SoloMD vs MathNote
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
SoloMD
A fast, distraction-free Markdown editor for creating and managing plain text notes. Offers live editing, advanced formatting, and export options for various document types. Designed for privacy with no accounts or tracking.
- Live Markdown editing
- Focus and typewriter modes
- KaTeX math and Mermaid diagrams
- Export to PDF, Word, HTML
- Syntax highlighting for 13+ languages
- Split view and keyboard shortcuts
Read full descriptionHide full description
SoloMD is a calm, fast Markdown editor for iPhone and iPad. Open the app and you are writing — no account, no sign-up, no subscription. Your notes are plain .md and .txt files. Keep them in SoloMD's folder in the Files app, or open a folder you already use, and edit the files right where they are. Any editor on any device can read them, today and in ten years. WRITING FIRST - Live editing: Markdown marks step aside once the cursor leaves the line, so you see the document, not the syntax. - Real typography: big headings, true bold, monospaced code, comfortable line length. - Focus mode dims everything but the paragraph you are in; typewriter mode keeps your line at eye level. - A formatting bubble appears over selected text; a keyboard bar puts headings, lists, links and code one tap away. - Find and replace with match case, whole word and regular expressions. - Light and dark themes that follow the system. ON IPHONE - A notes home screen, search and a new-note button within thumb's reach. - Full-screen editor with a simple navigation bar. ON IPAD - Sidebar with your folders and notes, tabs, and an outline of the current document. - Split view and Slide Over friendly; works with hardware keyboards and ⌘ shortcuts. MARKDOWN THAT GOES FURTHER - KaTeX math, inline and display. - Mermaid flowcharts, sequence diagrams and Gantt charts. - Tables, task lists with tappable checkboxes, footnotes, front matter, highlights. - Syntax highlighting for 13+ languages. - Tap an image or diagram to view it full screen with pinch-zoom. - Fold headings to see the shape of a long document. FOR CHINESE WRITERS - Simplified ↔ Traditional conversion, pinyin, and CJK-aware word counts. - Chinese proofreading for half-width punctuation and common slips. - Opens UTF-8, UTF-16, GBK and Big5 files correctly. EXPORT AND SHARE - PDF with math and diagrams rendered. - Word (.docx) with tables kept. - HTML, or copy as HTML, plain text or Markdown. PRIVATE BY DESIGN SoloMD collects no data. No account, no analytics, no ads, no tracking. Your notes stay in files you own. SoloMD is open source under the MIT license: github.com/zhitongblog/solomd 100% FREE FOREVER & SUPPORTER BADGE Every feature in SoloMD is 100% free forever — no paywalls, no subscriptions, and no locked features. Optional one-time In-App Purchases (Buy a Coffee / Buy a Lunch / Generous Support) are purely voluntary tips to support independent open-source development, and permanently unlock the exclusive "Supporter" badge in Settings and 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.
- 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
Read full descriptionHide 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
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: MathNote at 5.0 against SoloMD's 1.0. SoloMD's advantage is device support (4 vs 2) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, ratings volume, 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
Both are free to download. SoloMD sells 3 one-off in-app purchases 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.
MathNote holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 1.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 1 respectively.
| Parameter | SoloMD | MathNote |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 1.0 (1 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 days | — |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 23 MB | 8 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | 向东 李 | Kihun Nam |
Customer experience
SoloMD
MathNote
In-app purchases
SoloMD
- Buy a Coffee$0.99
- Buy a Lunch$2.99
- Generous Support$9.99
MathNote
- Ask AI Monthly$1.991 Month
- Ask AI Annual7 Days trial$12.991 Year









