Comparison

Contex.st vs Cortex

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

Head to head
About

Contex.st

Read full description

TRANSFORM ANY CONTENT INTO YOUR INTELLIGENT KNOWLEDGE BASE Contex.st is the revolutionary AI-powered app that captures, summarizes, and organizes your digital content while letting you chat with your entire document collection. The only knowledge management app with built-in Nostr integration for decentralized sharing. KEY FEATURES Universal Content Capture • Save from Safari, Photos, Files, and ANY iOS app via Share Extension • Smart OCR extracts text from images and PDFs automatically • Clean web article extraction without ads or clutter • Batch processing for multiple items at once AI-Powered Intelligence • Chat with your entire document collection using advanced AI • Get contextual answers with source citations • Automatic summarization of any content • Smart keyword extraction and categorization • Entity recognition for people, places, organizations Powerful Search & Organization • Semantic search finds content by meaning, not just keywords • Vector search discovers related documents automatically • Smart collections that organize content intelligently • Advanced filtering by content type, date, and entities • Tag-based organization with AI suggestions Decentralized Sharing via Nostr • Share insights on censorship-resistant networks • Multiple cryptographic identity support • Connect to custom relay networks • True content ownership - no corporate control Privacy & Control • Your data stays on your device with iCloud sync • Choose your preferred AI providers • No tracking or data harvesting • End-to-end encryption for sensitive content PERFECT FOR: • Researchers building comprehensive knowledge bases • Students organizing study materials and papers • Professionals tracking industry insights and trends • Content creators gathering inspiration and sources • Anyone building a "second brain" for better productivity WHY CONTEX.ST? Unlike other document apps, Contex.st combines powerful AI capabilities with true data ownership. Chat with your documents using cutting-edge AI, organize with intelligent automation, and share your insights on decentralized networks - all while maintaining complete control over your information. Your digital memory, intelligently organized, truly yours. Download now and revolutionize how you capture, understand, and share knowledge!

About

Cortex

Features
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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

Contex.st4 screens
Cortex3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Contex.st at none against Cortex's 3. Cortex's advantage is update cadence (every 3 days vs every 4 weeks) and device support (4 vs 1). On price and ads 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Cortex sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Contex.st asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Contex.st ships an update every 4 weeks, Cortex every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 2 level
Contex.st versus Cortex: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterContex.stCortex
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 4 weeksEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better
Requires iOS18.415.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size128 MB131 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMemetic Research Laboratories LLCJTR Labs LLC

In-app purchases

None

Contex.st

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Cortex

Subscriptions2
  • Cortex Plus (Monthly)$4.991 Month
  • Cortex Plus (Yearly)$39.991 Year
One-time1
  • Cortex Believer$99.99

Questions

Is Contex.st free?
Contex.st is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Cortex free?
Cortex is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Contex.st or Cortex have ads?
Neither Contex.st nor Cortex shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Contex.st or Cortex?
Contex.st ships an update every 4 weeks, and Cortex every 3 days. Most recently, Contex.st was updated on October 17, 2026 and Cortex on October 12, 2026.

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