Comparison

Saber vs IBlock

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

IBlock

Features
Read full description

IBlock is a moment of calm for your phone. Choose the apps that can wait, slide the bar down, and the noise stops. Work, read, or do what you came to do. Choose the apps you want to block. Set how long. Slide the right bar down and your session starts. Those apps stay locked until the time is up. UNINTERRUPTED There is no stop button, so a pause stays a pause. If something truly can't wait, Emergency Mode ends a session early, twice in any seven days. YOUR CHOICE OF APPS You pick exactly what gets blocked with Apple's Screen Time app picker. Everything else, like calls and messages, stays available. ROUTINE Block the same apps on the days and hours you choose, automatically. REPORTS See the focused time you completed over the last seven days. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Your choices and history stay on your iPhone. IBlock has no account. IBlock uses Apple's Screen Time. You'll be asked to allow it once. IBLOCK PREMIUM IBlock Premium is the full IBlock experience: the snap and focus sessions whenever you like, your Routine and your Reports. Monthly, yearly with a 3-day free trial, or lifetime. Payment is charged to your Apple Account. Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel them in your Apple Account settings. Terms of Use: https://iblock-brm.web.app/terms/ Privacy Policy: https://iblock-brm.web.app/privacy/

Screenshots

Saber4 screens
IBlock4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Saber at none against IBlock's 3. Saber also leads on ads (none vs shown) and device support (4 vs 1). IBlock's advantage is update cadence (every 6 days vs fortnightly). On price 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. IBlock sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month. Saber asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Saber ships an update fortnightly, IBlock every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 20, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Saber versus IBlock: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSaberIBlock
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (21 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews76.5% of reviews—
Number of ratings21 — better—
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 6 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size49 MB10 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAdil HanneyBrm Studios

In-app purchases

None

Saber

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

IBlock

Subscriptions2
  • IBlock Premium$5.991 Month
  • IBlock Premium3 Days trial$29.991 Year
One-time1
  • IBlock Premium Lifetime$79.99

Questions

Is Saber free?
Saber is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is IBlock free?
IBlock is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Saber or IBlock have ads?
IBlock shows ads; Saber does not.
Which is updated more often, Saber or IBlock?
Saber ships an update fortnightly, and IBlock every 6 days. Most recently, Saber was updated on October 25, 2026 and IBlock on October 20, 2026.

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