# Lockbook vs MarkWell

The clearest difference is price: Lockbook at Free against MarkWell's $9.99. Lockbook also leads on ratings volume (13 vs 1). MarkWell's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). On rating, review sentiment, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Lockbook is free to download; MarkWell costs $9.99 up front. Lockbook sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $2.99 per month. MarkWell asks for nothing beyond the download.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Lockbook against 5.0 for MarkWell. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Lockbook has 13 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

Lockbook ships an update weekly, MarkWell every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 7, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Lockbook | MarkWell |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | **Free** | $9.99 |
| Rating | [5.0 (13 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/lockbook-private-notes/id1526775001/reviews) | [5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/markwell-bookmark-manager/id6764493329/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **13** | 1 |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Weekly** | Every 2 weeks |
| Monetization | **Free with in-app purchases** | Paid |
| Size | 136 MB | 6 MB |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | **17.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | iPhone, iPad, Mac |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Lockbook LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1526775003) | [Benjamin Dansby](https://appshunter.io/developer/1895087808) |

## What reviewers say

### Lockbook

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/lockbook-private-notes/id1526775001)

An end-to-end encrypted note-taking app for writing, sketching, and storing files. It offers real-time collaboration, offline support, and a polished Markdown editor, all while prioritizing user privacy and data security.

**Highlights:** End-to-end encryption, Markdown editor, Sketching, File storage, Real-time collaboration, Offline support, Open source

**Features:** Vision Pro support, iPhone Duo support

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 30GB | $2.99 | per month |


### MarkWell

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/markwell-bookmark-manager/id6764493329)

A native bookmark manager for Mac, iPhone, and iPad that syncs bookmarks across devices using iCloud. Organize links with tags and save them from any app via the system share sheet. Prioritizes user privacy with no account or analytics.

**Highlights:** Save links from any app, Organize with tags, not folders, End-to-end iCloud sync, Privacy-first design, Fetch title and favicon automatically, Offline functionality

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Lockbook free?

Lockbook is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is MarkWell free?

MarkWell costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Lockbook or MarkWell?

Lockbook and MarkWell are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 13 and 1 ratings respectively.

### Do Lockbook or MarkWell have ads?

Neither Lockbook nor MarkWell shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Lockbook or MarkWell?

Lockbook ships an update weekly, and MarkWell every 2 weeks. Most recently, Lockbook was updated on November 7, 2026 and MarkWell on November 5, 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.*