DOCUMENT QUEST vs Cortex
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side β with what reviewers say about each.
DOCUMENT QUEST
This app gamifies note-taking by allowing users to level up their writing skills. Earn experience points, manage HP and AP, and unlock new features as you write, but be mindful of neglecting your tasks.
- Gamified writing experience
- Level up writing skills
- HP and AP management
- Unlock new features
- Daily writing rewards
- Note organization and sharing
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'DOCUMENT QUEST - Hero of Note' is not just an ordinary notepad. It's a place where your ideas and creativity level up. The more you write, the better your writing skills become. Gain experience points, level up, and unlock new features and customization options. But be cautious, neglecting your writing will decrease your HP. If you slack off, your creative adventure might come to a halt. When you've had enough of ordinary notepads, start this new writing adventure with 'DQ' It's always ready to embrace your ideas and open the door to a creative world. Discover the joy that ordinary notepads can't provideβcome on, why not give it a try? HP (HIT POINTS) β’ HP gradually decreases over time. β’ Depending on the time and content of the note, HP will recover. β’ When HP reaches 0, certain abilities (such as deletion or sharing features related to notes) become unavailable. Additionally, experience points cannot be obtained. AP (ABILITY POINTS) β’ AP gradually decreases over time. β’ Depending on the time and content of the note, AP will recover. β’ Abilities can be used by consuming AP. However, Fighter do not consume AP. LEVEL UP β’ Writing notes earns experience points, based on both the time spent and the content. β’ The more notes you write, the more experience points you gain. β’ When experience points reach a predetermined threshold, your level increases. β’ With each level increase, the maximum values for both HP and AP also increase. Additionally, as you level up, new abilities become available. ITEMS If you consistently continue writing every day, occasionally you'll obtain the following items: β’ Herb - Restores HP. β’ Magic Water - Restores AP. β’ Miraculous Leaf - Resurrection. β’ Life Acorn - Increases maximum HP. β’ Mystic Nut - Increases maximum AP. HERO'S ABILITIES β’ Lv: 4 - Rename β’ Lv: 6 - Delete β’ Lv: 11 - Sort by β’ Lv: 14 - Send a copy β’ Lv: 17 - Print β’ Lv: 24 - Import from file β’ Lv: 30 - Safe folder FIGHTER'S ABILITIES β’ Lv: 3 - Rename β’ Lv: 6 - Delete β’ Lv: 8 - Share
Cortex
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Cortex is a private, local-first Markdown workspace for iPhone and iPad. Your notes are real files you control, with fast editing, links, search, and on-device intelligence. CORE FEATURES - Create and organize plain Markdown notes - Daily notes, tasks, templates, links, and backlinks - Keyword search, Smart Search, knowledge graph, and canvas - Save text and links from other apps with the Share Extension - Create, search, and summarize notes with App Shortcuts and Siri - Import, backup, and export your vault - Use Apple Speech for dictation in supported languages FREE - A complete local Markdown vault - Smart Search and knowledge graph - Encrypted notes - Basic dictation - Local attachments up to 5 MB - Import, backup, and export CORTEX PLUS - End-to-end encrypted sync across devices - Ask, Recall, Insights, and semantic Connections - Advanced dictation commands - On-device OCR and audio transcription - Attachments larger than 5 MB Cortex requires no account and contains no ads or tracking. AI inference and embeddings run on your device. If you enable sync, Cortex encrypts your notes before sending authenticated ciphertext to the managed relay or a relay you configure; the relay cannot read note contents. Terms of Use: https://cortex.jtrlabs.com/legal/terms.html Privacy Policy: https://cortex.jtrlabs.com/legal/privacy.html
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: DOCUMENT QUEST at none against Cortex's 3. DOCUMENT QUEST also leads on update cadence (daily vs every 4 days). Cortex's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and device support (4 vs 2). On price and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price Β· Rating Β· Positive reviews Β· Number of ratings Β· Update frequency Β· Ads Β· In-app purchases Β· Monetization Β· Best chart rank Β· Devices Β· Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Cortex sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. DOCUMENT QUEST asks for nothing beyond the download.
DOCUMENT QUEST ships an update daily, Cortex every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | DOCUMENT QUEST | Cortex |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | β |
| Update frequency | Daily β better | Every 4 days |
| Ads | Yes | No β better |
| In-app purchases | No β better | Yes |
| Monetization | Ad-supported | β |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac β better |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 15.0 |
| Further details β not scored | ||
| Size | 50 MB | 132 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Yoshinori Tsuchiya | JTR Labs LLC |
In-app purchases
DOCUMENT QUEST
No in-app purchases
Cortex
- Cortex Plus (Monthly)$4.991 Month
- Cortex Plus (Yearly)$39.991 Year
- Cortex Believer$99.99
Questions
Is DOCUMENT QUEST free?
Is Cortex free?
Do DOCUMENT QUEST or Cortex have ads?
Which is updated more often, DOCUMENT QUEST or Cortex?
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