SparkGrow vs SoloMD
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
SparkGrow
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SparkGrow is your intelligent companion for organizing thoughts, remembering information, and sparking new ideas. Powered by an AI assistant, SparkGrow helps you capture insights, generate connections, and explore possibilities effortlessly. Our beautifully designed, intuitive app lets you mind map anytime, anywhere — making creativity and clarity always within reach. This version include optional AI features that require users to provide their own API key from a third-party AI provider of their choice (e.g., OpenAI, Anthropic). - The app does NOT sell, resell, or process payment for any third-party AI service. - All AI costs are billed directly by the provider to the user's own account. - The app is fully functional for mind mapping without any AI provider configured. - Configuration templates are provided for user convenience only; users must sign up and obtain keys independently. Voice to text uses [on-device / Apple Speech framework / your choice] and does not send audio to third-party servers.
SoloMD
A distraction-free Markdown editor for iPad, focusing on writing with live preview, rich syntax, and export options. Your notes are stored locally as plain text files.
- Distraction-free writing environment
- Live Markdown preview
- KaTeX math and Mermaid diagram support
- Multiple export formats (HTML, PDF, DOCX)
- File tree and outline view
- Focus and typewriter modes
- Split-view and multitasking support
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SoloMD is a lightweight, distraction-free Markdown editor for iPad. One file. One window. Just write. Built from the ground up as a focused writing tool - no account, no cloud, no telemetry, no subscription. Your notes stay in plain .md and .txt files on your iPad, readable by any editor on any platform, today and in ten years. CORE EDITING - Live preview - Markdown symbols fade out after the cursor leaves the line. - Rich syntax styling - real big headings, real bold, real monospace for code. - Light and Dark themes that follow iPad system appearance. - Multi-encoding - auto-detects UTF-8, UTF-16, GBK, Big5. - Tabs with dirty indicators. - File tree sidebar, outline view, and global search. MARKDOWN POWER - KaTeX math - inline and block math render instantly. - Mermaid diagrams - flowcharts, sequence diagrams, Gantt charts. - Task lists with clickable checkboxes. - Footnotes, YAML front-matter, text highlighting. - Syntax highlighting for 13 plus languages. - Synced split-pane scroll. - Tap an image or Mermaid diagram to open a pinch-zoomable overlay. BUILT FOR IPAD - 44 pt touch targets across toolbar, outline, and file tree. - Larger default font sizes tuned for iPad screen distance. - Split-view and multitasking friendly. - Works with hardware keyboards. - Portrait and landscape, every orientation. WRITER TOOLS - Focus mode - non-current paragraphs dim for deep work. - Typewriter mode. - Session restore - auto-saves so you never lose a line. - Chinese power tools - simplified/traditional conversion, pinyin, CJK word counts. - Spell check. - Custom CSS. EXPORT - HTML (newsletter quality) - PDF with KaTeX and Mermaid baked in - Word (.docx) with tables preserved - Copy as HTML, plain text, or Markdown PRIVACY FIRST SoloMD collects no personal data. No account. No analytics. No ads. No tracking. All your notes live locally in files you own. SoloMD is open source (MIT). Source: github.com/zhitongblog/solomd
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is iOS requirement: SoloMD at 15.0 against SparkGrow's 17.6. On price, ads, in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
| Parameter | SparkGrow | SoloMD |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | 1.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Number of ratings | — | 1 — better |
| Update frequency | — | Every 3 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | — | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.6 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 8 MB | 20 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | XiangBo Kong | 向东 李 |
In-app purchases
SparkGrow
No in-app purchases
SoloMD
No in-app purchases









