Comparison

MCP Notes vs Houm

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

Head to head
About

MCP Notes

Features
Read full description

MCP Notes is a Markdown note-taking app for iPadOS and macOS. macOS with built-in RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) and MCP server integration — enabling AI tools like Claude Code to semantically search and interact with your notes directly. The on-device RAG engine indexes your notes locally using vector embeddings, so you can find any note by meaning, not just keywords. The built-in MCP server exposes your notes to external AI assistants without sending data anywhere (available only on macOS). Features: - Shortcuts and Intelligence support - CommonMark Markdown editor with syntax highlighting - Tags, bookmarks, and wikilink navigation between notes - iCloud sync across all your iOS, iPadOS and macOS devices - Semantic search powered by on-device embeddings (for macOS version) - MCP server integration: connect Claude Code or any MCP-compatible AI tool to your notes (for macOS version) Open Source: MCP Notes is open source and licensed under MIT. The full source code is available on GitHub — contributions and feedback are welcome. https://github.com/sergeydi/MCP-Notes

About

Houm

This app unifies control of your self-hosted services, including smart home devices and media servers. Monitor and manage your homelab infrastructure, from media requests to server status, all from one place.

Highlights
  • Unified smart home control
  • Media request and tracking
  • Real-time playback monitoring
  • Download queue management
  • Server and container status overview
  • Direct server integration
Features
Read full description

Houm is one dark, modular home for everything you self-host — the smart home your phone already talks to, and the media, servers and containers your homelab already runs. Every service is its own switch. Turn on only the ones you actually use, sign each into your own server, and Houm gets out of the way. SMART HOME See and control every accessory from Apple Home or Google Home — lights, locks, thermostats and cameras — without opening a separate app. WATCH SOMETHING Browse what's trending and request new films and shows through Requests, then follow it through Radarr and Sonarr's queues until it's ready. WHAT'S PLAYING The dashboard leads with what's on: streams, transcodes and bandwidth from Plex or Tautulli, updated as they happen. DOWNLOADS Keep an eye on NZBGet's queue and speed without switching to a browser tab. THE RACK Proxmox, Unraid and Portainer put every node, VM, disk and container in your pocket — what's running, what's full, and what needs attention. Sign in once with Plex to connect Requests and the Now Playing card, or skip it and set everything up later from Settings. Houm talks directly to the servers you already run — no new accounts, no subscriptions, no cloud in between. Houm is for people who already run a homelab. Bring your own Plex, Seerr, Radarr, Sonarr, NZBGet, Tautulli, Proxmox, Unraid or Portainer — Houm is the one app to watch them all from

Screenshots

MCP Notes4 screens
Houm4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: Houm at 16.4 against MCP Notes's 26. On price, update cadence, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

MCP Notes ships an update every 4 days, Houm every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 8 level
MCP Notes versus Houm: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMCP NotesHoum
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterEvery 6 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS2616.4 — better
Further details — not scored
Size4 MB70 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSerhii DidanovTehseen Hussain

In-app purchases

None

MCP Notes

No in-app purchases

None

Houm

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is MCP Notes free?
MCP Notes is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Houm free?
Houm is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do MCP Notes or Houm have ads?
Neither MCP Notes nor Houm shows ads.
Which is updated more often, MCP Notes or Houm?
MCP Notes ships an update every 4 days, and Houm every 6 days. Most recently, MCP Notes was updated on October 25, 2026 and Houm on October 24, 2026.

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