Comparison

Snippets vs Vault Notes

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

Head to head
About

Snippets

Capture thoughts, ideas, and daily entries with a fast, local-first markdown editor. Notes are stored as plain files in a folder of your choice, offering full ownership and easy syncing via iCloud or other cloud services. Enjoy a distraction-free writing experience with instant search and no tracking.

Highlights
  • Local-first markdown editor
  • Plain .md file storage
  • iCloud and cloud sync
  • Chronological note sorting
  • Distraction-free writing
  • Instant search
Features
Read full description

Snippets Journal is a fast, local-first markdown note-taking app designed for capturing daily thoughts, ideas, and notes. YOUR NOTES, YOUR FILES • Notes are plain .md files stored in a folder you choose • No account required - just pick a folder and start writing • Full ownership - export, backup, or edit with any text editor ORGANIZED BY DATE • Notes automatically sorted chronologically • Quick daily journaling with one-tap new note • Easy to find what you wrote and when MARKDOWN SUPPORT • Write with familiar markdown formatting • Headers, bold, italic, lists, code blocks • Clean, distraction-free editor SYNC YOUR WAY • Use iCloud Drive to sync across iPhone, iPad, and Mac • Works with Dropbox, Google Drive, or any cloud folder • No proprietary sync - your files, your choice FAST & PRIVATE • Instant search across all notes • Everything stored locally on your device • No tracking, no analytics, no ads Perfect for daily journaling, meeting notes, ideas, lists, and quick capture. Simple by design.

About

Vault Notes

Features
Read full description

Vault Notes is a private notes app built on plain Markdown. Your notes are real .md files stored locally, (and with Pro, in your own Google Drive), not rows in a database we control. We run no servers and never see what you write. WRITE WITHOUT FRICTION Live Markdown editing. Headings, bold, and checklists render as you type. Daily notes are one tap away, so journaling and quick capture stay fast. Banners, callouts, code blocks, footnotes, highlights, and LaTeX math. Paste a link and get a clean preview card. Rename the title to whatever you want. Attach images, PDFs, and GIFs. Read PDFs a page at a time. YOURS, ORGANIZED Folders and subfolders, pinned notes, instant search. Connect notes with [[wikilinks]], or embed one note inside another. Chain notes like chapters with Previous / Next follow-ups. Canvas boards when you need to think spatially. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Public View hides your private notes and images, either on a schedule or with one tap. Hand your phone to someone and don't worry about it. Mark any note or folder Private. Blur the images you'd rather not show. No analytics. No tracking. Nothing phones home. MAKE IT YOURS Features are plugins, so toggle math, callouts, timelines, and image styling as you like. Accent colors that follow you across devices. Apple Pencil sketch notes on iPad. VAULT PRO (optional subscription) Two-way sync between iPhone, iPad, and desktop, all through your own Google Drive. Version history and attachment sync included. Your notes move through your cloud. We never host or read them. Vault Notes is built by one person who uses it every day, and it shows. Download it, write something in it, see if it fits.

Screenshots

Snippets4 screens
Vault Notes4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Snippets at none against Vault Notes's 2. Snippets also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs every 6 days) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.0). On price, ads 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. Vault Notes sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Snippets asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Snippets ships an update every 2 days, Vault Notes every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Snippets versus Vault Notes: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSnippetsVault Notes
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (2 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings2 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 days — betterEvery 6 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size3 MB17 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMing LiAndre Schoolman

In-app purchases

None

Snippets

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Vault Notes

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Yearly$49.991 Year

Questions

Is Snippets free?
Snippets is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Vault Notes free?
Vault Notes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Snippets or Vault Notes have ads?
Neither Snippets nor Vault Notes shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Snippets or Vault Notes?
Snippets ships an update every 2 days, and Vault Notes every 6 days. Most recently, Snippets was updated on October 24, 2026 and Vault Notes on October 28, 2026.

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