MDQuill vs KaView
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
MDQuill
A local-first Markdown writing app for Apple devices. Write, organize, and export documents in various formats, with features like live preview, templates, and optional advanced tools for voice commands and PDF conversion.
- Local-first writing
- Live Markdown preview
- Native editing tools
- Export to PDF, HTML, TXT
- Templates and reusable workflows
- Offline Voice Markdown (Pro)
- Advanced PDF conversion (Pro)
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MDQuill is a local Markdown writing app for iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Open .md, .markdown, or .txt files, read them in a clean preview, then switch back to editing whenever you want. Why MDQuill? • Local-first writing: Your documents stay on your device. No required account, no forced upload, no content platform. • Open into Preview: Open Markdown from Files, Share, or another app and land directly in Preview mode before switching back to Edit. • Native editor: Write with Markdown syntax, quick insertion tools, find and replace, outline navigation, templates, and recent documents. • Live preview: Headings, lists, quotes, code blocks, tables, tasks, links, and images render clearly. • Built for Apple devices: Capture quick notes on iPhone, write in split view on iPad, and work with native document windows on Mac. • Export and share: Create Markdown, TXT, HTML, and PDF files for printing, archiving, email, and cross-platform sharing. • Templates and reusable workflows: Start quickly from built-in templates or save your own structures for repeated work. • Offline Voice Markdown: MDQuill Pro unlocks app-owned offline model management, Markdown voice command parsing, live drafts, insertion modes, and undo workflows. • Advanced Local Import: Convert user-selected PDF, Office, ODF, EPUB, notebooks, HTML, text, and images into structured Markdown with a native on-device converter. Scanned PDFs can use Vision OCR. No embedded runtime and no web scraping. • Focus, Quality, and Export Themes: MDQuill Pro also unlocks a distraction-free writing mode, an on-device document quality check, and advanced HTML/PDF export themes. Great for: • Study notes, meeting notes, and class material • Technical docs, README files, and code notes • Task lists, weekly plans, and project logs • Blog drafts, product notes, and research writing • Private documents that should stay local and export cleanly Free features include document creation, import, editing, preview, export, Share Extension intake, templates, and local document management. MDQuill Pro is an optional upgrade for advanced local Markdown workflows, including offline Voice Markdown, Focus Writing Mode, Document Quality Check, Advanced Export Themes, more custom templates, and more export profile flexibility. MDQuill does not provide third-party content, scrape webpages, host documents, or present itself as an online content platform. It focuses on quiet, reliable local Markdown writing.
KaView
Explore and understand software code like reading a book. This app offers a guided learning experience with an AI tutor that explains code snippets directly on the page. It allows for offline access to courses and public repositories, and even enables light editing and committing changes to GitHub.
- Code reading with syntax highlighting
- AI tutor for code explanation
- Offline course access
- GitHub integration for editing and committing
- Repository browsing as chapters
- Multi-language support
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Learn anything, offline — on your iPad or iPhone. Starting with code. KaView's vision is a universal library you learn from offline. Today it teaches you to program from real projects: structured courses, hands-on practice in a real codebase, and an AI tutor that explains any line. It opens with Mastering Believe — Kalira's free reference curriculum (MIT-licensed): markdown lessons paired with runnable code, on agents, neural networks, algorithms, system design, and the craft of learning. Or open any GitHub project and study it like a book. No autoplay. No ads. No algorithm pulling you elsewhere. Just a real codebase and the quiet tools to understand it. LEARN, YOUR WAY, OFFLINE • Mastering Believe ships with the app, and five curated collections are ready on first launch — gentle starter paths, fully yours to edit: - First steps in Python - Understanding AI agents - Build an LLM from scratch - A tour of Swift - Essential algorithms • A dedicated Cours tab: one tap downloads a course to read • Go further: a marketplace of public repos by theme — AI, Python, Swift, web, books AN AI TUTOR THAT READS THE PAGE • Ask in plain words — "explain this like I'm new," "what does this term mean," "why is it written this way" • Tap any snippet for Explain, Complete, or Refactor • On-device when Apple Intelligence is on (iOS 26+): private, no connection needed • Or bring your own OpenAI or Anthropic key READ CODE LIKE A BOOK • Markdown and source side by side, syntax-highlighted • Progress is local to the module or folder you are in — n of total for that chapter, not hundreds of pages across a whole repo • Book-style chrome: aligned prev/next arrows, ⋯ menu beside next, large tap targets • Navigate sheet puts lessons first; exercises are listed separately • Changing chapter scrolls you back to the top • Dozens of languages, rendered cleanly PRACTICE IN A REAL EDITOR • Fix a typo, jot a note, save a TODO as you learn • Sign in with GitHub, clone, edit, commit, push — without leaving the app • Token stays in the iOS Keychain BUILT FOR iPHONE AND iPAD • Native iOS 26 design: Files, Page, Cours, Chat • iPad: three-column layout, Split View, Stage Manager • Dynamic Type, VoiceOver, hardware keyboards, VS Code–style shortcuts PRIVACY BY DESIGN • No analytics, no trackers, no ads, no telemetry, no account • Data Not Collected KaView is a place to learn — a reader, a light editor, and an AI tutor, not an IDE. It doesn't run code. iOS 18 minimum; the on-device tutor needs iOS 26+ with Apple Intelligence. Open a course. Ask a question. Understand the code.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: KaView at 5.0 against MDQuill's 4.2. KaView also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 2) and review sentiment (100% vs 73%). MDQuill's advantage is ratings volume (5 vs 1). On price, update cadence, 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. MDQuill sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. KaView asks for nothing beyond the download.
KaView holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: MDQuill has 5 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 73% of MDQuill's written reviews are positive against 100% of KaView's.
MDQuill ships an update every 6 days, KaView every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | MDQuill | KaView |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.2 (5 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 72.7% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 5 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 6 days — better | Every 10 days |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 35 MB | 31 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | 献慧 陈 | Anthony VON BIELER |
Customer experience
MDQuill
KaView
In-app purchases
MDQuill
- MDQuill Voice Lifetime UnlockFree
- MDQuill Pro$1.99
KaView
No in-app purchases









