Comparison

Prism Notes vs SteelNote

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

Head to head
About

Prism Notes

Capture thoughts and links quickly with a familiar texting interface. Organize ideas with AI-suggested tags and develop them across linked threads. Review notes to keep what matters and easily search by keyword or meaning.

Highlights
  • Texting-like note capture
  • AI-suggested tags
  • Threaded idea development
  • Review mode for notes
  • Sync across devices
  • Natural language reminders
  • Lock screen capture
Features
Read full description

Prism is the private place for quick thoughts and links. It feels like texting, rather than writing in a document. Capture easily, organize with tags, develop ideas across threads, review to keep only what matters. Free to try! Features: - Private and on-device - Opt in to iCloud sync between iPhone and Mac - Voice transcription and voice memos - Lock screen widgets for text and voice capture - AI-suggested tags to make organizing easy or automatic AI tagging (requires apple intelligence) - Review mode to keep notes alive or let them go - Threads to evolve a thought and link them together - Search by keyword - Natural language reminders - just say "remind me tomorrow at 2pm" (requires apple intelligence)

About

SteelNote

This app stores your notes as plain Markdown files on your device, ensuring you always own your data. It offers seamless syncing across Apple devices, instant search, and robust import options from other note-taking applications.

Highlights
  • Plain Markdown file storage
  • iCloud sync across Apple devices
  • Local full-text search
  • Import from multiple note apps
  • Link notes and see backlinks
  • Organize with folders and tags
  • Mark notes as private
Read full description

SteelNote is a notes app built on one promise: your notes are plain Markdown files that you own. Every note is a real .md file on your device, openable in the Files app or in any editor you like, today and years from now. No proprietary database. Nothing locked away. Your notes, truly yours. Because every note is plain text, you are never trapped. Read and edit them in SteelNote, in Files, or in any other Markdown app. If you ever move on, you take your files with you as they are, in an open format that lasts. Native on all your Apple devices. SteelNote is built natively for iPhone, iPad and Mac. Your notes sync across all of them through iCloud, with no third party account and no extra sign in. Start a note on your phone and finish it on your Mac. Find anything, instantly. A local full text index makes search immediate, even in large libraries. Link notes together, see backlinks, organize with folders and tags, and turn any line into a task. Private when you want it. Mark a note as private and it stays out of widgets and AI features. Your most sensitive notes remain yours alone. Bring everything with you. Import from Bear, Notion, Obsidian and Evernote, or from Markdown, TextBundle, Word, RTF, PDF and CSV files. Your folders and structure come along. Apple Notes works too, one note at a time, because Apple offers no bulk export. Everything you expect. Add images, PDFs and tables inline. Use checklists, footnotes and links. Reach your notes from Spotlight, Siri and widgets, and hand off between devices. An open format, now standard. Markdown is a first class type across Apple platforms, and SteelNote is built natively around it. Your files are open, portable and yours. Membership. SteelNote comes with a 14 day free trial, then a yearly plan or a one time lifetime purchase. You can cancel during the trial and pay nothing, or skip the subscription and choose the lifetime purchase instead. Sync is always included and never restricted. Payment is charged to your Apple Account. A yearly plan renews automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the period. You can manage or cancel anytime in your Account settings. Privacy Policy: https://steelnoteapp.com/privacy.html Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Prism Notes4 screens
SteelNote4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: Prism Notes at free against SteelNote's free with in-app purchases. On price, review sentiment, update cadence and ads 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. Prism Notes sells 2 one-off in-app purchases and SteelNote sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $24.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Prism Notes versus SteelNote: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPrism NotesSteelNote
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (32 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings32 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 4 daysEvery 4 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS18.617.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size19 MB17 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTommy JosephClaude Bezeaud

Customer experience

Prism Notes

All ratings32 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews13 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

SteelNote

Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Prism Notes

One-time2
  • Lifetime Unlock$6.99
  • Lifetime Unlock$12.99
3 purchases

SteelNote

Subscriptions1
  • Annual14 Days trial$24.991 Year
One-time2
  • Founder$44.99
  • Lifetime$79.99

Questions

Is Prism Notes free?
Prism Notes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is SteelNote free?
SteelNote is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Prism Notes or SteelNote have ads?
Neither Prism Notes nor SteelNote shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Prism Notes or SteelNote?
Prism Notes ships an update every 4 days, and SteelNote every 4 days. Most recently, Prism Notes was updated on October 13, 2026 and SteelNote on October 14, 2026.

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