write requests in a note of their own and the assistant works through them. YOUR AI ASSISTANT'S OWN APP, CONNECTED With an account, connect your AI assistant's own app to Ghost.md's connector. From there the assistant can list, search, read, write and add to your notes, and you see it at work in Ghost.md, on the note it is writing. YOUR CALENDAR Sign in to your calendar, or add any calendar's subscription address. Today's events sit on the home page above your to-dos, and a query lists them or lays them on a calendar beside your to-dos. Switch it on and every to-do with a due date goes onto the calendar you signed in to, moved when its date changes and taken off when it is done. PLUGINS FOR THE TOOLS YOU USE The AI assistant, Calendar, Contacts, Webhooks and code repositories are built in, each switched on or off on one page that says plainly what it reaches. Link a note to a code repository and its list items become issues you can tick off from either side. Contacts puts a person's picture on the to-dos that name them, a tap away from a call, a text or an email. Webhooks tell a URL of yours when a note changes, and give you URLs that add to a note, for the automations you already run. THE MARKDOWN CORE Headings, lists, to-dos, tables, code, footnotes and links between notes, drawn as you type with the marks left dimmed, so a note reads the same anywhere. Seven marks of Ghost.md's own: highlight, aside, unsure, redact, shout, added, and spoiler, which sits in smoke until you tap it. Diagrams and gantt timelines are drawn from text in the note and open full screen. Add pictures from your photos or the camera. BOARDS, TICKETS AND QUERIES A list can be a board, with cards you move between columns. A note can be a ticket, with its status, assignee, priority and due date kept at its top. A query gathers notes, to-dos, tickets or events from across your library and draws them live, as a board, a table, a list, a calendar or a timeline. NOTEBOOKS, JOURNALS AND CANVASES Notes gather into a notebook with an index, to read page by page or straight through. A journal keeps an entry for each time you write, named by the minute. A canvas puts cards on a page with lines between them, saved in an open file format. WORKSPACES AND TEAMS File notes under workspaces to keep work and home apart. With an account, make an organization and invite people by their handle. It gets a workspace of its own on each member's devices. SYNC AND PRIVACY No account is needed. Without one, your notes stay on your iPhone and nothing of yours is on any server. Sign in and your notes are the same on your iPhone, on a Mac and in a browser, sealed on the device before they leave. The server cannot read them, and your password never leaves the device. The AI assistant sees only what you ask it and the notes it reads to answer, sent to your AI provider with your own key. Delete the account in Settings and everything it kept goes with it. No ads, no analytics, no tracking.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Ghost Markdown at 100% against Yubico Authenticator's 43%. Ghost Markdown also leads on rating (5.0 vs 3.7) and update cadence (every 3 days vs monthly). Yubico Authenticator's advantage is ratings volume (286 vs 1). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Ghost Markdown holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Yubico Authenticator has 286 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 43% of Yubico Authenticator's written reviews are positive against 100% of Ghost Markdown's.
Yubico Authenticator ships an update monthly, Ghost Markdown every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 22, 2026 and October 26, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Yubico Authenticator | Ghost Markdown |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.7 (286 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 42.5% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 286 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Every 3 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPod, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 4 MB | 57 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Yubico | Matt Wisniewski |
Customer experience
Yubico Authenticator
Ghost Markdown
Bugs and requests
Yubico Authenticator
Reported bugs
4 issues- NFC not working reliably
- Accounts disappearing after updates
- Calculation of codes not working
- Keyboard issues when using keys
Requested features
5 requests- Allow editing and rearranging of entries
- Add support for multiple keys per account
- Improve iPad/tablet support
- Add dark mode option
- Improve QR code scanning
Ghost Markdown
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Yubico Authenticator
No in-app purchases
Ghost Markdown
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Yubico Authenticator free?
Is Ghost Markdown free?
Which has better reviews, Yubico Authenticator or Ghost Markdown?
Do Yubico Authenticator or Ghost Markdown have ads?
Which is updated more often, Yubico Authenticator or Ghost Markdown?
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