Comparison

Note.md vs Lobster

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

Head to head
About

Note.md

Features
Read full description

Read Markdown from iCloud and explore saved HTML with interactive charts and sliders. Note.md helps you revisit explanations, change conditions, and study your files on iPhone and iPad. Keep your learning notes, AI-created explanations, and work documents useful long after you save them. INTERACTIVE HTML โ€” PRO Open an HTML lesson and use its sliders and buttons to see how a chart or result changes. Supports self-contained .html and .htm files with HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and all required data embedded in one file. READ AND EDIT MARKDOWN โ€” FREE Preview headings, tables, and code. Edit your notes and save changes to the original Markdown file. Use the outline and document search to find the section you need. KEEP NOTES AND LESSONS TOGETHER Open .md and .html files from Files or iCloud Drive without moving them into an app-specific library. Follow relative links in Markdown to related HTML lessons. Viewing and interacting with HTML requires Pro. LISTEN TO YOUR NOTES Read Markdown aloud while the app is in the foreground for free. Pro adds background playback, including playback while your screen is locked. KEEP YOUR THOUGHTS WITH THE DOCUMENT Record questions and ideas in document memos without changing the original text. Memos for up to 3 documents are free; Pro removes the limit. Pro also lets you export Markdown as PDF or HTML to share your notes. USING HTML Create and save a self-contained HTML file in another tool, then open it in Note.md. Note.md does not generate HTML with AI. HTML that needs external network requests, a CDN, or separate files is not supported. Downloaded self-contained HTML can be used offline. HTML is view-only. HTML source editing and persistent saving of interactive values are not supported. Values reset when you reopen the file. NOTE.MD PRO Choose monthly, annual, or lifetime access. Eligible Apple Accounts can try all Pro features, including HTML, free for the first 2 weeks on a monthly or annual subscription. After the free trial, your subscription automatically renews at the price of the selected plan. Cancel in your Apple Account subscription settings at least 24 hours before the end of the current period to prevent renewal. Lifetime access has no free trial or automatic renewal. See the purchase screen for prices and eligibility. Your original files are not deleted when Pro access ends. Reading, editing, and saving Markdown remain free. Terms of Use: https://saio-o.github.io/Note-md/terms.html Privacy Policy: https://saio-o.github.io/Note-md/privacy.html

About

Lobster

Read full description

Write what only you can say. Catch the thought where it finds you. Connect the scattered pieces. Work the sentences until they hold. Then export something a reader can actually read. Lobster keeps every stage of a piece of writing in one library โ€” a novel, a blog post and a diary all live in the same drawer. CATCH IT WHERE IT HAPPENS โ€” Catch Ideas Good sentences rarely arrive at the desk. The Catch Ideas button sits in the same place on every screen: one press captures text, a photo, a video, a voice recording or where you are. Anything shared to Lobster from another app lands there too. It all collects in the Idea Aquarium until you are ready to use it. SCATTERED PIECES FIND EACH OTHER โ€” Interstellar View Sheets that share a keyword are drawn together โ€” dotted lines for keywords, solid lines for links you made yourself. Seeing that last year's note already touches today's chapter gives you a sentence a list of files never would. A PARAGRAPH, SENTENCE BY SENTENCE โ€” Writing Studio Lobster lays a paragraph out one sentence at a time, with a rewrite line under each. Compare, pick the one you want, drag sentences into a new order. Only what you choose goes back into the manuscript, and the original stays safe while you work. SEE HOW MUCH OF IT IS YOURS โ€” Voiceprint Research leaves other people's sentences in a draft. Voiceprint separates what you pasted from what you wrote and shows you the balance, sheet by sheet. Copying a passage to learn from it? Turn on transcription mode and it won't count against you. BUILD THE PAGE YOU EXPORT โ€” Style Studio Preview the page your PDF or DOCX will become, large enough to actually read. Adjust headings, body text, quotes and notes right there. A FULL MARKDOWN EDITOR โ€ข Headings, lists, quotes, code, footnotes, tables, images, equations and a table of contents โ€ข Sheet links, bookmarks, annotations and a second editor side by side โ€ข A dashboard with statistics, progress, outline, notes, keywords and more โ€ข Writing goals by words, characters, lines or pages, with a deadline โ€ข Eight writing types โ€” essay, novel, blog, magazine, reporting, social, diary and freeform โ€” each with its own starting structure EXPORT PDF, DOCX, ePub, HTML and plain text, plus print with page and paragraph numbers. YOUR WRITING, KEPT SAFE โ€ข There is no server. Your manuscript lives on your device; iCloud keeps your Mac, iPhone and iPad in step. โ€ข There is no AI. Lobster never writes your sentences and never sends your writing anywhere. โ€ข Automatic hourly, daily and weekly backups, saved versions and a trash. โ€ข Lock the app with a password, Touch ID or Face ID. NOT A SUBSCRIPTION Use every feature free for five days. If Lobster earns its place, buy it once โ€” no renewal, no next charge. One purchase opens Lobster on Mac, iPhone and iPad. If the trial ends before you buy, only editing locks: everything you wrote stays readable, searchable and exportable. Available in English, Korean, Japanese, German and French. Privacy Policy: https://royworkx.com/lobster/privacy Terms of Use: https://royworkx.com/lobster/terms Support: RoyWorkx@gmail.com

Screenshots

Note.md4 screens
Lobster4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Lobster at daily against Note.md's fortnightly. On price, ads, in-app purchases 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. Note.md sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Lobster sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Note.md ships an update fortnightly, Lobster daily. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference ยท 5 level
Note.md versus Lobster: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNote.mdLobster
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyFortnightlyDaily โ€” better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Mac โ€” better
Requires iOS17.6 โ€” better18.0
Further details โ€” not scored
Size12 MB71 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperHAYATO KUBOByeongkon Kim

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Note.md

One-time1
  • Note.md Pro (Lifetime)$2.99
1 purchases

Lobster

One-time1
  • Lobster Lifetime$39.99

Questions

Is Note.md free?
Note.md is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Lobster free?
Lobster is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Note.md or Lobster have ads?
Neither Note.md nor Lobster shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Note.md or Lobster?
Note.md ships an update fortnightly, and Lobster daily. Most recently, Note.md was updated on October 16, 2026 and Lobster on October 12, 2026.

Other comparisons