Comparison

MarkUp vs MathNote

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

Head to head
About

MarkUp

A plain-text writing app supporting Markdown and LaTeX math equations for notes, research, and long-form content. Offers live preview, multiple export options, and folder syncing.

Highlights
  • Markdown formatting with live preview
  • LaTeX math equation rendering
  • Split view for writing and preview
  • Export to PDF, HTML, RTF, and more
  • Sync any folder from iCloud or device
  • Customizable toolbar and keyboard shortcuts
Features
Read full description

MarkUp is a writing app for notes, research, and long-form work. Edit Word documents with a true page layout, write in Markdown with live preview, or typeset a full LaTeX thesis with a real XeTeX engine that runs entirely on your device. For students, researchers, and technical writers — with the same features on iPhone, iPad, and Mac, in one universal purchase. Word (.docx) documents • Create and edit fully formatted Word documents with a real page layout • Tables you can type straight into — fonts, colors, shading, and bullets inside cells, with full undo • Charts with editable data, plus shapes and text boxes — drag anything anywhere and resize from any corner • Photos with text wrap: in line with text, in columns, behind text, or in front of text • Table of contents, captions and cross-references, citations with a works-cited list • Footnotes and endnotes, comments with replies, and tracked changes • Custom styles, multilevel and clause numbering, and newspaper columns • Page size, margins, line spacing, and headers & footers — saved per document • Calibri and Cambria render with matching character widths, so line breaks and page counts stay where Word put them • LaTeX math inside Word documents (Pro) LaTeX, offline (Pro) • A real XeTeX engine on your device — no internet, no account, nothing uploaded • Download the typesetting files once, then compile on a plane • Tap the rendered page to jump to the line that made it, and back again (SyncTeX) • Autocomplete for commands, citations, references, environments, and file paths • Errors and warnings marked in the margin, with plain-English explanations • Code check that catches common LaTeX mistakes before you compile • Search the typeset PDF, follow its outline, fold sections, step through pages • Math symbol palette, visual table builder, live preview of the equation at your cursor • Multi-file projects, BibTeX bibliographies, and ready-made templates Write in Markdown • Live rendered preview as you type • LaTeX math equation rendering (KaTeX) • Split view — write and preview side by side • Table editor with a visual grid • Find & replace with match highlighting • Word count and character count One app, all your devices • The same features on iPhone, iPad, and Mac — not a cut-down mobile version • One universal purchase: buy Pro once, use it everywhere • Documents, templates, and settings sync through iCloud Templates • Start from a ready-made article, paper, thesis, problem set, presentation, or CV • Save any document as a reusable template, for any file type (Pro) Version history • Automatically keeps earlier drafts as you edit • Compare any version against the current file with side-by-side rendered differences • Restore any earlier version in a tap (Pro) Files & workflow • Works with txt, md, tex, rmd, fountain, yaml, yml, json, csv, html, rtf, and docx files • Export to PDF, HTML, RTF, Markdown, LaTeX, Word, and plain text • Open and sync any folder from iCloud or your device, including subfolders • Find & replace across an entire folder • Customizable toolbar — show only what you need • Spell check that understands LaTeX, in the language you write in • Autosave, dark mode, and full keyboard shortcut support MarkUp is free to use. MarkUp Pro unlocks offline LaTeX typesetting, LaTeX math in Word documents, version history, your own templates, and unlimited file exports — as a one-time purchase or a yearly subscription, across all your devices. Privacy Policy: https://appsvaldonchevdeveloper.com/privacy/markup Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

MathNote

A document editor for researchers and students that supports live rendering of LaTeX and Markdown notes with full math capabilities. It integrates with AI apps, allowing you to bundle notes, photos, and PDFs for analysis and verification.

Highlights
  • Live preview with KaTeX math rendering
  • LaTeX and Markdown editing
  • Attach photos and reference PDFs
  • LaTeX-friendly keyboard
  • Diff panel for change review
  • Ask AI for proof verification and reformatting
  • Customizable prompts for AI assistance
Features
Read full description

MathNote is a document editor for researchers and students who write in LaTeX or Markdown. It renders your notes live with full math support — theorems, proofs, equations, matrices — powered by KaTeX. Ask AI lets you bundle your source, photos, and reference PDFs into a single file and hand it off to any AI app on your device via the iOS share sheet. Six built-in prompts help you verify proofs, find counterexamples, fill gaps, reformat notes, and more. Create your own custom prompts, too. Features: • Live preview with KaTeX math rendering • LaTeX and Markdown editing with syntax-aware toolbar • Attach photos and reference PDFs to your notes • LaTeX-friendly keyboard • Diff panel to review changes between edits • LaTeX and Markdown editing with syntax-aware toolbar • Customizable preamble, macro, and snippet • Ask AI: one-tap bundling and share to any AI app. • Six research-tuned prompt cards plus custom prompts MacOS version is available on https://github.com/kihun-nam/MathNote-releases. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://github.com/kihun-nam/MathNote-releases/blob/main/PRIVACY.md

Screenshots

MarkUp4 screens
MathNote4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: MarkUp at free against MathNote's freemium. On price, rating, ratings volume and ads 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. MarkUp sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per year and MathNote sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for MarkUp against 5.0 for MathNote. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 1 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 8 level
MarkUp versus MathNote: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMarkUpMathNote
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings)
Number of ratings11
Update frequencyEvery 4 days—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree — betterFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.617.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size60 MB8 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperValentin DonchevKihun Nam

Customer experience

MarkUp

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

MathNote

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

MarkUp

Subscriptions1
  • MarkUp Yearly$3.991 Year
One-time1
  • MarkUp Lifetime$9.99
2 purchases

MathNote

Subscriptions2
  • Ask AI Monthly$1.991 Month
  • Ask AI Annual7 Days trial$12.991 Year

Questions

Is MarkUp free?
MarkUp is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is MathNote free?
MathNote is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, MarkUp or MathNote?
MarkUp and MathNote are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 1 and 1 ratings respectively.
Do MarkUp or MathNote have ads?
Neither MarkUp nor MathNote shows ads.

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