Comparison

Maho Notes vs Markdown My Words

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

Head to head
About

Maho Notes

A beautiful Markdown note-taking app that keeps your words secure. Notes are stored as plain .md files, with options for local storage or syncing via iCloud or GitHub. It offers advanced search capabilities and supports various Markdown features.

Highlights
  • Plain .md file storage
  • iCloud and GitHub sync options
  • On-device semantic search
  • Full CommonMark + GFM support
  • KaTeX math and Mermaid diagrams
  • Hierarchical collections and vaults
Features
Read full description

Maho Notes is a markdown-based note-taking app for people who care about their words — and want to keep them. Every note is a plain .md file on your device. No proprietary format, no vendor lock-in, no servers you don't control. Sync through your own iCloud, your own GitHub repo, or keep notes purely local — your choice. FREE, NO STRINGS Maho Notes is completely free. Every feature is included — no subscription, no paywall, no ads, no account to create. If the app earns a place in your workflow, there's an optional tip jar in Settings. Tipping unlocks nothing; it just says thanks. A NOTES APP THAT SPEAKS YOUR LANGUAGE Full multilingual support, including search across English, 中文 (Traditional Chinese), 日本語 (Japanese), and 한국어 (Korean) — powered by a CJK-aware tokenizer that actually understands word boundaries in each language. Add furigana to Japanese kanji, Zhuyin to Mandarin, Tâi-lô to Taiwanese, or readings to Korean — all with one simple syntax: {漢字|ふりがな}. THREE WAYS TO SEARCH • Keyword search — fast SQLite FTS5 across every note • Semantic search — on-device vector embeddings find ideas, not just words • Hybrid — both, fused into one ranked list Models run entirely on-device. Nothing about your notes leaves your hardware. WRITTEN IN MARKDOWN, RENDERED BEAUTIFULLY • Full CommonMark + GitHub Flavored Markdown • KaTeX math equations • Mermaid diagrams • Syntax-highlighted code blocks • Ruby annotations for any language • Image and asset embedding • Tables, task lists, footnotes ORGANIZE YOUR WAY Vaults hold collections. Collections hold notes. Drag-and-drop reordering, custom icons and colors, hierarchical sub-collections, and per-collection ordering — all stored in plain YAML you can read. • iCloud — seamless across your Apple devices • GitHub — version your notes as a private repo, sync through your own account using GitHub's official Device Flow login (no third-party server in the middle) • Device-only — keep everything offline Conflicts get clearly-named files (note.conflict-DeviceName.md), never silent overwrites. UNIVERSAL APP One free download covers iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Optimized layouts for each: a focus-friendly stack on iPhone, a three-column workspace on iPad and Mac, with the same vault wherever you are.

About

Markdown My Words

Features
Read full description

Markdown is everywhere now. It is in coding-agent plans, AI-generated research notes, README files, study guides, project specs, lecture material, technical drafts, and the surprisingly long “quick summary” an AI tool gave you at 1:13 a.m. Markdown My Words gives those documents a calmer place to live than a chat window. Open a folder of Markdown files, read them in a clean rendered view, highlight the passages that matter, and leave yourself precise notes. When you are done, export your comments as Markdown, TSV, CSV, or an annotated copy of the document. Your original file stays clean. Your thoughts stay attached. WHAT YOU CAN DO • Read Markdown in a quiet, comfortable layout • Navigate long documents with an automatic outline • Highlight passages in seven colours • Add notes to any highlight • Search and filter your annotations • Export feedback as Markdown, TSV, CSV, or annotated Markdown • Toggle source view when you want the raw text • Keep annotations beside your files as lightweight sidecar data WHY IT FEELS DIFFERENT Markdown My Words is built for focused reading, not fiddling. It works with ordinary .md files in folders you choose. Your annotations are stored separately, so the source document stays untouched and portable. That makes it useful for reviewing AI-generated plans, coding-agent proposals, study notes, research reports, technical docs, and long drafts you actually need to think through. PRIVATE BY DESIGN No account. No server. No tracking. No analytics. No document upload. Just your files, your notes, and a quieter way to think. Markdown My Words is for the moment after something generates a serious document for you — when you need to stop skimming, sit with it, question it, mark it up, and decide what you actually think.

Screenshots

Maho Notes3 screens
Markdown My Words4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Markdown My Words at none against Maho Notes's 3. Markdown My Words also leads on update cadence (monthly vs every 5 months). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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. Maho Notes sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Markdown My Words asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Maho Notes ships an update every 5 months, Markdown My Words monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 7 level
Maho Notes versus Markdown My Words: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMaho NotesMarkdown My Words
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (2 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings2 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.017.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size17 MB10 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperKuo-Chuan PanYARON AMIR BENJAMIN DR. GOLDSTEIN

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Maho Notes

One-time3
  • Small Tip$1.99
  • Medium Tip$4.99
  • Large Tip$9.99
None

Markdown My Words

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Maho Notes free?
Maho Notes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Markdown My Words free?
Markdown My Words is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Maho Notes or Markdown My Words have ads?
Neither Maho Notes nor Markdown My Words shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Maho Notes or Markdown My Words?
Maho Notes ships an update every 5 months, and Markdown My Words monthly. Most recently, Maho Notes was updated on October 31, 2026 and Markdown My Words on November 5, 2026.

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