TouchRoute vs HelixNotes
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
TouchRoute
Easily create and share custom routes by tapping on a map. Send your routes to friends or export them to popular fitness apps. View current weather conditions directly on the map.
- Tap to create routes
- Share routes with others
- Export to Garmin Connect, Strava, MapMyRun
- View weather conditions
- Save up to 3 routes
- Unlock unlimited saves via in-app purchase
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Touch Route lets you easily create and share routes. Simply tap on the map to create a route. Share your routes with others and they can share to you. Swipe left on a route to delete it. Swipe right to share it. You can send a route to others or share to other apps like Garmin Connect, Strava, and MapMyRun. On a map view, tap Weather to show/hide current conditions. Tap on the gear icon to adjust settings, get help, and send feedback. You can save up to 3 routes in the app. There is an in-app purchase to unlock unlimited saves.
HelixNotes
A private, open-source Markdown note-taking app that keeps your data on your device. Organize notes with notebooks, tags, and wiki links, and utilize advanced features like mathematical notation and diagrams.
- Local Markdown storage
- Visual and source code editor
- Notebooks, tags, and wiki links
- Task management and calendar views
- KaTeX and Mermaid diagram support
- Version history and backups
- Optional WebDAV sync
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HelixNotes is a private, open-source Markdown notes app. Your notes remain standard Markdown files under your control. No account is required, and HelixNotes has no company-operated cloud. Write with a clean visual editor or switch to source mode when you want direct access to the Markdown. Organize your work with notebooks, tags, wiki links and full-text search. Features include: • Tasks collected from checklists across your notes • List and calendar views with priorities and due dates • Wiki links and an interactive graph view • Daily notes with a built-in calendar • Markdown tables, code blocks and syntax highlighting • KaTeX mathematical notation and Mermaid diagrams • Outline navigation and tag autocomplete • Version history and automatic backups • Light, dark and customizable themes • Optional WebDAV sync with your own server • Optional AI tools using your own provider Nothing leaves your device unless you enable a feature that connects to an external service. Your notes stay readable outside HelixNotes, without a proprietary format or platform lock-in. HelixNotes is free software released under the GNU AGPLv3. Its source code is publicly available on GitLab.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: HelixNotes at none against TouchRoute's 1. HelixNotes also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.6) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 4 months). TouchRoute's advantage is ratings volume (8 vs 2). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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. TouchRoute sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. HelixNotes asks for nothing beyond the download.
HelixNotes holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 8 and 2 respectively.
TouchRoute ships an update every 4 months, HelixNotes every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 26, 2026 and September 18, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | TouchRoute | HelixNotes |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (8 ratings) | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 8 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 15 | 14.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 2 MB | 18 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | EPage, Inc. | Yuri Karamian |
Customer experience
TouchRoute
HelixNotes
In-app purchases
TouchRoute
- Unlimited Routes$4.99
HelixNotes
No in-app purchases









