ExplainThisDoc vs SteelNote
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side β with what reviewers say about each.
ExplainThisDoc
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A letter from an authority. An invoice. A contract. A cancellation notice. A form. Documents mean work. What does this mean for me? Do I need to do something? By when? Do I need to pay, reply, or sign? And when I need the document again later β where was it? ExplainThisDoc is your digital document archive with a built-in assistant. It brings paper documents and PDFs together in one place, explains what they mean, identifies deadlines, tasks, and next steps, and helps you take action. No more piles of paper or PDFs scattered across different apps. Reading, understanding, organizing, and finding documents becomes easier: scan or import them, see what matters, edit and sign when needed β and quickly find them again later. Everything digital. Everything at hand. With an assistant that helps you understand what matters and get things done. UNDERSTAND WHAT MATTERS Long letters, complicated wording, important information buried in paragraphs: ExplainThisDoc turns documents into a clear, easy-to-understand overview. Depending on the document, the analysis can identify: β’ Summaries and key points β’ Tasks and next steps β’ Deadlines and appointments β’ Amounts and payment information β’ Obligations, risks, and important conditions β’ Potential cost traps β’ Addresses, locations, and contacts β’ Reference and case numbers β’ Open questions and important details See at a glance what a document is about, what affects you, and whether you need to take action. DONβT JUST UNDERSTAND. TAKE ACTION. Add recognized appointments to your calendar. Open addresses for directions and navigation. Use contact details for follow-up questions. Need to edit or sign a form or contract? Open the original and take care of it directly in the app. Deadlines, payments, and tasks are highlighted so important information doesnβt get overlooked. FROM PAPER TO A DIGITAL ARCHIVE Scan paper documents with your camera or import PDFs and other documents from Files, Mail, Downloads, and other apps. You can also add images and text from the clipboard. Review multi-page scans, add pages, or rescan individual pages. Text recognition is performed directly on your device. THE ORIGINAL STAYS WITH YOU The analysis and original document stay connected. Open the document in the built-in reader, search the recognized text, and check the exact wording at any time. Mark up or add content, edit the document, and sign it directly in the app. FIND ANYTHING QUICKLY Where was that invoice? Which letter contained the deadline? Search by content, titles, and recognized information, and filter by document type, date range, and other criteria. You donβt need to remember a filename or where you saved it. You can also link related documents such as a contract and invoice, a notice and reply, or a booking and ticket. YOU CHOOSE HOW TO ANALYZE Scan Only: Digitize and archive β without AI analysis. On-Device Analysis: Analyze document text directly on your device without sending it to an external AI provider. Available on supported devices. Pro Analysis: For more detailed explanations. You choose whether Mistral in the EU or OpenAI in the USA is used. PROTECTED AND AD-FREE Protect your archive with Face ID. Export and import let you back up and transfer your document collection. ExplainThisDoc contains no ads and no trackers. Original documents, PDFs, photos, and scans are not sent to Mistral or OpenAI for AI analysis. With Pro Analysis, only the extracted text is sent to your selected AI provider. With On-Device Analysis, the text stays on your device. AI-generated results may contain errors. Always verify important deadlines, amounts, obligations, and conditions against the original document. ExplainThisDoc takes the work out of documents: digitize, understand, act, archive, and find β all in one place.
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.
- 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
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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
Verdict
The clearest difference is iOS requirement: SteelNote at 17.6 against ExplainThisDoc's 26.0. On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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
Both are free to download. ExplainThisDoc sells 3 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.
ExplainThisDoc ships an update every 3 days, SteelNote every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | ExplainThisDoc | SteelNote |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Positive reviews | β | 100.0% of reviews |
| Update frequency | Every 3 days β better | Every 4 days |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | β | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, Mac β better |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | 17.6 β better |
| Further details β not scored | ||
| Size | 89 MB | 17 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Julian Heger | Claude Bezeaud |
In-app purchases
ExplainThisDoc
- 5 Credits$2.99
- 50 Credits$24.99
- 200 Credits$69.99
SteelNote
- Annual14 Days trial$24.991 Year
- Founder$44.99
- Lifetime$79.99
Questions
Is ExplainThisDoc free?
Is SteelNote free?
Do ExplainThisDoc or SteelNote have ads?
Which is updated more often, ExplainThisDoc or SteelNote?
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