Krux vs ZenNotes
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Krux
This native markdown editor offers a document outline for easy navigation on all Apple devices. It syncs files via iCloud Drive and supports dictation, live preview, and multiple export formats. The app is a one-time purchase with no subscriptions.
- Document outline with jump-to-heading navigation
- Live syntax highlighting with real-time preview
- Side-by-side and tabbed preview options
- Focus mode for distraction-free writing
- Apple Watch companion for dictation and complications
- Export to HTML, PDF, or raw markdown
- Plain .md file storage via iCloud Drive
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You open a long markdown document on your iPhone. You need section four. You scroll. And scroll. And scroll. Your current editor -- the one that costs $19.99, or charges you every month -- doesn't have a document outline on iPhone. It never has. You've been asking for years. Krux has it. Day one. Tap the outline panel and jump to any heading in your document instantly. On iPhone. On iPad. On Mac. It works the way it should have always worked. --- WRITE EVERYWHERE Krux is a native markdown editor built for every Apple device you own. iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch. Your documents sync through iCloud Drive as standard .md files -- the same files you open in VS Code, BBEdit, or any editor you choose. Dictate a note on your Apple Watch while your phone is in your bag. It's in your Files app by the time you sit down. --- WHAT YOU GET -- Document outline with jump-to-heading navigation on every platform -- Live syntax highlighting with real-time preview -- Side-by-side preview on iPad and Mac, tabbed preview on iPhone -- Focus mode that dims everything but the current paragraph -- Apple Watch companion with dictation, offline reading, and watch face complication -- Export to HTML, PDF, or raw markdown in one tap -- Formatting toolbar with 13 actions plus full keyboard shortcuts -- OLED-optimized pure-black dark mode -- iOS 26 Liquid Glass design, built in Swift --- YOUR FILES. YOUR FORMAT. FOREVER. Every file Krux creates is a plain .md file. No proprietary database. No invisible metadata. No lock-in. Open a Krux file in any other editor -- it looks exactly the same. Because it is exactly the same. Standard markdown, stored in your iCloud Drive, readable everywhere. Zero data collection. No accounts. No tracking. Confirmed by Apple's required PrivacyInfo.xcprivacy declaration. --- ONE PRICE. NO SUBSCRIPTION. Pay once. Write forever. No monthly fee. No annual renewal. No "upgrade to Pro." Krux for iPhone and iPad: $4.99. Krux for Mac: $9.99. Apple Watch companion: included. --- THE LANGUAGE OF AI, NATIVELY Claude Code, ChatGPT, and GitHub Copilot all write in markdown. Krux is where that output lives on your iPhone -- rendered cleanly, navigated with the outline, stored as plain files that feed right back into your workflow. Markdown is the language of AI. Krux is its native home. --- Built for iOS 26 with Liquid Glass. Runs on iPhone and iPad. ---
ZenNotes
This app allows you to create and manage notes using plain Markdown files. It offers flexible storage options, rich text formatting with live previews, and powerful organization tools like task management and note linking. Designed for both phone and tablet, it prioritizes user privacy with no accounts or tracking.
- Plain Markdown file storage
- Live rich text previews
- Wikilinks and #tags
- Vault-wide task management
- Table databases as CSV
- Excalidraw drawing support
- Share extension for quick capture
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ZenNotes is a local-first markdown notes app for writing, organizing, and connecting ideas without giving up ownership of your files. YOUR NOTES, YOUR FILES Every note is a plain .md file in a vault you control. Start with storage on your iPhone or iPad, use iCloud Drive, or open a folder through the system document picker. Local and iCloud vaults work without an account. ZENNOTES CLOUD Connect an optional ZenNotes Cloud plan to: • Sync a vault across ZenNotes desktop and mobile • Sync notes and attachments • Create manual and automatic daily backups • Restore a full vault or a single note from a backup • Publish notes to the web and manage their public links Cloud never replaces the free local-first workflow. Use it only when you want hosted sync, backup, or publishing. WRITE IN MARKDOWN Use a focused editor with headings, lists, tasks, tables, code, links, wikilinks, tags, callouts, footnotes, and frontmatter. A mobile formatting bar keeps common actions close to the keyboard, and a pinch resizes the text to your eyes. RICH, OFFLINE PREVIEW Render KaTeX math, Mermaid diagrams, JSXGraph, function plots, tables, callouts, and more directly on your device. ORGANIZE YOUR WAY Pin your go-to notes and folders to the top, swipe rows to act on them, create and rename nested folders, browse tags, search the full vault, manage tasks, create periodic notes, and work with table databases stored as CSV. CAPTURE QUICKLY Create a quick note from the app or send text and links to ZenNotes from the iOS share sheet. HOME SCREEN WIDGETS Start a note, open a recent one, or check today's tasks without opening the app. New Note also lives on the Lock Screen, and the widgets wear your theme. PRIVACY BY DEFAULT ZenNotes has no advertising or tracking. Local and iCloud notes stay in the storage you choose. When you enable ZenNotes Cloud, the account identity, connected-device information, and vault content needed for the Cloud features you use are sent to the ZenNotes service. Payment details are handled by Stripe. ZenNotes is open source. Your vault remains useful outside the app because it is made of ordinary files.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: ZenNotes at Free against Krux's $4.99. ZenNotes also leads on update cadence (daily vs every 2 months) and ratings volume (12 vs 1). On rating, ads, in-app purchases 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
ZenNotes is free to download; Krux costs $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Krux against 4.9 for ZenNotes. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ZenNotes has 12 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Krux ships an update every 2 months, ZenNotes daily. Both last shipped on October 25, 2026.
| Parameter | Krux | ZenNotes |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $4.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better | 4.9 (12 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | — | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 12 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Daily — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 26.4 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 17 MB | 90 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Daniel Murray | Lumary Labs LLC |
In-app purchases
Krux
No in-app purchases
ZenNotes
No in-app purchases









