Metanote vs Stairstep
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Privacy-first offline editor
- Full Org mode support
- Real-time rich content editing
- Seamless synchronization
- Integrated task management
- Full-text search
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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/
Stairstep
View and inspect 3D models in STEP file format. Explore models with intuitive orbit, pan, and zoom controls, aided by a reference grid and scale bar. Access detailed geometry information including vertices, triangles, and dimensions.
- 3D model viewing
- Orbit, pan, and zoom controls
- Reference grid
- Scale bar for size tracking
- Geometry inspector
- Dimension reporting
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Stairs views STEP files. Open a model and inspect it in 3D — orbit, pan, and zoom, with a reference grid and a scale bar to keep track of size. Drag to orbit the model and scroll or pinch to zoom; the scale bar updates to match. The toolbar fits the model back into view and reveals an inspector that reports the geometry — vertices, triangles, materials, and overall dimensions.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Stairstep at 5.0 against Metanote's 4.3. Stairstep also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 2). Metanote's advantage is update cadence (every 2 weeks vs monthly) and ratings volume (15 vs 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
Both are free to download. Metanote sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $12.99 per year. Stairstep asks for nothing beyond the download.
Stairstep holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Metanote has 15 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Metanote ships an update every 2 weeks, Stairstep monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Metanote | Stairstep |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.3 (15 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 72.7% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 15 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks — better | Monthly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Mac |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 16 MB | 23 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | 雪双 陈 | Twarge LLC |
Customer experience
Metanote
Stairstep
In-app purchases
Metanote
- Metanote Premium$12.991 Year
- One-time purchase$19.99
Stairstep
No in-app purchases









