Comparison

openote vs mdReview

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

Head to head
About

openote

This app offers a free and private way to manage your notes using standard Markdown files. It syncs across your Apple devices via iCloud Drive without requiring an account or subscription. Features include live diagram rendering, on-device AI capabilities, and robust editing tools.

Highlights
  • Free iCloud sync
  • Plain Markdown files
  • Live Mermaid diagram rendering
  • On-device AI features
  • Rich Markdown editor
  • Folder and tag organization
  • Full-text search
Features
Read full description

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

mdReview

Features
Read full description

mdReview is an open-source, completely free Markdown editor designed specifically for reviewing documents on the go. Features: โ€ข Sticky Notes: Easily add comments and notes to your Markdown files. โ€ข CriticMarkup Support: Visually display and edit text using CriticMarkup syntax. โ€ข Mermaid Diagrams: Render Mermaid charts seamlessly within your documents. โ€ข Cross-Platform: Designed for a smooth mobile experience. โ€ข Dark Mode & Custom Themes: Beautiful UI that adapts to your preferences. โ€ข Share Sheet Integration: Import text or Markdown files directly from other apps.

Screenshots

openote4 screens
mdReview4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: mdReview at 15.0 against openote's 17.0. On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

openote ships an update every 5 weeks, mdReview monthly. Both last shipped on October 25, 2026.

Scorecard1 real difference ยท 7 level
openote versus mdReview: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameteropenotemdReview
PriceFreeFree
Positive reviews100.0% of reviewsโ€”
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeksMonthly โ€” better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeโ€”
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod โ€” better
Requires iOS17.015.0 โ€” better
Further details โ€” not scored
Size8 MB26 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperWooyoung KimJun Kawabata

In-app purchases

None

openote

No in-app purchases

None

mdReview

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is openote free?
openote is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is mdReview free?
mdReview is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do openote or mdReview have ads?
Neither openote nor mdReview shows ads.
Which is updated more often, openote or mdReview?
openote ships an update every 5 weeks, and mdReview monthly. Most recently, openote was updated on October 25, 2026 and mdReview on October 25, 2026.

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