Comparison

Normal Notes vs Markdown Preview

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

Head to head
About

Normal Notes

Features
Read full description

Normal Notes is the fastest and easiest way to keep a daily journal and a personal knowledge base. Built on plain Markdown and compatible with Obsidian vaults, it opens straight to Today's Note with heading pre-filled. Supports tags, suggests older notes worth attention, view vault pins on a map. Share anything from anywhere so you don't lose it. No account or subscription, and no tracking. No lock-in — your notes stay as ordinary .md files you own. DAILY JOURNALING • One tap to today's note. Yesterday and tomorrow are a swipe away. • Auto-headings with date, place, and journaling prompts. • Capture by voice — record a memo and it's transcribed straight into today. A KNOWLEDGE BASE THAT CONNECTS • [[Wikilinks]] and live backlinks, so notes link themselves together. • Related notes surfaced automatically. • Pin places to notes and see them all on a map. FAST AND NATIVE • Best-in-class Markdown editor experience — headings, checklists, formatting — that stays out of your way. • Instant search across your whole vault. • Share text and images into today from any app. PRIVATE BY DESIGN • Your notes sync through your own iCloud. Nothing is collected. No trackers, no ads, no analytics. If you've wanted Obsidian's plain-text freedom with the speed and polish of Apple Notes, Normal Notes is it.

About

Markdown Preview

Features
Read full description

Open a .md file on your iPhone and actually see it — rendered, not raw. MarkdownPrev is a Markdown editor with live preview: type on one side, watch headings, lists, code blocks and links turn into a clean, readable page on the other. Most notes apps hide Markdown behind their own format. MarkdownPrev works with plain .md the way it lives on disk: import a README, edit it in real syntax, check the result in split view, and send back a proper .md or a standalone HTML file — nothing locked into a proprietary library. WHAT YOU GET • A README you fixed on the train, previewed in split view and exported back before your laptop even opens • Every heading, list, blockquote and fenced code block rendered live as you type • A snippet library that keeps your recurring blocks — meeting template, changelog stub, doc skeleton — one tap away • Automatic restore points after every writing pause, so an over-eager rewrite is a two-tap undo • One tap turns any note into a standalone, styled HTML page ready to send • A built-in cheat sheet showing the exact syntax the preview renders — no guessing PERFECT FOR • Developers reviewing and editing README and docs files away from their desk • Technical writers who need to verify rendering before pushing a commit • Students and bloggers drafting posts in plain Markdown • Anyone tired of emailing themselves .md files just to read them formatted WHY NOT JUST A NOTES APP? Bear and Obsidian are great vaults — but they wrap your writing in their own database. MarkdownPrev is deliberately smaller: real .md in, real .md (or HTML) out, with a live split preview built for checking exactly what a file will look like. No vault, no sync setup, no lock-in. PRIVATE BY DEFAULT Your files never leave your iPhone. Everything is stored locally — no account, no tracking, no server reading your drafts. FULL ACCESS MarkdownPrev requires Full Access, available as a weekly or yearly auto-renewing subscription, or a one-time lifetime purchase. Full Access unlocks the complete app: unlimited snippets, the split-view editor, version restore points, and .md / HTML export. Download MarkdownPrev and preview your first .md file within the minute. Terms of Use: https://leanstudio.asia/terms-of-use Privacy Policy: https://leanstudio.asia/privacy-policy Support: support@leanstudio.asia

Screenshots

Normal Notes4 screens
Markdown Preview4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is device support: Normal Notes at 3 against Markdown Preview's 1. Markdown Preview's advantage is iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). On price, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price Ā· Rating Ā· Positive reviews Ā· Number of ratings Ā· Update frequency Ā· Ads Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Monetization Ā· Best chart rank Ā· Devices Ā· Requires iOS

CostPrice Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Ads Ā· Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Scorecard2 real differences Ā· 4 level
Normal Notes versus Markdown Preview: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNormal NotesMarkdown Preview
PriceFreeFree
Update frequency—Every 4 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac — betteriPhone
Requires iOS26.017.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size4 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperThomas McKenzieLEAN ASIA CO., LTD

In-app purchases

None

Normal Notes

No in-app purchases

None

Markdown Preview

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Normal Notes free?
Normal Notes is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Markdown Preview free?
Markdown Preview is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Normal Notes or Markdown Preview have ads?
Neither Normal Notes nor Markdown Preview shows ads.

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