dol vs Vanta
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side ā with what reviewers say about each.
dol
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dol is a notes app you write in markdown. Your notes live on your device, and you decide which server they sync through. ā Everything you would expect Live preview as you type. [[Wikilink]] autocompletion and backlinks. Search across titles and bodies. Find and replace inside a note. Nested folders and image attachments. ā Sync that goes nowhere else Your iPhone, iPad, and the Windows and Mac apps all see the same notes, and they travel through a CouchDB server you choose. Run your own or use a host ā either works. Setup takes about five minutes from the settings screen, and your password is stored only in the iOS keychain. ā Sync is optional Leave it off and your notes stay on this device. No internet connection needed. ā Import and export Bring in a folder of .md files you already have. Or go the other way: export every note and image as a single zip.
Vanta
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Vanta is a private Markdown notes app for iPhone with AI that runs entirely on your phone, and real GTD built in. Your notes stay as plain Markdown you own. Start with a local vault in seconds: no account, no servers, nothing uploaded. ON-DEVICE AI ⢠Turn a messy, rambled note into clean Markdown ⢠"Clarify with AI" sorts your whole GTD inbox into Next Actions, Waiting For, Someday, Done, or Trash ⢠Clean up dictation, summarize, and suggest tags ⢠Powered by Apple's on-device models, so it works offline and nothing ever leaves your phone GETTING THINGS DONE, BUILT IN ⢠Capture to your Inbox in a tap, by typing or voice, even from the Share Sheet ⢠Process your inbox to zero, by hand or with AI ⢠Next Actions by @context, plus Waiting For, Someday, and Projects ⢠A weekly review that surfaces stalled projects and what you're waiting on ⢠Inbox and Next Actions pinned to the top of your vault A REAL MARKDOWN NOTES APP ⢠Folders, favorites, and instant full-text search, all offline ⢠Syntax-highlighted code, callouts, tables, images, SVG, and tasks ⢠Tap [[wikilinks]] to jump between notes, and see backlinks ⢠Light and true-black dark themes YOURS, EVERYWHERE ⢠Start on-device with no account ⢠Sync across your devices with iCloud, or your own private GitHub repo ⢠Obsidian-compatible: open the same vault on your Mac, and favorites sync with Obsidian bookmarks ⢠No subscription. No analytics. No tracking. Vanta works great as a standalone local notes app, and plugs into your existing Obsidian or Markdown vault whenever you want. On-device AI features require an iPhone that supports Apple Intelligence.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Vanta at every 3 days against dol's weekly. dol's advantage is device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price Ā· Rating Ā· Positive reviews Ā· Number of ratings Ā· Update frequency Ā· Ads Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Monetization Ā· Best chart rank Ā· Devices Ā· Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
dol ships an update weekly, Vanta every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on September 27, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | dol | Vanta |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Weekly | Every 3 days ā better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod ā better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 ā better | 17.0 |
| Further details ā not scored | ||
| Size | 13 MB | 15 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Praxo Studio | Shane Vitarana |
In-app purchases
dol
No in-app purchases
Vanta
No in-app purchases









