Comparison

Bamboo vs DownMark

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

Head to head
About

Bamboo

This app is a Markdown note-taking tool for organizing knowledge and utilizing AI features. It allows users to capture ideas, write long-form content, and connect notes with wiki links. AI assistance is available for drafting, summarizing, and brainstorming, with users controlling their AI provider.

Highlights
  • Markdown editor with syntax highlighting
  • Wiki link creation for connecting notes
  • AI assistance for drafting and summarizing
  • Organize notes into collections
  • Cross-device synchronization
  • Import and export content
Features
Read full description

Bamboo is a Markdown notes app for writing, organizing knowledge, and using AI on your own terms. Available on iPhone, iPad, and Mac, with Web Clipper support, Bamboo helps you capture ideas anywhere and continue working across devices. Capture quick notes, long-form documents, tasks, reminders, research, meeting notes, reading highlights, and personal knowledge. Bamboo keeps your notes in Markdown so they stay portable, readable, and easy to manage. WRITE AND CAPTURE Use a focused Markdown editor with syntax highlighting, task lists, tables, wiki links, footnotes, highlights, math, images, and attachments. Keep ideas, notes, reminders, and tasks together so writing, thinking, and planning stay in one place. ORGANIZE AND CONNECT Organize notes into collections for projects, areas, archives, or research spaces. Connect ideas with wiki links, pin important notes, star favorites, and build a knowledge base that stays easy to navigate as it grows. AI ASSISTANCE, UNDER YOUR CONTROL Bamboo Pro lets you connect supported AI providers and use assistant features directly in your notes. Draft, rewrite, summarize, brainstorm ideas, and work with selected content without leaving your workspace. You stay in control of the provider and model you use. KEEP YOUR NOTES YOURS Your notes stay in Markdown, making them easy to move, back up, and keep for the long term. Search across notes, revisit recent work, import and export your content, create backups, and keep your work available across devices with optional Bamboo Pro features such as iCloud Sync, HTML export, and PDF export. Bamboo includes optional auto-renewable monthly and yearly Pro subscriptions. Payment will be charged to your Apple ID account at confirmation of purchase. Subscriptions automatically renew unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current billing period. You can manage subscriptions in your App Store account settings. Privacy Policy: https://zhigui.github.io/app-docs/bamboo/privacy_policy.html Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

DownMark

Features
Read full description

DownMark is a web clipping, offline reading, and Markdown library app. Use the browser extension, system share sheet, or paste a link to extract the main content and save it to your personal library for reading, search, organization, and export. Capture the content that matters • Extract the main article while reducing ads, navigation, and unrelated elements • Preserve headings, paragraphs, lists, links, and images • Import with the browser extension, share sheet, or a pasted link • Convert web pages into clean, readable Markdown Build a portable article library • Save clipped articles for offline reading • Search quickly by title or description • Read Markdown with a clear in-app layout • Sync articles across devices with iCloud Export and organize • Export a single article as a Markdown file • Package multiple articles into a ZIP archive • Optionally download web images with exported documents • Control link preservation and dollar-amount protection Start free and upgrade when needed The free version supports single-article Markdown export. A one-time DownMark Pro purchase unlocks batch export, watermark-free Markdown, and export without upgrade prompts. DownMark is ideal for saving long reads, organizing research and study material, collecting writing references, and building a personal knowledge library. Privacy and data Article content stays on your device and can sync through iCloud according to your system settings. DownMark uses only necessary anonymous usage and diagnostic data to improve reliability and experience. Article content is not used for advertising. Privacy Policy: https://wanyi.dev/en/downmark-ios/privacy Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Bamboo4 screens
DownMark4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: DownMark at fortnightly against Bamboo's every 2 months. DownMark also leads on iOS requirement (18 vs 26.0). 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Bamboo sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and DownMark sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Bamboo ships an update every 2 months, DownMark fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 7 level
Bamboo versus DownMark: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBambooDownMark
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemium—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS26.018 — better
Further details — not scored
Size56 MB11 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developer志贵 陈祎 万

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Bamboo

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Pro7 Days trial$2.991 Month
  • Annual Pro7 Days trial$29.991 Year
1 purchases

DownMark

One-time1
  • Pro - Lifetime$4.99

Questions

Is Bamboo free?
Bamboo is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is DownMark free?
DownMark is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Bamboo or DownMark have ads?
Neither Bamboo nor DownMark shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Bamboo or DownMark?
Bamboo ships an update every 2 months, and DownMark fortnightly. Most recently, Bamboo was updated on October 16, 2026 and DownMark on October 13, 2026.

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