Comparison

Raven vs Notedown

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

Head to head
About

Raven

This app allows you to quickly open and write markdown notes as plain .md files. It offers fast launch times, native performance on iPhone and Mac, and seamless syncing between devices. Your notes are stored directly in your file system for easy access and integration with other tools.

Highlights
  • Plain .md file storage
  • Under a second launch time
  • Native iPhone and Mac app
  • Full-text search
  • Nested folders and pinned notes
  • Syncs between Mac and iPhone
Read full description

Beautiful notes. Never locked in. Raven is a native Markdown notes app for iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Write, journal, capture articles, and turn checkboxes into reminders—without putting your work in a proprietary note format. WRITE WITH CONTEXT Create notes with tables, images, checklists, code blocks, wiki links, and backlinks. Organize them with folders and tags, pin what matters, and find anything with full-text search. TURN NOTES INTO ACTION A checkbox can become a task with a due date and time. Raven gathers open tasks from across your notes, keeps each one linked to its source, and can send a local reminder when it is due. Complete or snooze it from the notification. JOURNAL WITHOUT ANOTHER SILO Daily and weekly journals live beside the rest of your writing. Save articles to Read Later, or capture a thought from widgets, Shortcuts, and the share sheet. MARKDOWN YOU CAN KEEP Raven works offline without an account. Keep notes on this device, choose a folder on Mac, or use iCloud Drive to keep the same Markdown files available in Files and Finder across iPhone, iPad, and Mac. No proprietary note format. No forced account. One purchase, with no subscription.

About

Notedown

Features
Read full description

Notedown is a featherweight markdown notes app for people who just want to write. No accounts, no sync, no clutter — every note is saved as a plain .md text file on your device and never leaves it. WRITE IN MARKDOWN Use familiar markdown to structure your thoughts: headings, bold and italic, bulleted lists, checkboxes, quotes, code, and links. A one-tap formatting toolbar inserts the syntax for you, so you never have to remember it. EDIT OR PREVIEW Flip between a distraction-free editor and a clean rendered preview with a single tap. See exactly how your note looks, then jump back to writing. FULLY OFFLINE, FULLY YOURS Your notes are stored as standard markdown files in the app's own folder on your device. There is no cloud, no login, and nothing to set up. What you write stays with you. FIND ANYTHING FAST Search across all of your notes instantly. The list keeps your most recently edited notes at the top. SHARE WHEN YOU WANT Export any note as markdown text through the standard share sheet. SIMPLE BY DESIGN - Light and dark themes - English and Japanese - Portrait, one-handed friendly layout - Free to use (contains ads) Notedown is the calm, lightweight alternative to heavy note apps — just markdown, and nothing in your way.

Screenshots

Raven4 screens
Notedown4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Notedown at Free against Raven's $12.99. Notedown also leads on iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). Raven's advantage is chart position (#166 vs unranked) and device support (3 vs 1). On update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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

Notedown is free to download; Raven costs $12.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Raven ships an update every 2 days, Notedown every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 6, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
Raven versus Notedown: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRavenNotedown
Price$12.99Free — better
Rating5.0 (3 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews75.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings3 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 days — betterEvery 4 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaid—
Best chart rank#166 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac — betteriPhone
Requires iOS26.017.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size88 MB24 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperThomas SivilayYuki Okawa

In-app purchases

None

Raven

No in-app purchases

None

Notedown

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Raven free?
Raven costs $12.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Notedown free?
Notedown is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Raven or Notedown have ads?
Neither Raven nor Notedown shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Raven or Notedown?
Raven ships an update every 2 days, and Notedown every 4 days. Most recently, Raven was updated on October 6, 2026 and Notedown on September 23, 2026.

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