Comparison

Samurai Search vs OpenCards

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

Head to head
About

Samurai Search

Efficiently search text and PDF files across your device, iCloud, and external storage. Preview matched files or open them in other applications. Supports advanced search options like regular expressions.

Highlights
  • Search text and PDF files
  • iCloud and external storage support
  • File preview
  • Regular expression support
  • Customizable file types
  • Saved search locations
Read full description

Search your iOS device or iCloud for text, source code, plain text files, and PDFs. Find matches inside files and preview results instantly, or open any matched file in your favourite editing or viewing app. Flexible search options: whole word, case sensitive (all file types), and regular expressions (for text files). Choose which files to include by selecting standard or custom text file types, or by searching filenames that match a pattern. Select where to search from On My iPad, iCloud Drive, or external file providers such as SMB and USB folders. When possible, the app retains saved search selections so you can quickly repeat the same searches later. If you search selected folders in iCloud Drive, matching iCloud files are synced to your device before searching, ensuring fast local results. Searching plain text files is extremely fast and memory efficient. PDF search speed depends on the document content and can be slow. Note also that PDF search may consume large amounts of memory which can cause Samurai Search to crash.

About

OpenCards

Transform your Markdown notes into interactive knowledge cards. Organize, review, and access your information seamlessly across devices. Supports rich formatting, including math equations and code.

Highlights
  • Markdown cards with math and code highlighting
  • Organize cards into sections
  • Tags and likes with filtering
  • Full-screen swipe navigation
  • Global search
  • iCloud sync
  • GitHub Markdown import
Features
Read full description

OpenCards — Organize Your Knowledge Turn your Markdown notes into beautiful, browsable knowledge cards. OpenCards helps you organize, review, and carry your knowledge everywhere. Organize Your Way Create sections to group your cards by topic — class notes, research papers, vocabulary, or anything you need. Browse cards in a smooth horizontal carousel or search across your entire collection instantly. Rich Markdown Rendering OpenCards renders full Markdown with support for math equations (KaTeX), syntax-highlighted code blocks, tables, and more. Your content looks great in both light and dark mode. Tag, Like & Filter Mark your favorite cards with a like. Add tags to categorize and find cards quickly. Filter any section by likes or tags to focus on what matters. Full-Screen Reading Tap any card to enter an immersive full-screen view. Swipe through cards one by one — perfect for studying and review. iCloud Sync Your cards sync automatically across all your devices via iCloud. Start on your iPhone, continue on your iPad. Import from GitHub Paste a GitHub folder URL to bulk-import Markdown files directly into any section. Great for pulling in shared notes, study materials, or documentation. Key Features - Markdown cards with math (KaTeX) and code highlighting - Organize cards into sections - Tags and likes with per-section filtering - Full-screen card feed with swipe navigation - Global search across all cards - iCloud sync across devices - GitHub Markdown import Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Samurai Search4 screens
OpenCards4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Samurai Search at none against OpenCards's 1. Samurai Search also leads on ratings volume (25 vs 1) and update cadence (every 5 days vs fortnightly). On price, rating, ads 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

Both are free to download. OpenCards sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $0.99 per month. Samurai Search asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Samurai Search against 5.0 for OpenCards. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Samurai Search has 25 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Samurai Search ships an update every 5 days, OpenCards fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Samurai Search versus OpenCards: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSamurai SearchOpenCards
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (25 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings25 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 5 days — betterFortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Mac — better
Requires iOS16.0 — better18.6
Further details — not scored
Size2 MB2 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMichael Rourke礼 付

Customer experience

Samurai Search

All ratings25 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews9 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

OpenCards

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Samurai Search

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

OpenCards

Subscriptions1
  • OpenCards Pro$0.991 Month

Questions

Is Samurai Search free?
Samurai Search is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is OpenCards free?
OpenCards is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Samurai Search or OpenCards?
Samurai Search and OpenCards are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 25 and 1 ratings respectively.
Do Samurai Search or OpenCards have ads?
Neither Samurai Search nor OpenCards shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Samurai Search or OpenCards?
Samurai Search ships an update every 5 days, and OpenCards fortnightly. Most recently, Samurai Search was updated on November 3, 2026 and OpenCards on October 31, 2026.

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