# Zipgoals vs Ember

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Zipgoals at none against Ember's 3. Zipgoals also leads on iOS requirement (15.1 vs 26.0). Ember's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 14 months). On price, rating, review sentiment and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Ember sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Zipgoals asks for nothing beyond the download.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Zipgoals against 5.0 for Ember. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Ember has 6 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

Zipgoals ships an update every 14 months, Ember every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 4, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Zipgoals | Ember |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/zipgoals/id6740240423/reviews) | [5.0 (6 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ember-markdown-notes/id6761983097/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 1 | **6** |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | Every 14 months | **Every 2 weeks** |
| Monetization | **Ad-supported** | Freemium |
| Size | 11 MB | 76 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.1** | 26.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Blit Labs](https://appshunter.io/developer/1677992668) | [Rene DeAnda](https://appshunter.io/developer/1414957609) |

## What reviewers say

### Zipgoals

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/zipgoals/id6740240423)

This app helps you achieve your ambitions by combining goal tracking, milestone planning, and journaling. Break down large goals into manageable steps, plan your progress, and reflect on your journey with a rich editor and thought-provoking prompts.

**Highlights:** Goal setting with clear targets and deadlines, Milestone planning with nested sub-milestones, Rich text journal editor, Thought-provoking journal prompts, Cross-device syncing

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


### Ember

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ember-markdown-notes/id6761983097)

A fast and organized workspace for writing Markdown notes, storing PDFs, diagrams, and voice memos. It offers a vault for reusable prompts and syncs across Apple devices. Start for free with full editor access.

**Highlights:** Rich Markdown editor, Inline PDF and image support, Reusable prompt vault, Daily notes, folders, and tags, Instant search functionality, Private iCloud sync, Share Extension

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Family Sharing, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Ember Pro Monthly | $3.99 | per month |
| Ember Pro Annual | $34.99 | per year |
| Ember Pro Lifetime | $99.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Zipgoals free?

Zipgoals is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Ember free?

Ember is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Zipgoals or Ember?

Zipgoals and Ember are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 1 and 6 ratings respectively.

### Do Zipgoals or Ember have ads?

Zipgoals shows ads; Ember does not.

### Which is updated more often, Zipgoals or Ember?

Zipgoals ships an update every 14 months, and Ember every 2 weeks. Most recently, Zipgoals was updated on November 4, 2026 and Ember on October 31, 2026.

---

*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*