Maho Notes vs Glass Notes
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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
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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.
Glass Notes
Organize tasks, checklists, photos, scans, drawings, and voice notes on customizable, translucent glass cards. Protect your private information with Face ID or passcode. Features include widgets, iPad support, and powerful search.
- Translucent glass cards for notes
- Capture photos, scans, drawings, voice notes
- Checklists with progress indicators
- Folders and tags for organization
- Face ID/passcode protection
- Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets
- On-device transcription
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Write, plan and keep private information on translucent, colorful glass cards. Capture tasks, checklists, photos, scans, drawings and voice notes in one polished workspace for iPhone and iPad. Start free with up to 10 notes. One purchase unlocks unlimited notes, with no subscription, ads, tracking or account. CUSTOMIZE YOUR WORKSPACE Create translucent glass cards and choose any HEX color for notes, folders, text and the app accent. Use bold and italic text with nine text colors. CAPTURE MORE Add photos, scan documents and search for text found inside images. Record voice notes with on-device transcription. Draw by hand with Apple Pencil. ORGANIZE EVERYTHING Create checklists with progress indicators. Group content into folders and tags, then filter tags in one tap. Use calendar view and reminders. Select multiple notes to move, share or delete them together. SEARCH AND SHARE Spotlight searches your notes, while locked notes are never indexed. Share notes as images or PDFs. PRIVATE BY DEFAULT Protect private notes with Face ID or a passcode. Recently Deleted retains removed notes for 30 days. WIDGETS AND iPAD Add Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets for quick access. Use the iPad sidebar layout for efficient navigation. DESIGNED FOR iOS 26 Glass Notes is built for iOS 26 and Apple's Liquid Glass design, bringing a translucent, modern interface to your everyday writing. FREE TO START Keep up to 10 notes for free. One purchase unlocks unlimited notes, forever. No subscription. No ads. No tracking. No account.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Glass Notes at every 9 days against Maho Notes's every 5 months. Maho Notes's advantage is monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases) and iOS requirement (18.0 vs 26.0). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads 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
Both are free to download. Maho Notes sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and Glass Notes sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Maho Notes against 5.0 for Glass Notes. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 3 respectively.
Maho Notes ships an update every 5 months, Glass Notes every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and November 8, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Maho Notes | Glass Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (2 ratings) | 5.0 (3 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | — | 50.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 2 | 3 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | Every 9 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | iPhone, iPad, Mac |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 17 MB | 13 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Kuo-Chuan Pan | Birkan Aksoy |
Customer experience
Maho Notes
Glass Notes
In-app purchases
Maho Notes
- Small Tip$1.99
- Medium Tip$4.99
- Large Tip$9.99
Glass Notes
- Glass Notes Full Access$4.99









