Comparison

roamOS vs ZenNotes

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

Head to head
About

roamOS

Seamlessly integrate your Roam Research knowledge base into your daily workflow. Capture ideas instantly, access notes via system search, and view tasks with customizable widgets without interrupting your focus.

Highlights
  • Instant capture via Siri and shortcuts
  • Customizable home screen widgets
  • System-wide search integration
  • Natural language queries
  • Cross-device compatibility (iPhone, iPad, Mac)
  • One-time purchase with lifetime updates
Features
Read full description

You've built the perfect knowledge system in Roam. But it's locked away from where you actually work. Your breakthrough insights hit during Zoom calls, but opening Roam breaks your flow. Every TODO check means app switching. Every lookup interrupts your momentum. Your second brain can't help if you can't access it. roamOS bridges your knowledge and your workflow. Finally, your Roam graph works everywhere you do. Capture thoughts instantly via Siri, access notes through system search, and see your TODOs in beautiful widgets. No more app switching. No more lost insights. Instant Capture That brilliant idea hits during a meeting? Capture it instantly with Siri voice commands, keyboard shortcuts, or the quick launcher. Your thoughts flow directly into Roam without breaking focus. Beautiful Widgets Transform your morning routine with customizable widgets that surface exactly what you need. Your TODOs, recent notes, and daily reminders - right on your home screen where you'll actually see them. System-Wide Access Your knowledge becomes part of your system. Press Command+Space on Mac or swipe down on iPhone - search for any thought and jump directly to context. Your Roam graph integrates seamlessly with Spotlight search. Natural Language Queries Ask naturally and get instant results. "Yesterday's TODOs," "meetings this week," or "notes about pricing" - no Datalog required. Just think and ask. Complete Integration Works beautifully across iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Your second brain follows you everywhere - menubar access, Siri shortcuts, system search, and gorgeous widgets that actually help. Built by Roam users, for Roam users. Stop switching apps to access your thoughts. Your knowledge system deserves to work as hard as you do. One-time purchase. Lifetime updates. No subscriptions. Perfect for knowledge workers, researchers, writers, and anyone building their second brain in Roam Research.

About

ZenNotes

This app allows you to create and manage notes using plain Markdown files. It offers flexible storage options, rich text formatting with live previews, and powerful organization tools like task management and note linking. Designed for both phone and tablet, it prioritizes user privacy with no accounts or tracking.

Highlights
  • Plain Markdown file storage
  • Live rich text previews
  • Wikilinks and #tags
  • Vault-wide task management
  • Table databases as CSV
  • Excalidraw drawing support
  • Share extension for quick capture
Features
Read full description

ZenNotes is a local-first markdown notes app for writing, organizing, and connecting ideas without giving up ownership of your files. YOUR NOTES, YOUR FILES Every note is a plain .md file in a vault you control. Start with storage on your iPhone or iPad, use iCloud Drive, or open a folder through the system document picker. Local and iCloud vaults work without an account. ZENNOTES CLOUD Connect an optional ZenNotes Cloud plan to: • Sync a vault across ZenNotes desktop and mobile • Sync notes and attachments • Create manual and automatic daily backups • Restore a full vault or a single note from a backup • Publish notes to the web and manage their public links Cloud never replaces the free local-first workflow. Use it only when you want hosted sync, backup, or publishing. WRITE IN MARKDOWN Use a focused editor with headings, lists, tasks, tables, code, links, wikilinks, tags, callouts, footnotes, and frontmatter. A mobile formatting bar keeps common actions close to the keyboard, and a pinch resizes the text to your eyes. RICH, OFFLINE PREVIEW Render KaTeX math, Mermaid diagrams, JSXGraph, function plots, tables, callouts, and more directly on your device. ORGANIZE YOUR WAY Pin your go-to notes and folders to the top, swipe rows to act on them, create and rename nested folders, browse tags, search the full vault, manage tasks, create periodic notes, and work with table databases stored as CSV. CAPTURE QUICKLY Create a quick note from the app or send text and links to ZenNotes from the iOS share sheet. HOME SCREEN WIDGETS Start a note, open a recent one, or check today's tasks without opening the app. New Note also lives on the Lock Screen, and the widgets wear your theme. PRIVACY BY DEFAULT ZenNotes has no advertising or tracking. Local and iCloud notes stay in the storage you choose. When you enable ZenNotes Cloud, the account identity, connected-device information, and vault content needed for the Cloud features you use are sent to the ZenNotes service. Payment details are handled by Stripe. ZenNotes is open source. Your vault remains useful outside the app because it is made of ordinary files.

Screenshots

roamOS3 screens
ZenNotes4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: ZenNotes at 100% against roamOS's 33%. ZenNotes also leads on price (Free vs $19.99) and rating (4.9 vs 1.0). On update cadence, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

ZenNotes is free to download; roamOS costs $19.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

ZenNotes holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 1.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ZenNotes has 11 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 33% of roamOS's written reviews are positive against 100% of ZenNotes's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

roamOS ships an update every 4 days, ZenNotes every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 9, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
roamOS versus ZenNotes: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterroamOSZenNotes
Price$19.99Free — better
Rating1.0 (1 ratings)4.9 (11 ratings) — better
Positive reviews33.3% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings111 — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 daysEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree — better
DevicesiPhone, MaciPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS26.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size6 MB81 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRyan SonnekLumary Labs LLC

Customer experience

roamOS

All ratings1 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive33.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative66.7%

ZenNotes

All ratings11 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

roamOS

No in-app purchases

None

ZenNotes

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is roamOS free?
roamOS costs $19.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is ZenNotes free?
ZenNotes is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, roamOS or ZenNotes?
ZenNotes is rated higher. roamOS averages 1.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while ZenNotes averages 4.9 from 11 ratings.
Do roamOS or ZenNotes have ads?
Neither roamOS nor ZenNotes shows ads.
Which is updated more often, roamOS or ZenNotes?
roamOS ships an update every 4 days, and ZenNotes every 2 days. Most recently, roamOS was updated on October 9, 2026 and ZenNotes on October 10, 2026.

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