Comparison

Vim vs MWeb

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

Head to head
About

Vim

A highly configurable text editor with a long history, designed for efficient editing from both command lines and graphical interfaces. It offers extensive customization options for programmers and writers alike.

Highlights
  • Text editing
  • Command-line interface support
  • Graphical user interface support
  • Highly configurable
  • Free and open source
Features
Read full description

Vim is a text editor first released publicly in 1991. Based on the vi editor common to Unix-like systems, Vim is designed for use both from a command line interface and as a standalone application in a graphical user interface. Vim is free and open source software and is released under a license which includes some charityware clauses, encouraging users who enjoy the software to consider donating to children in Uganda. https://vim.sourceforge.io/about.php

About

MWeb

A powerful writing and note-taking application focused on Markdown. It offers a robust editor, document management, and publishing capabilities for efficient text creation and organization.

Highlights
  • Markdown editor with CommonMark and GFM support
  • Document management via Folders mode
  • Note-taking with Library mode and tagging
  • Publishing and sharing functions
  • Cross-device synchronization
  • Image and math formula preview
Features
Read full description

MWeb was born in 2015. It is a writing, note-taking and publishing app focusing on Markdown. If you like Markdown or text writing, We highly recommend you try MWeb. MWeb is composed of a complete and stable editor, a Folders mode for managing documents, a Library mode specifically for notes, and a document publishing and sharing function set, with a total of four modules. The feature of MWeb's software is that it chooses platform-native technology for each platform. It is built using AppKit on macOS and UIKit on iOS/iPadOS. The following is a brief introduction to these four modules. If you are interested, you can continue reading. ## Editor features Here are some of the key features of an editor: * Base on CommonMark syntax and GitHub Flavored Markdown (GFM) extended syntax, supporting TOC, tables, code blocks, math formulas, task lists, footnotes, etc. * Display the text of the Markdown document completely without any deletion. * Images can be displayed directly in the Editor, supporting jpg, png, gif, webP, HEIC and etc. * Math formulas, mermaid and Echarts drawings can be previewed in the editor. * You can set your favorite font or multiple fonts for writing. * You can choose from 11 light themes and 21 dark themes, and also support custom themes. * There is a menu to facilitate the input of Markdown syntax, and a special Markdown syntax keyboard is also provided in iOS. * Convenient tools for generating and formatting Markdown table syntax. * You can view the outline and word count of Markdown documents. * Markdown documents can be previewed and support Editor & Preview mode. ## Folders mode The first requirement of Markdown is to create and edit Markdown documents, and MWeb's Folders mode does this. It supports the following features: * Create Markdown, Textbundle documents, or simply open them for editing. * Introduce a folder with Markdown documents into the Folders mode of MWeb. MWeb will provide practical functions such as management of Markdown documents, full-text search, copy and paste to insert images, and unified storage of referenced images. * iPadOS/iOS version supports Dropbox folders. ## Library mode Markdown is so easy to use, so taking notes is also in great demand. Of course, you can use Folders mode and introduce a folder to take notes, which is also very nice and easy to share. So why do we still create a separate Library mode? Mainly, the Library mode has the following features: * There is no need to consider the file name, title and storage location, Just create note and writing. * Use category trees and tags to manage notes. A single note can be classified into multiple categories, making it easier to set categories for notes. * Organizing notes is more convenient. When moving categories and notes, renaming categories will not affect each other. You don't need to worry about incorrect associations between notes, incorrect reference location of images and attachments in notes, etc. * Complete cross-device synchronization using iCloud CloudKit technology. * The Library follows the "local first" principle and is stored in a folder, very easy for backup. Even if you use iCloud sync, your Library can be completely backed up locally. * Export the entire category of notes to PDF or Epub e-book. * The macOS version of MWeb Pro also supports generating static blogs from categories. The generated blog fully supports math formulas, mermaid, echarts etc. Allows you to create your own blog in a very simple way. ## More features... * Publish documents or notes to Wordpress, Metaweblog API, Evernote, Blogger, Tumblr, Yuque, sspai Matrix, Ghost and Medium. * Upload images in documents or notes to imgur, Qiniu, SM.MS, Tencent COS, Youpai, Alibaba OSS, custom API, etc. * Export documents or notes to PDF (with Table of Contents in macOS version). * Export documents or notes to Epub or image. Privacy Policy: https://www.mweb.im/policy.html Terms of Use: https://www.mweb.im/terms.html Hope you enjoy MWeb!

Screenshots

Vim1 screens
MWeb4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: MWeb at 4.5 against Vim's 2.9. MWeb also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 9 months) and review sentiment (67% vs 46%). Vim's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and iOS requirement (9.0 vs 14.1). On price, 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. MWeb sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per year. Vim asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

MWeb holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 2.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: MWeb has 153 ratings behind it against 21, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 46% of Vim's written reviews are positive against 67% of MWeb's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Vim ships an update every 9 months, MWeb every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 4, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Vim versus MWeb: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterVimMWeb
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.9 (21 ratings)4.5 (153 ratings) — better
Positive reviews46.2% of reviews66.9% of reviews — better
Number of ratings21153 — better
Update frequencyEvery 9 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better
Requires iOS9.0 — better14.1
Further details — not scored
Size37 MB65 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperApplidium禄海 区

Customer experience

Vim

All ratings21 ratings
Positive42.9%
Neutral9.5%
Negative47.6%
Written reviews117 reviews
Positive46.2%
Neutral15.4%
Negative38.5%

MWeb

All ratings153 ratings
Positive88.2%
Neutral4.6%
Negative7.2%
Written reviews133 reviews
Positive66.9%
Neutral14.3%
Negative18.8%

Bugs and requests

Vim

Reported bugs

13 issues
  • Escape key not recognized on external keyboards
  • Space bar non-functional with external keyboards
  • Font illegible on Retina and newer displays
  • Significant input lag between keystrokes and display
  • Window focus not maintained in multitasking
Show 8 more
  • Keyboard recognition delays
  • Graphics scrambled on iPhone 6 and newer
  • Character rendering issues (missing 'f' character)
  • Command line errors with certain commands (:ls, :echo)
  • Syntax highlighting broken
  • App crashes on older iOS versions
  • 32-bit app incompatibility with iOS 11+
  • Slow response to Bluetooth keyboard input

Requested features

15 requests
  • Custom keyboard row with Esc, Tab, Ctrl, and common symbols
  • Dropbox and cloud service integration
  • iOS copy/paste and clipboard integration
  • File browser and file management system
  • Better font rendering and scaling options
Show 10 more
  • Swipe gestures for common operations (Esc, Tab)
  • Plugin support
  • SSH/FTP connectivity
  • Customizable color schemes and themes
  • Better Bluetooth keyboard support and detection
  • MacVim-style tabs
  • iCloud synchronization
  • Open source project status
  • Support for external shell integration
  • Email attachment opening support

MWeb

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Vim

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

MWeb

Subscriptions1
  • MWeb Yearly Subscription$9.991 Year
One-time2
  • MWeb for iPhone/iPad$14.99
  • MWeb for Mac$24.99

Questions

Is Vim free?
Vim is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is MWeb free?
MWeb is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Vim or MWeb?
MWeb is rated higher. Vim averages 2.9 out of 5 from 21 ratings, while MWeb averages 4.5 from 153 ratings.
Do Vim or MWeb have ads?
Neither Vim nor MWeb shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Vim or MWeb?
Vim ships an update every 9 months, and MWeb every 3 weeks. Most recently, Vim was updated on October 4, 2026 and MWeb on October 7, 2026.

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