Comparison

Saber vs Alhora

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

Head to head
About

Saber

Capture and organize your thoughts with a digital handwriting app designed for intuitive use. Features include dark mode inversion for eye comfort, advanced highlighter capabilities, and robust folder organization. Secure your notes with a dual-password system and enjoy seamless syncing across all your devices.

Highlights
  • Intuitive handwriting interface
  • Dark mode inversion for eye comfort
  • Advanced multi-line equation highlighting
  • Unlimited nested folders for organization
  • Dual-password note protection
  • Seamless cross-device syncing
  • Open-source code for transparency
Features
Read full description

Saber is the notes app built for handwriting. It's designed to be as simple and intuitive as possible, while still delivering unique features that you'll actually use. Additionally, Saber is available across all your devices, large and small, and syncs between them seamlessly. Notably, it can invert your notes when you're in dark mode. This allows you to write with white ink on a black background, which is much easier on the eyes in low-light environments like when the teacher turns off the lights in class. Images and PDFs are also inverted, so you can still use a digital printout or a textbook without the fuss. Saber uses a dual-password system to protect your notes from anyone but you, even if they have complete control over the server. You can safely store your notes on the official Saber server, another server, or even host your own! The app is completely open-source so that anyone can view the source code and see exactly what it's doing and how it handles your data. Many other note-taking apps are closed-source and proprietary, meaning that their inner workings are a mystery to the public. As someone who studies maths, highlighting multi-line equations was always a hassle with other apps, where the highlighter would change color when it overlapped with itself. Another problem I had was that in some apps, the highlighter would render on top of the text, fading it out and making it hard to read. Saber's highlighter has no such issues. It utilizes canvas compositing to render the highlighter in a way that is consistent with/better than traditional paper, where it handles overlaps and maintains color consistency. Saber has everything you need to keep your notes organized. Create folders inside folders inside folders to your heart's content with no limit on the number of nested folders. And even though a note may be buried deep within a nested folder, you can still access it easily with your most recent notes always available on the home screen. Discover a whole new way to capture and organize your thoughts with Saber. Whether you're a student, professional, or creative mind, Saber is your trusted companion for digital handwriting. Download now and let your ideas flow freely!

About

Alhora

Features
Read full description

Bring your manuscript, its world and its finished pages together in Alhora. Write and organise Shape chapters, front matter and back matter in a structured book outline. Write in Blocks or Prose, keep comments beside your text, and use Focus to give the page more room. Build the world beside your book Keep characters, places and research connected to your manuscript. Develop a wiki, reference boards, maps and timelines, and organise the world across a series. Make the book your own Choose typography and page styles, customise chapter openings and create an editable contents page. Preview your book as an ebook or printed edition while you work. Prepare to publish Create EPUB and PDF exports and use book checks to review your work before sharing it. Paid Alhora membership unlocks paid publishing features. AI plans and credits are optional and sold separately. An Alhora account is needed for purchases and account services. Available memberships, AI add-ons and prices are shown in the app. Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled through your Apple Account settings. Lifetime membership is a one-time purchase. Privacy Policy: https://www.alhora.app/privacy/?app_store=1 Terms of Use: https://www.alhora.app/terms/?app_store=1

Screenshots

Saber4 screens
Alhora2 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Saber at none against Alhora's 8. Saber also leads on device support (4 vs 2) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). Alhora's advantage is update cadence (every 2 days vs fortnightly). On price and ads 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. Alhora sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month. Saber asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Saber ships an update fortnightly, Alhora every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Saber versus Alhora: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSaberAlhora
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (21 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews76.5% of reviews—
Number of ratings21 — better—
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size49 MB328 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperAdil HanneyJames Marszalek

In-app purchases

None

Saber

No in-app purchases

8 purchases

Alhora

Subscriptions5
  • AI Starter$7.991 Month
  • Alhora Monthly$12.991 Month
  • AI Pro$14.991 Month
Show 2 more
  • AI Studio$29.991 Month
  • Alhora Annual$129.991 Year
One-time3
  • 10 AI credits$4.99
  • 30 AI credits$9.99
  • Alhora Lifetime$199.99

Questions

Is Saber free?
Saber is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Alhora free?
Alhora is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Saber or Alhora have ads?
Neither Saber nor Alhora shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Saber or Alhora?
Saber ships an update fortnightly, and Alhora every 2 days. Most recently, Saber was updated on November 3, 2026 and Alhora on October 29, 2026.

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