Comparison

Journal Mate vs Markdown Notes Editor

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

Head to head
About

Journal Mate

Organize your days with a versatile planner and media library. Capture notes, tasks, events, and attach photos, scans, or PDFs to create rich journals. Seamlessly integrate with your devices for on-the-go planning and content management.

Highlights
  • Daily task and event planning
  • Attach photos, scans, PDFs, and recordings
  • Organize content into journals and stacks
  • Timeline view for hour-by-hour scheduling
  • Project and list management
  • Integrated camera with scanning and editing tools
  • Searchable content with Spotlight integration
Features
Read full description

Plan your days. Keep what matters. Journal Mate is a daily planner and a media library in one app: plan your days and projects, and keep the scans, photos, PDFs, and recordings that go with them in journals. Simple from the first entry, quick to use, and yours to shape: get a thought down in seconds, arrange the day your way, pick a theme, List colors, and text size, and undo what you didn't mean. PLAN YOUR DAYS • Add as many entries as you like: tasks, events, notes, and moods, day by day • Switch to Timeline to see your day hour by hour, and drag an entry to a new time • Break a big task into steps, mark what's important, and postpone the rest • Run projects and things that don't need a date in Lists, such as a trip, a home renovation, or groceries • Write a time in an entry and it becomes a reminder that rings again if you miss it; pick one of 14 sounds or your own • Pin the Lists, journals, and entries you need most to the top • Look back with Week Review: what you got done, and what keeps slipping TODAY, WHEREVER YOU ARE • Keep today on the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island, and add entries right from there • Tick off today's actions in the Today's Entries widget, keep a List on your Home Screen, and start a scan or a new entry from Action Widgets • Take your day to Apple Watch: check entries off or move them, add new ones by dictation, and see what's left on a complication • Add entries with Siri or from Control Center, and see today's open actions on the app icon KEEP WHAT BELONGS TO THE DAY • Attach a photo, scan, or recording to an entry, and it becomes a page in a journal • Add the place you're at to an entry, with the day's weather • Add a journal as a task with a reminder, like renewing a passport • Take photos, scan pages, and film videos in one camera: in slow motion, with both cameras at once, or with a teleprompter • Scan objects in 3D on iPhone and iPad with LiDAR, or scan a QR code to keep its link • Import photos, screenshots, GIFs, videos, Live Photos, and PDFs; imported PDFs keep their original file • Record audio with a live on-device transcript, trim the pauses, and get a summary (Apple Intelligence) • Save websites, videos, and places as bookmarks FIND IT AGAIN • Keep related pages in Stacks, and group, pin, or archive journals • Search everything at once, and find journals and entries in Spotlight • Ask questions about your journals and get answers that link to their pages (Apple Intelligence, on supported devices) MAKE SOMETHING WITH IT • Make collages from different journals, turn a favorite quote into a card, and watermark a copy before you share it • Edit photos, GIFs, and videos: Adjust, 18 filters, crop, blur details, draw, and add text, emoji, or stickers • Sign PDFs with a saved signature, and write notes with headings and checklists • Create PDFs from pages, journals, or days and Lists, print them, and export a restorable backup • Listen to text pages with Read Aloud, or translate them • Save content from any app with the Share Extension GALLERY Page through facsimiles of artists' sketchbooks, travel journals, and even the Apollo 11 flight plan. Two editions are free in full, Pro opens every edition, and the Gallery never counts toward your pages. YOUR DATA, WITHOUT TRACKING Your library stays on your devices and syncs through your iCloud. No third-party ad SDKs, no cross-app tracking. FREE AND PRO Journal Mate has no limit on journals or entries. Free includes 50 active pages and 3 Lists, plus Timeline, reminders, widgets, Apple Watch, Ask, 3D scanning, editing, Signatures, export, and 8 color themes. Pro removes the page and List limits and adds List templates, Views of several Lists, repeating entries, all 30 themes, every Gallery edition, every collage layout, and every quote card, watermark, camera card, and teleprompter style. Save it now. Find it later. Terms of Use: https://journalmate.app/en/legal/terms/

About

Markdown Notes Editor

A privacy-focused markdown editor and writing app that keeps all your files locally. It offers real-time syntax highlighting, AI writing assistance, and robust task management features. Designed for distraction-free writing and secure document handling.

Highlights
  • Markdown editing with syntax highlighting
  • AI writing assistant (BYO API key)
  • Full offline support
  • AES-256 file encryption
  • Todo.txt task management
  • Version history
  • Focus mode with Pomodoro timer
Features
Read full description

Markden is a privacy-first markdown editor and writing app designed for people who value ownership of their words. Every file stays on your device. No account required. No cloud lock-in. Just your thoughts in plain text. Markdown editing with real-time syntax highlighting AI writing assistant powered by Claude (bring your own API key) Full offline support with no internet required for core features AES-256 file encryption for sensitive documents Todo.txt task management with priorities, contexts, and projects Version history with up to 50 snapshots per file Focus mode with Pomodoro timer and word count goals 13 file formats supported including Markdown, JSON, YAML, CSV, Org-Mode, and AsciiDoc Dark and light terminal-inspired themes Quick note capture for instant ideas Daily notes with auto-generated templates Find and replace with full regex support Kanban board view for task management Live markdown preview with math (KaTeX) and diagrams (Mermaid) Export to HTML for sharing and publishing Customizable editor with multiple fonts, sizes, and spacing options AI WRITING TOOLS Fix grammar and spelling Rewrite for clarity Summarize long documents Change tone (formal or casual) Continue writing from where you left off Explain code blocks Generate tables and todo lists from text You pay Anthropic directly for AI usage. Markden never touches your API key or data. PRIVACY BY DESIGN All files stored locally in your app sandbox API key secured in iOS Keychain No analytics, no tracking, no telemetry No third-party SDKs that collect data No account or sign-up required Uninstalling removes everything. Nothing persists elsewhere. BUILT FOR PRODUCTIVITY 6 built-in templates: meeting notes, blog post, journal, weekly review, Cornell notes, and project readme Smart auto-save with configurable intervals File browser with favorites, search, and sort options Breadcrumb navigation for nested folders Swipe actions for quick file management Custom keyboard toolbar with format-specific shortcuts DESIGNED FOR IPHONE AND IPAD Sidebar navigation on iPad with split view editor and preview Adaptive layouts that use the full screen on every device Keyboard shortcuts and external keyboard support Markden is free to download with all editing features included. AI features require your own Anthropic API key which you can get at console.anthropic.com. Whether you write meeting notes, journal entries, blog posts, code documentation, or manage daily tasks, Markden gives you a fast, private, distraction-free space to think and write. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Journal Mate4 screens
Markdown Notes Editor4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Journal Mate at 60% against Markdown Notes Editor's 0%. Journal Mate also leads on price (Free vs $1.99). Markdown Notes Editor's advantage is iOS requirement (18.0 vs 26.0). On update cadence, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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

Journal Mate is free to download; Markdown Notes Editor costs $1.99 up front. Journal Mate sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and Markdown Notes Editor sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Journal Mate ships an update every 2 weeks, Markdown Notes Editor every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 11, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Journal Mate versus Markdown Notes Editor: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterJournal MateMarkdown Notes Editor
PriceFree — better$1.99
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews60.0% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemium — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS26.018.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size568 MB6 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperVitalii BahmetAneesh Pradeep

Customer experience

Journal Mate

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive60.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative40.0%

Markdown Notes Editor

Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral100.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Journal Mate

Subscriptions2
  • Pro Monthly$2.991 Month
  • Pro Yearly$19.991 Year
3 purchases

Markdown Notes Editor

One-time3
  • Small Coffee$1.99
  • Big Coffee$4.99
  • Generous Supporter$9.99

Questions

Is Journal Mate free?
Journal Mate is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Markdown Notes Editor free?
Markdown Notes Editor costs $1.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Do Journal Mate or Markdown Notes Editor have ads?
Neither Journal Mate nor Markdown Notes Editor shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Journal Mate or Markdown Notes Editor?
Journal Mate ships an update every 2 weeks, and Markdown Notes Editor every 3 weeks. Most recently, Journal Mate was updated on November 11, 2026 and Markdown Notes Editor on November 5, 2026.

Other comparisons