Comparison

basalt vs Krux

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

Head to head
About

basalt

Features
Read full description

Write notes with AI suggestions as you type. basalt is a private notebook for drafts, ideas and journal entries, powered by Apple Intelligence on your device. GET HELP WHILE YOU WRITE Suggestions and questions appear alongside your note. Change the assistant’s prompt to ask for the kind of response you want. FIND YOUR NOTES Search your writing and browse short automatic summaries in the note list. Your recently edited notes appear first. KEEP YOUR WRITING LOCAL Notes are stored on your device. No account is required, and your writing is not sent to a developer-run AI service. AI features require a compatible device with Apple Intelligence enabled and its on-device model available. Availability depends on your device, language and region. AI suggestions may be inaccurate. Create two notes for free. basalt Pro unlocks unlimited notes with a weekly or yearly subscription. Prices and any eligible introductory offers are shown before purchase. Payment is charged to your Apple Account. Subscriptions renew automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the current period ends. Manage or cancel your subscription in App Store account settings. Introductory offers are available only to eligible subscribers. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://hekec.notion.site/terms-privacy-policy-290a809cee65801882d9d13fc40c24b7

About

Krux

Features
Read full description

You open a long markdown document on your iPhone. You need section four. You scroll. And scroll. And scroll. Your current editor -- the one that costs $19.99, or charges you every month -- doesn't have a document outline on iPhone. It never has. You've been asking for years. Krux has it. Day one. Tap the outline panel and jump to any heading in your document instantly. On iPhone. On iPad. On Mac. It works the way it should have always worked. --- WRITE EVERYWHERE Krux is a native markdown editor built for every Apple device you own. iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch. Your documents sync through iCloud Drive as standard .md files -- the same files you open in VS Code, BBEdit, or any editor you choose. Dictate a note on your Apple Watch while your phone is in your bag. It's in your Files app by the time you sit down. --- WHAT YOU GET -- Document outline with jump-to-heading navigation on every platform -- Live syntax highlighting with real-time preview -- Side-by-side preview on iPad and Mac, tabbed preview on iPhone -- Focus mode that dims everything but the current paragraph -- Apple Watch companion with dictation, offline reading, and watch face complication -- Export to HTML, PDF, or raw markdown in one tap -- Formatting toolbar with 13 actions plus full keyboard shortcuts -- OLED-optimized pure-black dark mode -- iOS 26 Liquid Glass design, built in Swift --- YOUR FILES. YOUR FORMAT. FOREVER. Every file Krux creates is a plain .md file. No proprietary database. No invisible metadata. No lock-in. Open a Krux file in any other editor -- it looks exactly the same. Because it is exactly the same. Standard markdown, stored in your iCloud Drive, readable everywhere. Zero data collection. No accounts. No tracking. Confirmed by Apple's required PrivacyInfo.xcprivacy declaration. --- ONE PRICE. NO SUBSCRIPTION. Pay once. Write forever. No monthly fee. No annual renewal. No "upgrade to Pro." Krux for iPhone and iPad: $4.99. Krux for Mac: $9.99. Apple Watch companion: included. --- THE LANGUAGE OF AI, NATIVELY Claude Code, ChatGPT, and GitHub Copilot all write in markdown. Krux is where that output lives on your iPhone -- rendered cleanly, navigated with the outline, stored as plain files that feed right back into your workflow. Markdown is the language of AI. Krux is its native home. --- Built for iOS 26 with Liquid Glass. Runs on iPhone and iPad. ---

Screenshots

basalt4 screens
Krux4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: basalt at Free against Krux's $4.99. basalt also leads on update cadence (every 10 days vs every 2 months). Krux's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and device support (3 vs 1). On ads and iOS requirement 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

CostPrice Β· In-app purchases Β· Ads Β· Monetization

basalt is free to download; Krux costs $4.99 up front. basalt sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per 7 days. Krux asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

basalt ships an update every 10 days, Krux every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences Β· 2 level
basalt versus Krux: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterbasaltKrux
PriceFree β€” better$4.99
Update frequencyEvery 10 days β€” betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo β€” better
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch β€” better
Requires iOS26.0 β€” better26.4
Further details β€” not scored
Size11 MB17 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperIgor DiachukDaniel Murray

In-app purchases

2 purchases

basalt

Subscriptions2
  • Basalt Weekly3 Days trial$0.997 Days
  • Basalt Yearly7 Days trial$12.991 Year
None

Krux

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is basalt free?
basalt is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Krux free?
Krux costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do basalt or Krux have ads?
Neither basalt nor Krux shows ads.
Which is updated more often, basalt or Krux?
basalt ships an update every 10 days, and Krux every 2 months. Most recently, basalt was updated on October 16, 2026 and Krux on October 2, 2026.

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