# Ember vs Benchpad

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: Benchpad at 15.0 against Ember's 26.0. On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Ember sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month and Benchpad sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $9.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Ember ships an update every 10 days, Benchpad fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 9, 2026 and September 28, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Ember | Benchpad |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[5.0 (3 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ember-markdown-notes/id6761983097/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **3** | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 10 days** | Fortnightly |
| Monetization | Freemium | — |
| Size | 70 MB | 113 MB |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | **15.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Rene DeAnda](https://appshunter.io/developer/1414957609) | [Gagandeep Singh](https://appshunter.io/developer/1864104544) |

## What reviewers say

### Ember

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ember-markdown-notes/id6761983097)

A fast and organized workspace for writing Markdown notes, storing PDFs, diagrams, and voice memos. It offers a vault for reusable prompts and syncs across Apple devices. Start for free with full editor access.

**Highlights:** Rich Markdown editor, Inline PDF and image support, Reusable prompt vault, Daily notes, folders, and tags, Instant search functionality, Private iCloud sync, Share Extension

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Family Sharing, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Ember Pro Monthly | $3.99 | per month |
| Ember Pro Annual | $34.99 | per year |
| Ember Pro Lifetime | $99.99 | one-time |


### Benchpad

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/benchpad-scratchpad-notes/id6766779528)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Benchpad Pro | $9.99 | per year |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Ember free?

Ember is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Benchpad free?

Benchpad is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Do Ember or Benchpad have ads?

Neither Ember nor Benchpad shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Ember or Benchpad?

Ember ships an update every 10 days, and Benchpad fortnightly. Most recently, Ember was updated on October 9, 2026 and Benchpad on September 28, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*