Comparison

openote vs QingMo

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

Head to head
About

openote

Features
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openote โ€” Markdown notes with free sync. No account. No subscription. Other note apps charge a yearly fee just to sync your own devices. openote syncs iPhone, iPad and Mac through your iCloud Drive โ€” free, with no account to create. Your notes stay plain .md files. Open them in the Files app or any Markdown editor, and take them anywhere. No proprietary format, no lock-in. --- WHY OPENOTE Free iCloud sync Notes sync through iCloud Drive on your own Apple account. No sign-up, no subscription. Plain Markdown files Every note is a standard .md file. Front matter, checklists and [[wiki links]] are kept exactly as you wrote them. Safe across devices If a note changes on another device while you're editing, openote keeps both versions instead of silently overwriting one. Your last words are saved even if you switch apps or quit right away. Mermaid diagrams Flowcharts, sequence diagrams and more render live from Markdown. Start from a template, pinch to zoom, tap to edit the code. Rendering works offline. On-device AI On devices with Apple Intelligence, summarize a note, get tag suggestions, or turn a sentence into a diagram. It runs entirely on your device โ€” nothing is sent to a server. --- FEATURES Editor - Rich Markdown editing, with a source mode when you want the raw text - Checklists, tables and code blocks - Auto-save - Word and character count Organize - Folders and #tags with autocomplete - [[Wiki links]] between notes - Full-text search in English, Korean and Japanese Sync & files - iPhone, iPad and Mac via iCloud Drive - Browse your notes in the Files app - Export a note as PDF Shortcuts & Siri - Create, open and search notes from Shortcuts and Siri - Notes appear in Spotlight search --- PRIVACY - No account, no email - No tracking - Your notes stay in your iCloud and on your devices - AI runs on your device Everything is free. openote has no in-app purchases. openote โ€” Your notes, your files.

About

QingMo

Features
Read full description

QingMo is a cross-platform Markdown editor built for a smooth writing flow. Edit on the left, see the rendered result on the right in real time โ€” no more switching back and forth between syntax and output. โ€” Live Preview โ€” Rendering kicks in the moment you stop typing, with millisecond response. Switch freely between source, split, and preview modes. In split mode the editor and preview scroll in sync, so you never lose your place in long documents. โ€” Navigate Long Documents โ€” - Minimap: a structural overview on the right edge, color-coded by headings, body, and code. Click or drag to jump โ€” accurate even with soft wrapping. - Sticky Header: keeps the full heading path of your current position pinned at the top while scrolling; click any level to jump back. - Two-way Linked Highlight: select text on one side and the matching text on the other is highlighted automatically. (All optional, toggleable in Settings, off by default.) โ€” Full Markdown Support โ€” - CommonMark: headings, emphasis, lists, quotes, links, images, rules - GitHub Flavored Markdown: tables, task lists, strikethrough, autolinks - KaTeX math: inline $...$ and block $$...$$, rendered offline - Superscript and subscript for chemical formulas and math notes - Syntax highlighting for dozens of languages: Python, Swift, Rust, Go, Java, JavaScript, SQL, and more โ€” Fast Input โ€” One-tap toolbar for bold, headings, lists, tables, formulas and more. On mobile, a quick-symbol bar sits above the keyboard so hard-to-type characters are always within reach. Full keyboard shortcuts for external keyboard users. โ€” Consistent Across Devices + iCloud Sync โ€” iPhone, iPad, and Mac share the same rendering core for consistent results everywhere. Turn on iCloud and your documents sync automatically across devices signed in to your Apple ID. โ€” Handy File Management โ€” A built-in file explorer: create, rename, delete, duplicate, and drag items into folders. Export to PDF or a single self-contained HTML file for easy sharing and archiving. โ€” Privacy First โ€” QingMo collects no personal data and contains no ads or trackers. Your documents stay in the local folder you choose or in your own iCloud container. โ€” QingMo Pro (optional) โ€” The core writing experience is free forever. A one-time QingMo Pro purchase (no subscription) unlocks advanced extras: - Mermaid diagrams (flowcharts, sequences, Gantt) - One-tap publishing and Chinese typography tools (auto spacing, simplified/traditional conversion) - Advanced PDF export (themes, headers/footers, page numbers, watermark, cover) and long-image export - Version history, detailed word count, focus mode, and image archiving Purchase is handled entirely by the App Store, and "Restore Purchases" is available. Whether you are writing technical notes, organizing to-dos, drafting papers, or capturing ideas, QingMo keeps you focused on the content.

Screenshots

openote4 screens
QingMo4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: openote at none against QingMo's 1. On price, update cadence, ads 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. QingMo sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. openote asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

openote ships an update every 5 weeks, QingMo every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 30, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference ยท 5 level
openote versus QingMo: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameteropenoteQingMo
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeksEvery 3 weeks โ€” better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo โ€” betterYes
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Mac โ€” better
Requires iOS17.016.0 โ€” better
Further details โ€” not scored
Size8 MB28 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperWooyoung Kimๅ…†ๅ“ ๅผ 

In-app purchases

None

openote

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

QingMo

One-time1
  • QingMo Pro (Lifetime)$4.99

Questions

Is openote free?
openote is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is QingMo free?
QingMo is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do openote or QingMo have ads?
Neither openote nor QingMo shows ads.
Which is updated more often, openote or QingMo?
openote ships an update every 5 weeks, and QingMo every 3 weeks. Most recently, openote was updated on September 30, 2026 and QingMo on September 23, 2026.

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