Comparison

Elm vs Laytr

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

Head to head
About

Elm

Features
Read full description

Elm is a fast, distraction-free workspace for your notes, docs, and ideas. Write and organize everything in one place — nested pages, a real block editor, and search that actually finds what you're looking for. No bloat, no fifty menus, no forced AI. NOTES & DOCS Write with a clean block editor built for speed. • Headings, checklists, code blocks, images, and multi-column layouts • Slash commands to add anything without touching a mouse • Nest pages as deep as you need — build your own personal wiki STAY ORGANIZED • Star and pin your most-used pages • Recent pages, always one tap away • Fast, full-text search across your entire workspace SHARE WHEN YOU WANT TO • Share any page with a link — view or edit access • Collaborate without giving up your whole workspace YOUR DATA, YOUR CALL • Export everything, any time — Markdown or HTML • Delete your account and all your data whenever you want FREE TO START Unlimited pages and blocks on the free plan — no credit card required. An optional paid plan with more storage is available on our website. LIGHT OR DARK Looks right at home either way. Simple, fast, and yours.

About

Laytr

Save links, articles, videos, and more from any app to access them later, privately and offline. Content is stored on your device and resurfaces at a scheduled time, with full-text search and export options.

Highlights
  • Save from any app's share sheet
  • Offline access to saved content
  • Scheduled content resurfacing
  • Full-text search including screenshots
  • Export archive as Markdown/HTML
  • Import from Pocket, Instapaper, Omnivore
Features
Read full description

Save anything from any app, pick when you want it back, and Laytr puts it at the top of the app that day. Links, recipes, videos, screenshots and PDFs, all in one place, on your iPhone, iPad and Mac. You save things all day, and most of it disappears into whatever app it was saved in. Laytr keeps it in one place and hands each thing back on the day you picked. NO ACCOUNT, NO SERVER OF OURS There is no Laytr account and no Laytr server. Your saves live on your phone, and if you leave backup or sync on, in your own iCloud, where we cannot read them. Nothing you save passes through us, so it can't be scanned, profiled or sold. SAVE FROM ANYWHERE Laytr sits in the share sheet, so it works from Safari, Photos, Files, Maps, YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and anywhere else you can share from. Links, articles, videos, places, PDFs, images and screenshots each get a card that fits what they are. Saving takes two taps. You can file things properly later, or never. IT COMES BACK WHEN YOU SAID Tonight, this weekend, next week, a date you pick, or Someday. Each choice shows the actual time it means, like "Sat 9:00 AM". When that time arrives, the save appears at the top of the Now tab. If it's a bad moment, "Not now" sits right next to "Done", and nothing nags you afterwards. There are no streaks and no overdue badges. READ IT LATER, KEPT FOR GOOD Saving an article stores the full text and images on your phone, not just the link, so it still opens years later, when the original site is gone. The reader has three page themes, serif or sans-serif type, adjustable text size, and it remembers where you stopped. SEARCH INSIDE EVERYTHING Search covers titles, sources, notes, tags, the full text of saved articles, and the text inside your screenshots. Screenshot text is read on the phone using Apple's Vision framework; the images are never sent to us. Filter by kind, browse by tag, change the sort. ONE LIBRARY ON EVERY DEVICE Sign in to the same Apple Account on your iPhone, iPad and Mac and you have one archive across all of them: the same saves, cases and tags, the same things you put away or deleted. It goes through your own iCloud, so there is still nothing of yours on a server of ours. It is on when you install Laytr, free on every plan, and Settings has a switch that turns it off there. EXPORT AND IMPORT Your whole archive exports as one ZIP: Markdown and HTML you can read anywhere, plus your original files, unchanged. Export is available on every plan, including free, always. There are importers for Pocket, Instapaper and Omnivore, and Laytr re-imports its own exports. FREE, THEN PREMIUM The free version holds 30 saves. Premium removes the limit, and that is the only difference. $1.99 a month, $14.99 a year, or $39.99 once. Since there's no server of ours, a fair question is what a subscription pays for. It pays for the app itself: Laytr is built by one person, and Premium funds that work. There is no infrastructure you're renting, which is why a one-time lifetime price can exist, and why cancelling costs you nothing. If you stop paying, every save stays, and reading, search, export and the copy between your devices keep working. The one thing that pauses is adding new saves while you're over 30. Nothing you saved is ever deleted, hidden or locked, on any device. Save now. Come back Laytr. SUBSCRIPTION DETAILS Laytr Premium is available as a monthly subscription at $1.99 per month, or an annual subscription at $14.99 per year. Lifetime is a one-time purchase at $39.99 and never renews. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. Subscriptions renew automatically for the same period and price unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period; manage or cancel any time in your App Store account settings. Terms of Use (EULA): https://laytr.app/terms Privacy Policy: https://laytr.app/privacy

Screenshots

Elm4 screens
Laytr4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Elm at none against Laytr's 4. Elm also leads on iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.0). Laytr's advantage is update cadence (every 2 days vs every 2 months). On price, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Laytr sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Elm asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Elm ships an update every 2 months, Laytr every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 28, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Elm versus Laytr: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterElmLaytr
PriceFreeFree
Rating—4.7 (7 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—80.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—7 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
Monetization—Freemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS15.1 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size22 MB28 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJoshua ArnoldWaitery Inc

In-app purchases

None

Elm

No in-app purchases

4 purchases

Laytr

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly$1.991 Month
  • Annual$14.991 Year
One-time2
  • Founding Patron$24.99
  • Lifetime$39.99

Questions

Is Elm free?
Elm is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Laytr free?
Laytr is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Elm or Laytr have ads?
Neither Elm nor Laytr shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Elm or Laytr?
Elm ships an update every 2 months, and Laytr every 2 days. Most recently, Elm was updated on October 28, 2026 and Laytr on October 25, 2026.

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