Comparison

Zen Slate vs Grape

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

Head to head
About

Zen Slate

Features
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Turn voice memos into notes you can organize. Zen Slate brings rich-text notes, voice transcription and to-dos together, with camera scanning and Apple Pencil drawing on supported devices. WRITE, RECORD AND SCAN Use headings, bold, italics, quotes, code blocks, highlights and checklists. Add photos, PDFs and files. Record a voice note with on-device transcription, or scan a document with the camera on supported devices. Transcription availability depends on language, device and speech support. NOTES THAT TURN INTO ACTION Keep to-dos alongside your notes. Add a date, reminder, priority or repeat to a task, then see tasks together and plan them on a calendar. Checklists inside a note stay with that note. Optional Apple Reminders integration is off until you choose it. DRAW ON IPAD Sketch with Apple Pencil using pens, markers, a highlighter, eraser, lasso and ruler. Drawings remain editable after you save them. FIND YOUR WAY BACK Organize with nested categories, tags and smart folders. Search your writing, bookmark a note, and link related notes with double brackets. Backlinks show where a note is referenced. BRING YOUR NOTES WITH YOU Import Markdown folders with their structure, tags and dates. Import supported Evernote ENEX, RTF and HTML files. Export your library as JSON when you need it. YOUR DEVICE AND YOUR ICLOUD No Zen Slate account is required. Notes are stored on your device; sync uses your own iCloud account rather than our servers. Supported devices can protect individual notes with biometric authentication. CAPTURE WITHOUT THE DETOUR Use widgets, the share sheet, Shortcuts and Spotlight to reach your notes. Features vary by platform; camera scanning and Apple Pencil drawing require supported iPhone or iPad hardware. FREE AND PRO Start with five slates for free. Pro removes the limit and adds sync, widgets, backup and export. Choose a yearly subscription or a one-time purchase. The one-time purchase does not renew. Subscriptions renew automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the current period ends. Manage or cancel in your Apple Account subscription settings. See current pricing in the app. Privacy Policy: https://www.zenproducts.ai/apps/zen-slate/privacy Terms of Use: https://www.zenproducts.ai/apps/zen-slate/terms Support: hello@zenproducts.ai

About

Grape

This AI-powered note-taking app helps you capture, organize, and instantly find information. It understands your notes to search, create, and edit them, supporting rich text, handwriting, voice recordings, and various file types. Study tools like flashcards and mind maps are also included.

Highlights
  • AI-powered note understanding and search
  • Rich text editor with multimedia support
  • Handwriting recognition and PDF annotation
  • Voice recording with AI transcription
  • Flashcard generation and adaptive quizzing
  • Mind map and slide deck creation
  • Cross-device sync and local storage
Features
Read full description

Think, write, and organize with AI. Grape is an AI powered note taking app that helps you capture ideas, organize knowledge, and find anything instantly. Unlike a chat app, Grape's AI understands your notes and can search, create, organize, and edit them for you. Whether you are taking meeting notes, studying, planning projects, or collecting ideas, Grape keeps everything in one place. AI that works with your notes - Chat with an AI that understands your whole workspace - Let the AI agent create, edit, move and organize notes for you - Search your notes by meaning, in plain language - Search the web without leaving your notes - Set custom instructions and save quick prompts you reuse - The AI remembers what matters to you across chats - Use Grape AI or bring your own API keys - Works with OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Groq, DeepSeek and more - Run local models with Ollama or LM Studio Capture everything - Rich text editor with headings, lists, highlights and spell check - Checklists and tables - Images, PDFs and audio files inside notes - Voice recordings with AI transcription - Speaker identification for meetings and interviews - Handwriting notebooks with pen, highlighter, rulings and page sizes - Write on PDFs and export a notebook as PDF - Handwriting that is searchable and readable by the AI - Drawing canvas - Links between notes and backlinks - Tags Study smarter - Generate flashcards from any note - Quiz yourself with adaptive difficulty - Build mind maps - Present a note as a slide deck - Make flashcards, quizzes, mind maps and slides by hand on any plan - Lay a note out as a shareable infographic - Watch a note as a short brainrot video - Summarize, extract key points and translate Stay organized - Folders and unlimited subfolders - Sort and group notes your way - Graph view - Pin important notes - Version history - Automatic backups - Templates with dynamic variables - Find text inside notes - Recover deleted notes Capture from anywhere - Share text, links and files to Grape from other apps - Home screen widgets for quick capture and recent notes - Clip web pages from Chrome - Import from Apple Notes and Markdown files - Desktop app for Mac, Windows and Linux Make it yours - 24 themes plus light and dark mode - Accent colors - Your language and date format Your data stays yours - Local first storage, works offline - Cross device sync - Export as Markdown, HTML and PDF - No account required to get started Whether you are a student, developer, researcher, writer, or professional, Grape helps you think faster, remember more, and stay organized. Grape is free to use with unlimited notes. Grape Pro adds Grape AI, sync, voice transcription, the AI study tools, widgets and themes. Privacy Policy: https://grape.cool/privacy Terms of Service: https://grape.cool/terms

Screenshots

Zen Slate4 screens
Grape4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: Grape at 15.1 against Zen Slate's 17.0. On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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. Zen Slate sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $19.99 per year and Grape sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.00 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Zen Slate ships an update every 6 days, Grape every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 8 level
Zen Slate versus Grape: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterZen SlateGrape
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 daysEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
Monetization—Freemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, MaciPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS17.015.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size23 MB71 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperZenProducts Technologies Pvt. Ltd.Shiny Grape, LLC

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Zen Slate

Subscriptions1
  • Zen Slate Pro Annual$19.991 Year
One-time1
  • Zen Slate, bought once$49.99
3 purchases

Grape

Subscriptions3
  • Grape Sync Monthly$3.001 Month
  • Grape Plus Monthly$9.001 Month
  • Grape Pro Monthly$19.001 Month

Questions

Is Zen Slate free?
Zen Slate is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Grape free?
Grape is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Zen Slate or Grape have ads?
Neither Zen Slate nor Grape shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Zen Slate or Grape?
Zen Slate ships an update every 6 days, and Grape every 3 days. Most recently, Zen Slate was updated on October 25, 2026 and Grape on November 5, 2026.

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