Comparison

Annota Notes vs Igneous

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

Head to head
About

Annota Notes

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Annota — Private, Local-First Note Taking Annota is a fast, offline-first note-taking app designed for privacy, speed, and absolute data control. Your notes stay securely on your device by default, with optional end-to-end encrypted cloud sync when you need it. Key Features • Local-First by Design Your notes are stored locally on your device, allowing instant access anytime — even entirely offline. • End-to-End Encryption (E2EE) Your data is completely encrypted using SQLCipher/AES-256 before it ever leaves your device. Only you hold the key. • Optional Cross-Platform Cloud Sync Sync seamlessly between your mobile devices and your desktop companion app while maintaining total mathematical privacy. • Smart AI Features (Optional) Accelerate your workflow with optional, on-demand AI utilities for note summarizing and structuring, entirely controlled by your explicit consent. • Fast & Minimal Layout A clean interface focused entirely on execution performance — no clutter, no tracking, and no corporate background data harvesting. • Full Markdown Support & Clean Export Write efficiently with rich Markdown and easily export your data whenever you need it. Who is it for? Students, developers, and privacy-conscious users who want an uncompromising, elite text utility that prioritizes data ownership. Legal & Privacy Information: • Privacy Policy: [Insert Your Website Privacy Link] • Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Igneous

This app offers a gesture-driven approach to note-taking, allowing users to manage their Markdown files with one-handed navigation. It supports various cloud storage options and integrates features like voice notes, live Markdown rendering, and drawing capabilities.

Highlights
  • One-thumb gesture navigation
  • Plain Markdown file storage
  • iCloud Drive and Files integration
  • Live Markdown rendering
  • Voice note recording and transcription
  • Drawing and sketching canvases
  • Mac and offline synchronization
Features
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Igneous is a notes app you drive with one thumb. On iPhone there's no toolbar at the top of the screen: everything lives in one dock at the bottom, and it moves the way Safari's tab bar does. Your notes are plain Markdown files in a folder you choose — on your device, in iCloud Drive, or anywhere Files can reach — so they open in any other app, today and in twenty years. No account, no database, no analytics. GET ANYWHERE WITHOUT REACHING • Tap the pill in the dock to search every note, like tapping Safari's address bar. • Swipe it sideways to move between open notes, and keep going past the last one for a new note. • Swipe up on it and your open notes spread out as cards. • Swipe in from the left edge for your notebook, and from the right for the Inspector. • Pull down on a note to find a word in it. Hold any button for more. • While you read, the dock folds into a slim pill out of the way. Liquid Glass on iOS 26; solid with Reduce Transparency. • On iPad: a floating notebook pane, a real tab bar, and as many windows as Stage Manager will hold. CAPTURE THE MOMENT • Press the Action Button, a Lock Screen widget or a Control Center tile and you're typing in a new note — even from a closed app. • Record a voice note from the Action Button, Siri, the app icon or the note you're in. Igneous transcribes it on your device while you talk, shows the words on the Lock Screen, and saves the audio and transcript into today's note or a note of its own. • Copy a voice note — recording and transcript together — and paste it into Messages, Mail or another note. WRITE IN MARKDOWN, SEE IT BEAUTIFULLY • A live editor that renders headings, lists, tasks, tables, callouts, highlights, maths and diagrams as you type, while the file stays plain text. • A formatting bar just above the keyboard, and Writing Tools that keep your links and structure intact. • Wikilinks, embeds, backlinks, tags and a graph of how your notes connect. • Search every note instantly, including handwriting on your canvases. • Daily notes, a calendar, tasks gathered from every note, templates and a board view. DRAW WHEN WORDS WON'T DO • Canvases for sketches and diagrams, with Apple Pencil on iPad, beside cards and links to your notes. • Opens JSON Canvas and Excalidraw drawings. WORKS WITH YOUR MAC — AND OFFLINE • Keep a notebook in iCloud Drive ▸ Igneous and it's on all your devices. • Or pair with Igneous on your Mac over your own network: the phone keeps a full offline copy and sends its edits when it's back. Changes to different lines are combined, and if you both changed the same words, both versions are kept. Drawings merge shape by shape. • Nothing ever passes through a server of ours — there isn't one. SHORTCUTS, SIRI AND WIDGETS • Actions for new notes, today's note, tasks, search and voice notes, ready for Shortcuts and Siri. • Home Screen widgets with buttons you choose, Lock Screen widgets, Control Center controls, Focus filters and Live Activities. YOUR NOTES, YOUR FILES Igneous reads Obsidian-flavoured Markdown as written and never adds anything you didn't ask for. Point it at the vault you already keep.

Screenshots

Annota Notes4 screens
Igneous4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Annota Notes at none against Igneous's 3. Annota Notes also leads on iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.0). Igneous's advantage is update cadence (every 2 days vs every 5 days). On price, ads 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. Igneous sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Annota Notes asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Annota Notes ships an update every 5 days, Igneous every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and October 26, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Annota Notes versus Igneous: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAnnota NotesIgneous
PriceFreeFree
Rating—4.8 (4 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—4 — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 daysEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS15.1 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size82 MB46 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLiran SosnaJASON RANDALL DORFMAN

In-app purchases

None

Annota Notes

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Igneous

One-time3
  • Small Tip$9.99
  • Medium Tip$24.99
  • Large Tip$49.99

Questions

Is Annota Notes free?
Annota Notes is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Igneous free?
Igneous is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Annota Notes or Igneous have ads?
Neither Annota Notes nor Igneous shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Annota Notes or Igneous?
Annota Notes ships an update every 5 days, and Igneous every 2 days. Most recently, Annota Notes was updated on October 17, 2026 and Igneous on October 26, 2026.

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