Comparison

Epoch Notes vs Folio

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

Head to head
About

Epoch Notes

Features
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Type your notes and draw on top at the same time with Epoch - the handwriting and typing app designed to leave the competition in the dust. Epoch bridges the gap between technical precision and creative freedom, offering a seamless workflow for students, researchers, and professionals. Key Features: - Complex Document Content Search: Find exactly what you need, even in dense technical notes and large folders. - LaTeX & Markdown Support: Use the syntax you love with zero friction. - Inline & Block Styles: Flexible formatting to match your document preferences. - Custom Commands & Formats: Tailor your workflow to your specific needs. - Pen Smoothing: Find your perfect handwriting. - Ultra-Fast PDF Rendering: View and export your work instantly. Perfect your notetaking workflow today with Epoch.

About

Folio

Features
Read full description

Every PDF tool you need โ€” and not one byte of your document ever leaves your device. Online PDF tools are convenient until you read the fine print. Your contract, your payslip, your client's financial statement โ€” uploaded to a server you don't control, retained for purposes you didn't agree to, mined for data you didn't consent to share. Folio makes that trade-off unnecessary. Folio is a full-featured PDF toolkit that runs entirely on your iPhone and iPad. No network connection. No account. No cloud sync. No analytics. Your files go in, your files come out โ€” nothing in between. WHAT YOU CAN DO Organise โ€” Merge multiple PDFs into one document โ€” Split a PDF into separate files by page range โ€” Reorder, rotate, or delete individual pages Reduce & Prepare โ€” Compress PDFs to shrink file size without rebuilding content โ€” Add watermarks or page numbers โ€” Flatten form fields and annotations into a fixed document Convert (best-effort, on-device) โ€” PDF to images: export pages as JPG or PNG โ€” Images to PDF: combine photos into a single document โ€” PDF to Word, Excel, or PowerPoint โ€” conversion is handled entirely on-device using Apple's document frameworks; complex layouts may not reproduce with pixel-perfect fidelity, but no file is ever sent to a remote service to achieve it Protect โ€” Password-protect a PDF with your chosen password โ€” Remove password protection from a document you own Fill & Sign โ€” Fill text fields in PDFs โ€” Add your signature to any document Extract & Search โ€” OCR: turn a scanned or photographed document into searchable, selectable text using Apple's on-device Vision framework โ€” Extract all text from a PDF for copying or reference ZERO NETWORK DESIGN Folio ships with no networking capability. It cannot phone home. It cannot upload a file even if it wanted to. Every operation โ€” compression, conversion, OCR, signing โ€” runs on your device's own processor using Apple's built-in frameworks. This is not a marketing claim; it is a technical constraint we built in by design. This matters most when you are handling documents that should never leave your hands: NDAs, medical records, legal filings, HR documents, financial statements, tax returns. NO ACCOUNT REQUIRED Open the app. Use every feature. Close the app. No sign-up screen. No email address. No subscription prompt. No paywall on any v1.0 feature. BUILT FOR PEOPLE WHO HANDLE SENSITIVE DOCUMENTS Folio is built for lawyers, accountants, HR professionals, and anyone else who regularly works with documents that are nobody else's business โ€” and for anyone who is simply tired of feeding their files to free websites that profit from what they read. Your documents are yours. Folio keeps them that way.

Screenshots

Folio3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: Folio at 17.0 against Epoch Notes's 26.0. 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Scorecard1 real difference ยท 5 level
Epoch Notes versus Folio: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterEpoch NotesFolio
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 3 daysโ€”
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
DevicesiPadiPhone, iPad โ€” better
Requires iOS26.017.0 โ€” better
Further details โ€” not scored
Size8 MB1 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLuke DrushellVuyo Nkadimeng

In-app purchases

None

Epoch Notes

No in-app purchases

None

Folio

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Epoch Notes free?
Epoch Notes is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Folio free?
Folio is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Epoch Notes or Folio have ads?
Neither Epoch Notes nor Folio shows ads.

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