Comparison

Nocturnum vs Metis

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

Head to head
About

Nocturnum

Capture ideas quickly and organize them with Markdown formatting. This app provides a focused writing environment that remains fast and efficient as your note collection grows. Easily sort, search, and access your thoughts for seamless productivity.

Highlights
  • Quick idea capture
  • Markdown formatting
  • Workspace and notebook organization
  • Fast search functionality
  • JSON and Markdown export
  • Inbox for temporary notes
Features
Read full description

Nocturnum helps you capture ideas quickly, shape them with Markdown, and keep your notes easy to find. It gives you a calm writing space that stays fast as your library grows. From quick thoughts to deep project docs, everything stays clear and organized. Use Nocturnum as your daily note workspace on iPhone and iPad. You can write, sort, search, and return to the right context without losing momentum. **Capture Without Friction** Create notes from anywhere in the app and start writing immediately. Inbox keeps fast captures safe until you are ready to organize them. **Organize by Context** Group notes into workspaces, notebooks, and sub-notebooks that match how you think. Reorder key lists so active projects stay at the top. **Write Clearly in Markdown** Use headings, lists, checklists, links, and code blocks to keep ideas structured. Rich formatting stays readable while editing and reviewing. **Find What Matters Fast** Search across titles and note content to jump directly to the detail you need. Built-in views like Recent and Favorites help you resume work in seconds. **Keep Ownership of Your Data** Export full JSON backups when you need a complete snapshot of your library. Export markdown files for portable archives and import backups when restoring. Download Nocturnum today and build a notes system you can trust every day.

About

Metis

Read full description

Metis is a native Markdown editor and local-first knowledge base. Your notes are just .md files in a folder you own - Metis is a fast, beautiful, native view over them. No lock-in, no proprietary format, no account required to write. WRITE IN LIVE PREVIEW A clean Obsidian-style editor styles your Markdown as you type - headings, bold, lists, quotes and code - while keeping the raw syntax one tap away. It feels like writing in a document, not in code. On iPad it's a full three-pane workspace with hardware-keyboard shortcuts. CONNECT YOUR IDEAS Link any two notes with [[wiki links]]. Backlinks appear automatically, so you always see what references the note you're reading. An interactive link graph shows your whole knowledge base at a glance - zoom, pan, and drag nodes to explore the connections. READ BEAUTIFULLY Reading mode renders the full document: headings, tables, task lists, images, syntax-highlighted code, Mermaid diagrams, and real math (LaTeX) rendered natively - no web view. ORGANIZE YOUR WAY Tag anything with #tags, group notes into folders, and see typed properties (status, owner, due...) that live as YAML front matter and are preserved as you edit. A fast switcher and full-text search get you anywhere instantly. ON-DEVICE AI (Apple Intelligence) Summarize a note, suggest tags or related links, and ask your whole vault a question - all running privately on your device. AI is optional; the app is fully functional without it. SYNC ACROSS YOUR DEVICES Keep your vault in iCloud and the same notes are on your Mac, iPad and iPhone - still as plain .md files you can open anywhere. Edits sync in the background, and Metis helps you resolve conflicts if two devices change the same note. LOCK WHAT MATTERS Any note can be locked with your notes password and opened with Face ID or Touch ID. Locked notes are encrypted on disk and stay encrypted in iCloud - and they're kept out of search and previews. PRIVATE AND YOURS Everything stays in plain files on your device. No tracking, no cloud lock-in. Open the same folder in any other Markdown editor whenever you like. Import an existing folder of notes (from Obsidian or anywhere) and Metis just works. ONE PURCHASE, ALL YOUR DEVICES A single one-time purchase unlocks Metis Pro on your Mac, iPad and iPhone - no subscription. Try everything free for 7 days. Metis is made by Empiric Apps. Questions or feedback? contact@empiricapps.com

Screenshots

Nocturnum4 screens
Metis4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Metis at every 2 days against Nocturnum's every 4 weeks. Metis also leads on iOS requirement (18.0 vs 26.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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. Nocturnum sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Metis sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Nocturnum ships an update every 4 weeks, Metis every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 2, 2026 and September 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Nocturnum versus Metis: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNocturnumMetis
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 4 weeksEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS26.018.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size9 MB14 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperFishington StudiosBurlac Mihail

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Nocturnum

One-time1
  • Upgrade to Pro$4.99
1 purchases

Metis

One-time1
  • Metis Pro$14.99

Questions

Is Nocturnum free?
Nocturnum is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Metis free?
Metis is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Nocturnum or Metis have ads?
Neither Nocturnum nor Metis shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Nocturnum or Metis?
Nocturnum ships an update every 4 weeks, and Metis every 2 days. Most recently, Nocturnum was updated on October 2, 2026 and Metis on September 30, 2026.

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