# roamOS vs ZenNotes

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.

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

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.

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.

## The numbers

| Metric | roamOS | ZenNotes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $19.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | [1.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/roamos/id6749782598/reviews) | **[4.9 (11 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/zennotes-markdown-notes/id6791751575/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 1 | **11** |
| Positive reviews | 33.3% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 4 days | **Every 2 days** |
| Monetization | Paid | **Free** |
| Size | 6 MB | 81 MB |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | **15.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, Mac | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Ryan Sonnek](https://appshunter.io/developer/1832078341) | [Lumary Labs LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1874151885) |

## What reviewers say

### roamOS

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/roamos/id6749782598)

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:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


### ZenNotes

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/zennotes-markdown-notes/id6791751575)

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:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


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