Comparison

Notable vs Metanote

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

Head to head
About

Notable

Organize your thoughts with a unique pile-based system that adapts to your workflow. Supports text, images, voice memos, and advanced Markdown with code highlighting. Syncs seamlessly via iCloud and prioritizes user privacy with on-device processing.

Highlights
  • Pile-based organization
  • Multiple content types (text, image, voice)
  • Advanced Markdown with live preview
  • Code highlighting for 40+ languages
  • On-device voice memo transcription
  • iCloud sync
  • Open source
Features
Read full description

Notable: Your Thoughts, Beautifully Organized Notable reimagines note-taking with a unique pile-based organization system that mirrors how your mind actually works. Instead of rigid folders, create flexible piles that adapt to your thinking. Powerful Yet Simple • Pile-Based Organization - Group notes naturally, like stacking papers on your desk • Multiple Content Types - Text, images, links, and voice memos in one place • Advanced Markdown - Full CommonMark support with live preview • Code Highlighting - 40+ languages with syntax highlighting • Smart Search - Find anything with natural language semantic search Voice to Text, Instantly • Record Voice Memos - Capture thoughts on the go with waveform visualization • Automatic Transcription - On-device AI transcribes your recordings with WhisperKit • Privacy First - All processing happens on your device Sync Everywhere • iCloud Integration - Seamless sync across all your devices • CloudKit Powered - Secure, private, and automatic • Conflict Resolution - Your changes always take priority Beautiful Design • Native SwiftUI - Smooth, responsive interface designed for iOS • Dark Mode - Gorgeous in light or dark • Link Previews - Rich previews for web links • Customizable Themes - Choose from multiple code editor themes Your Data, Your Control • No Account Required - Just sign in with iCloud • No Tracking - We don't collect or sell your data • Fully Open Source - Transparent development you can trust Whether you're capturing fleeting thoughts, organizing research, or managing projects, Notable adapts to your workflow. Requires iOS 17.0 or later.

About

Metanote

A privacy-focused offline editor that supports Org mode for writing, task management, and knowledge wikis. It offers real-time editing of rich content and seamless synchronization across devices.

Highlights
  • Privacy-first offline editor
  • Full Org mode support
  • Real-time rich content editing
  • Seamless synchronization
  • Integrated task management
  • Full-text search
Read full description

Metanote is a privacy-first offline editor that supports org mode. In Metanote, everything is text, everything is editable. Supports real-time editing and rendering of images, hyperlinks, tables, Latex mathematical formulas, source code blocks, attachments and other rich content with the text markup language 'org mode'. Literary creation, academic papers, literary programming, task management, knowledge wiki and other usage scenarios can be easily handled. *** Freedom & Private 100% work offline, no account required, no network required, no private document formats, no data collection, your data and privacy are completely under your control. *** Writing every where Whether on the go or in your bedroom, you can create, view and edit your documents anytime, anywhere, and with built-in synchronization, everything will be there when you return to your desk. *** A silky-smooth editing experience Pure native development, lightweight and smooth, rejecting any lag, even for large files! *** Thinking better Through the structured editing function, ideas come to life on screen. It is not only a beautiful outline, but also efficient thinking. *** Never miss a thing There is no more free task management system than this. Notes are to-dos, and to-dos are notes. Everything is plain-text and everything can be edited. Capture inspiration on the go with 'capture' and keep everything in sight with 'agenda view's. *** Org mode Metanote fully supports org mode 9.3.6 syntax, including features like Capture and Agenda View, allowing for a perfect and even enhanced org mode experience on smartphones. - An incredibly smooth editing experience. - Sync using WebDAV(Apache WebDAV Server, ownCloud, Yandex.disk, etc.), Dropbox, OneDrive, Git, iCloud. - Support for adding Obsidian and Logseq working directories, integrating and managing them in a unified manner - Supports full-text search. - Support images, tables and LaTeX. - Support hyperlinks and attachments. 1. Supports internal links and external links. 2. Click on the attachment link to preview and edit, the following types are supported: 1. iWork and Microsoft Office documents 2. Images 3. Live Photos 4. Text files 5. PDFs 6. Audio and video files - Supports multi-window editing. - Customizable startup page - Supports mini buffer. - Compatible with org mode version 9.3.6 - Todo notifications support - View agenda views by year, month, and day - Customizable workflows - Support for custom capture, custom agenda view, refile, log note, and other features. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Notable4 screens
Metanote4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Metanote at 73% against Notable's 0%. Metanote also leads on price (Free vs $0.99) and rating (4.5 vs 3.0). Notable's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3). On update cadence 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

Metanote is free to download; Notable costs $0.99 up front. Metanote sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Notable asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Metanote holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Metanote has 11 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 0% of Notable's written reviews are positive against 73% of Metanote's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Notable ships an update every 3 weeks, Metanote every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 14, 2026 and September 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
Notable versus Metanote: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNotableMetanote
Price$0.99Free — better
Rating3.0 (2 ratings)4.5 (11 ratings) — better
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews72.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings211 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFreemium — better
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.014.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size8 MB16 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRunkai Zhang雪双 陈

Customer experience

Notable

All ratings2 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

Metanote

All ratings11 ratings
Positive81.8%
Neutral9.1%
Negative9.1%
Written reviews11 reviews
Positive72.7%
Neutral9.1%
Negative18.2%

In-app purchases

None

Notable

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Metanote

Subscriptions2
  • Metanote Premium$1.991 Month
  • Metanote Premium$12.991 Year
One-time1
  • One-time purchase$19.99

Questions

Is Notable free?
Notable costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Metanote free?
Metanote is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Notable or Metanote?
Metanote is rated higher. Notable averages 3.0 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while Metanote averages 4.5 from 11 ratings.
Do Notable or Metanote have ads?
Neither Notable nor Metanote shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Notable or Metanote?
Notable ships an update every 3 weeks, and Metanote every 2 weeks. Most recently, Notable was updated on September 14, 2026 and Metanote on September 3, 2026.

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