Comparison

NotePlan vs iMarkdown

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

Head to head
About

NotePlan

Organize your tasks, notes, and calendar in one unified app. Quickly plan your day with Markdown, link notes bi-directionally, and stay on top of your to-dos with powerful review and search features. Seamlessly integrates with your existing calendars and syncs across all your Apple devices.

Highlights
  • Unified task, note, and calendar view
  • Markdown for quick task and note creation
  • Bi-directional note linking
  • Calendar integration (iCloud, Google, Exchange)
  • Flexible recurring tasks
  • Global Command Bar for fast navigation
  • Plaintext note storage
Features
Read full description

Having trouble planning your day, managing your to-do list, and organizing your notes? Always jumping between apps and losing track of what to do and where you put things? Say hello to NotePlan! NotePlan lets you manage everything in one place: your tasks, notes, and calendar. Perfect for project managers, designers, researchers, writers, students, or anyone who wants to be organized and efficient. QUICKLY PLAN YOUR DAY WITH MARKDOWN • Plan your day by seeing your calendar, notes, and tasks in a single view • Create tasks and notes quickly with Markdown • Add #tags to organize tasks and notes • Use @mentions to find people • Reschedule to-do items easily • Create flexible recurring tasks • Work faster with autocomplete BUILD YOUR NETWORK OF NOTES • Create your own network of notes • Organize any way you want to: from simple folders over P.A.R.A. to a Zettelkasten system • Bi-directional notes: link your calendar and your notes in any direction, automatically • Cross-reference and link notes easily STAY ON TOP OF THINGS WITH REVIEW • Search all tasks and notes, instantly • See all open tasks with the click of a button • Get a list of overdue to-do items • See upcoming tasks at a glance • Create custom filters with your own queries using status, #tags, @mentions, or even text SEAMLESS INTEGRATION WITH YOUR CALENDAR • Create events and reminders right in NotePlan • Support for iCloud, Google, and Exchange calendars • Time-block tasks on your calendar simply by typing AVAILABLE ON MAC, IPHONE & IPAD • Sync everything between your Apple devices • Use any sync method you like: CloudKit or iCloud Drive • A single subscription for all your devices OPEN, PRIVATE & FAST • All your notes are stored in plaintext so you're never locked in • Your information is private and cannot be accessed • Enjoy lightning speed thanks to local files and native apps ANY THEME YOU WANT • Choose from a variety of built-in themes • Work with light or dark versions • Create your own custom theme SHORTCUTS FOR MAXIMUM SPEED • Extended Markdown syntax support with customization options • Move around without ever leaving the keyboard • Find everything with the Global Command Bar NotePlan is developed independently and prioritizes user features and requests. We have long-term roadmaps and listen to customers to improve the apps. - - - - - Price may vary by location. Subscriptions will be charged to your credit card through your iTunes account. Your subscription will automatically renew unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. After purchase, manage your subscriptions in App Store Account Settings. - - - - - Email: hello@noteplan.co Web: noteplan.co Discord: https://discord.gg/D4268MT Twitter: NotePlanApp Reddit: reddit.com/r/NotePlanApp Learn NotePlan course: https://noteplan.eo.page/newsletter Terms of use: http://noteplan.co/tos/ Privacy policy: https://noteplan.co/privacy/

About

iMarkdown

A fast and simple Markdown editor for iPhone and iPad with full GitHub Flavored Markdown support. It offers iCloud sync, dark mode, and exports to various formats. Easily preview and auto-save your documents.

Highlights
  • GitHub Flavored Markdown support
  • iCloud sync
  • Dark mode
  • Export to Markdown, PDF, PNG
  • Quick preview
  • Auto-saving
Features
Read full description

# About iMarkdown iMarkdown is a simple and fast Markdown editor for iPhone and iPad ## Features - Full support for GitHub Flavored Markdown syntax and commonly used extended syntax, such as TOC, Table, LaTeX and so on. - Simple and fast. - iCloud sync - Dark mode - Export to Markdown, PDF, & PNG - Quickly swipe from raw markdown and the preview - Modern user interface designed for big screens - And much more ### Easy Preview Slide the edit view left can quick preview your document. ### Auto Saving Auto save when close document. ### Support Extension You can import Markdown file via other apps by Extension. ### Synchronize Synchronize feature can synchronize Markdown file with multiple devices with iCloud. ### Pricing iMarkdown offer monthly and yearly subscription plans. They include a fully functional trial, so you can test iMarkdown (including sync with iCloud and export). ※Of course, a lifetime purchase option is also available. #### Billing - Payment will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase #### Stop Payment - Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period

Screenshots

NotePlan4 screens
iMarkdown4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: iMarkdown at free with in-app purchases against NotePlan's subscription. iMarkdown also leads on update cadence (every 3 days vs monthly) and rating (5.0 vs 4.8). NotePlan's advantage is ratings volume (1.5K vs 1). 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. NotePlan sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days and iMarkdown sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

iMarkdown holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: NotePlan has 1.5K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 85% of NotePlan's written reviews are positive against 90% of iMarkdown's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

NotePlan ships an update monthly, iMarkdown every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and September 18, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
NotePlan versus iMarkdown: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNotePlaniMarkdown
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (1.5K ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews85.1% of reviews90.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1.5K — better1
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationSubscriptionFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size210 MB15 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNotePlan LLCHIROMOTO TSUJI

Customer experience

NotePlan

All ratings1,506 ratings
Positive95.2%
Neutral1.9%
Negative2.9%
Written reviews476 reviews
Positive85.1%
Neutral4.6%
Negative10.3%

iMarkdown

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews10 reviews
Positive90.0%
Neutral10.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

NotePlan

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Inconsistent sync between devices
  • Crashes when opening certain files

Requested features

4 requests
  • Improved iPad and mobile app experience
  • Better integration with other productivity apps
  • More automation and scripting capabilities
  • Weekly or monthly calendar view

iMarkdown

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

8 purchases

NotePlan

Subscriptions8
  • Personal Weekly$4.997 Days
  • Personal Monthly$6.991 Month
  • Personal Monthly1 Month trial$11.991 Month
Show 5 more
  • Personal Monthly2 variants$12.001 Month
  • Personal Annual7 Days trial$59.991 Year
  • Personal Annual7 Days trial2 variants$99.991 Year
  • Personal Annual1 Month trial$119.991 Year
  • Business Class1 Month trial$199.991 Year
3 purchases

iMarkdown

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Pro$0.991 Month
  • Yearly Pro$4.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime Pro$8.99

Questions

Is NotePlan free?
NotePlan is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is iMarkdown free?
iMarkdown is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, NotePlan or iMarkdown?
iMarkdown is rated higher. NotePlan averages 4.8 out of 5 from 1.5K ratings, while iMarkdown averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do NotePlan or iMarkdown have ads?
Neither NotePlan nor iMarkdown shows ads.
Which is updated more often, NotePlan or iMarkdown?
NotePlan ships an update monthly, and iMarkdown every 3 days. Most recently, NotePlan was updated on October 15, 2026 and iMarkdown on September 18, 2026.

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