Comparison

Maho Notes vs Note a Mess

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

Head to head
About

Maho Notes

Features
Read full description

Maho Notes is a markdown-based note-taking app for people who care about their words β€” 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 β€” your choice. A NOTES APP THAT SPEAKS YOUR LANGUAGE Full multilingual support, including search across English, δΈ­ζ–‡ (Traditional Chinese), ζ—₯本θͺž (Japanese), and ν•œκ΅­μ–΄ (Korean) β€” powered by a CJK-aware tokenizer that actually understands word boundaries in each language. Add furigana to Japanese kanji, Zhuyin to Mandarin, TΓ’i-lΓ΄ to Taiwanese, or readings to Korean β€” all with one simple syntax: {ζΌ’ε­—|γ΅γ‚ŠγŒγͺ}. THREE WAYS TO SEARCH β€’ Keyword search β€” fast SQLite FTS5 across every note β€’ Semantic search β€” on-device vector embeddings find ideas, not just words β€’ Hybrid β€” both, fused into one ranked list Models run entirely on-device. Nothing about your notes leaves your hardware. WRITTEN IN MARKDOWN, RENDERED BEAUTIFULLY β€’ Full CommonMark + GitHub Flavored Markdown β€’ KaTeX math equations β€’ Mermaid diagrams β€’ Syntax-highlighted code blocks β€’ Ruby annotations for any language β€’ Image and asset embedding β€’ 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 β€” all stored in plain YAML you can read. SYNC THAT RESPECTS YOU β€’ iCloud β€” seamless across your Apple devices β€’ GitHub β€” 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) β€’ Device-only β€” keep everything offline Conflicts get clearly-named files (note.conflict-DeviceName.md), never silent overwrites. UNIVERSAL APP One purchase 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

Note a Mess

Features
Read full description

Ever dump a messy stream of thoughts into your notes and wish something would just... sort it out? Note a Mess is built for exactly that. Paste in your chaotic mix of tasks, ideas, reminders, and random thoughts and let AI turn it into a clean, organized note in seconds. How it Works: Write or paste anything. Grocery list mixed with meeting notes mixed with half-formed ideas? Perfect. Tap Organize, and AI structures it into labeled sections with clear bullet points, keeping your original language (English, Turkish, or anything else). Category Colors: Tag your notes with colors for Work, Personal, Research, Ideas, or Finance. Filter by category from the sidebar in one tap. Pin & Lock: Pin important notes to the top. Lock sensitive notes behind Face ID, Touch ID, or a PIN, your content never leaves your device. Clean by Default: No ads. No accounts. No cloud. Everything stays on your phone. 14 Languages Supported: English, Turkish, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Polish, Russian, Arabic, Japanese, Chinese, Korean.

Screenshots

Maho Notes3 screens
Note a Mess3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Note a Mess at none against Maho Notes's 3. Note a Mess also leads on iOS requirement (16.4 vs 18.0). Maho Notes's advantage is device support (3 vs 1). On price and ads 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

CostPrice Β· In-app purchases Β· Ads Β· Monetization

Both are free to download. Maho Notes sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Note a Mess asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scorecard3 real differences Β· 3 level
Maho Notes versus Note a Mess: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMaho NotesNote a Mess
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyβ€”Weekly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo β€” better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac β€” betteriPhone
Requires iOS18.016.4 β€” better
Further details β€” not scored
Size17 MB36 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperKuo-Chuan PanALPER OEDEN

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Maho Notes

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

Note a Mess

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Maho Notes free?
Maho Notes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Note a Mess free?
Note a Mess is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Maho Notes or Note a Mess have ads?
Neither Maho Notes nor Note a Mess shows ads.

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