Comparison

Zen Slate vs Noteline

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

Head to head
About

Zen Slate

Features
Read full description

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

Noteline

Features
Read full description

Noteline is a fast, minimal note app for people who write in Markdown. Type a # and it becomes a heading. Type **bold** and it turns bold โ€” right where you typed it. Noteline gives you live preview: your formatting renders inline as you write, so there's no split-screen and no clutter. Just clean text that quietly becomes a clean document. Your notes are plain .md files stored on your device. No account, no sign-in, no servers of ours โ€” and if you want them on your other devices, you can keep the folder in your own iCloud Drive. Open them, back them up, move them, or edit them in any other Markdown app. Noteline works fully offline and stays out of your way. Every note is plain Markdown โ€” the same format AI tools read and write โ€” so your notes stay usable by whatever you reach for next. It's the calm, focused place to think, take notes, and write. Features: โ€ข Live preview Markdown โ€” headings, bold, italics, lists, and checkboxes render inline as you type โ€ข Local-first โ€” your notes are plain .md files on your device โ€ข Works fully offline โ€” no connection required, ever โ€ข No account, no sign-in โ€” nothing to set up โ€ข Open format โ€” your files stay portable and yours โ€ข The format AI speaks โ€” plain Markdown that AI tools read and write directly โ€ข Minimal, distraction-free interface โ€ข Checklists and task lists for quick to-dos โ€ข Fast and lightweight No ads. No tracking. No telemetry. Just notes.

Screenshots

Zen Slate4 screens
Noteline4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Noteline at none against Zen Slate's 2. Noteline also leads on iOS requirement (14.0 vs 17.0). Zen Slate's advantage is update cadence (every 6 days vs every 2 weeks). On price, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Both are free to download. Zen Slate sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $19.99 per year. Noteline asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Zen Slate ships an update every 6 days, Noteline every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 10, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences ยท 3 level
Zen Slate versus Noteline: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterZen SlateNoteline
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 6 days โ€” betterEvery 2 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo โ€” better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, MaciPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS17.014.0 โ€” better
Further details โ€” not scored
Size23 MB7 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperZenProducts Technologies Pvt. Ltd.Foo AI Corp.

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Zen Slate

Subscriptions1
  • Zen Slate Pro Annual$19.991 Year
One-time1
  • Zen Slate, bought once$49.99
None

Noteline

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Zen Slate free?
Zen Slate is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Noteline free?
Noteline is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Zen Slate or Noteline have ads?
Neither Zen Slate nor Noteline shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Zen Slate or Noteline?
Zen Slate ships an update every 6 days, and Noteline every 2 weeks. Most recently, Zen Slate was updated on October 10, 2026 and Noteline on October 24, 2026.

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