Ember vs Notedown
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Ember
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.
- Rich Markdown editor
- Inline PDF and image support
- Reusable prompt vault
- Daily notes, folders, and tags
- Instant search functionality
- Private iCloud sync
- Share Extension
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Your notes should feel like home. Ember is a warm, fast place to think — Markdown notes, PDFs, diagrams, voice memos, and a vault of reusable prompts, all in one calm workspace that syncs across iPhone, iPad, and Mac. WRITE IN RICH MARKDOWN A live editor with real formatting: headings, tables, task lists, links, highlights, footnotes, and code — rendered as you type, never in your way. Bullets, numbers, and checkboxes feel native and effortless. MORE THAN TEXT Drop PDFs, images, diagrams, and voice notes right inline. Your references live beside your writing, so everything about a thought stays in one place. A VAULT FOR YOUR PROMPTS Keep the prompts you reuse for writing, research, and planning in a dedicated Prompt Vault — organized, searchable, and a tap away when you need them. STAY ORGANIZED, STAY FAST Daily notes, folders, tags, smart filters, and pinned notes keep things tidy, and instant search finds anything the moment you look for it. YOURS EVERYWHERE Ember runs natively on iPhone, iPad, and Mac, with optional private iCloud sync, widgets, and a Share Extension for capturing from anywhere. FREE TO START Capture notes, PDFs, prompts, and attachments with the full editor — free, no account required. EMBER PRO Unlock advanced themes and alternate icons, premium writing and organization workflows, and deeper Prompt Vault tools, as a subscription or a one-time lifetime purchase. PRIVATE BY DESIGN No accounts. No ads. No selling your words. Your notes stay on your device and your own iCloud. Make a home for your thinking. Download Ember Notes. TERMS & PRIVACY Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://embernotes.app/privacy
Notedown
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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
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Notedown at none against Ember's 3. Notedown also leads on update cadence (every 4 days vs every 2 weeks) and iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). 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
Both are free to download. Ember sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Notedown asks for nothing beyond the download.
Ember ships an update every 2 weeks, Notedown every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on November 13, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Ember | Notedown |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (6 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 6 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Every 4 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Freemium | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | 17.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 76 MB | 24 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Rene DeAnda | Yuki Okawa |
In-app purchases
Ember
- Ember Pro Monthly$3.991 Month
- Ember Pro Annual$34.991 Year
- Ember Pro Lifetime$99.99
Notedown
No in-app purchases









