Five Hours vs Plain Markdown
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side β with what reviewers say about each.
Five Hours
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Unlock Your Potential with Five Hours Follow the 5-hour rule by setting aside one hour a day for focused learning, experimentation, or reflection. Five Hours is a minimalist, privacy-focused productivity app designed to help you stay consistent and intentional with your personal growth. Unlike traditional time trackers, this app emphasizes quality over quantity. Itβs all about documenting what you learned, how you grew, and the skills you developed. Key Features: β’ Quick Logging: Add a new session with a title, notes, activity type (Learn, Experiment, Reflect), date, duration, and the skills you worked on. β’ Weekly View: See all your entries for the current week and track your progress at a glance. β’ History & Filters: Browse your full session history with powerful search and filtering. β’ Private by Design: No accounts. No ads. No tracking. Your data stays on your device. If youβre serious about personal growth, Five Hours helps you stay accountable, one hour at a time.
Plain Markdown
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Plain Markdown Read your .md files in place. Pick a folder on your iPhone or in iCloud Drive. The app lists every .md file inside β nothing more, nothing less. Tap a file to read it; the markdown is rendered with quiet, weight-driven typography that gets out of the way. The app uses Apple's standard folder picker, so it works with iCloud Drive, On My iPhone, and any third-party Files app provider (Dropbox, Google Drive, Working Copy, etc.). Pick once, and the app remembers β drill into subfolders, come back, switch folders. No accounts. No sync engine. No editor. Just a reader. Β· Folder picker with iCloud Drive and Files-app provider support Β· Drill into subfolders β back-button navigation Β· Inline images (jpg, png, gif, webp, svg, heic, heif, bmp, avif) Β· GitHub-flavored markdown: tables, blockquotes, code blocks, task lists, strikethrough Β· Adjustable text size (5 steps) Β· Light & dark mode Β· Mono body font option for code-style reading Β· Local only β your files never leave your device Privacy This app does not collect data, display ads, or communicate with any server. The folder picker is Apple's. Files are read on-device only. There are no analytics, no third-party SDKs, no telemetry. Less, but better.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Five Hours at $1.99 against Plain Markdown's $2.99. Plain Markdown's advantage is iOS requirement (14.0 vs 18.0). On ads, in-app purchases and device support 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
Five Hours costs $1.99 and Plain Markdown $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
| Parameter | Five Hours | Plain Markdown |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $1.99 β better | $2.99 |
| Update frequency | Every 7 months | β |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPod β better |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 14.0 β better |
| Further details β not scored | ||
| Size | 3 MB | 4 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Tiago Costa | Yongmin Ji |
In-app purchases
Five Hours
No in-app purchases
Plain Markdown
No in-app purchases









