SteelNote vs Levity Markdown Notes
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side ā with what reviewers say about each.
SteelNote
This app stores your notes as plain Markdown files on your device, ensuring you always own your data. It offers seamless syncing across Apple devices, instant search, and robust import options from other note-taking applications.
- Plain Markdown file storage
- iCloud sync across Apple devices
- Local full-text search
- Import from multiple note apps
- Link notes and see backlinks
- Organize with folders and tags
- Mark notes as private
Read full descriptionHide full description
SteelNote is a notes app built on one promise: your notes are plain Markdown files that you own. Every note is a real .md file on your device, openable in the Files app or in any editor you like, today and years from now. No proprietary database. Nothing locked away. Your notes, truly yours. Because every note is plain text, you are never trapped. Read and edit them in SteelNote, in Files, or in any other Markdown app. If you ever move on, you take your files with you as they are, in an open format that lasts. Native on all your Apple devices. SteelNote is built natively for iPhone, iPad and Mac. Your notes sync across all of them through iCloud, with no third party account and no extra sign in. Start a note on your phone and finish it on your Mac. Find anything, instantly. A local full text index makes search immediate, even in large libraries. Link notes together, see backlinks, organize with folders and tags, and turn any line into a task. Private when you want it. Mark a note as private and it stays out of widgets and AI features. Your most sensitive notes remain yours alone. Bring everything with you. Import from Bear, Notion, Obsidian and Evernote, or from Markdown, TextBundle, Word, RTF, PDF and CSV files. Your folders and structure come along. Apple Notes works too, one note at a time, because Apple offers no bulk export. Everything you expect. Add images, PDFs and tables inline. Use checklists, footnotes and links. Reach your notes from Spotlight, Siri and widgets, and hand off between devices. An open format, now standard. Markdown is a first class type across Apple platforms, and SteelNote is built natively around it. Your files are open, portable and yours. Membership. SteelNote comes with a 14 day free trial, then a yearly plan or a one time lifetime purchase. You can cancel during the trial and pay nothing, or skip the subscription and choose the lifetime purchase instead. Sync is always included and never restricted. Payment is charged to your Apple Account. A yearly plan renews automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the period. You can manage or cancel anytime in your Account settings. Privacy Policy: https://steelnoteapp.com/privacy.html Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Levity Markdown Notes
Read full descriptionHide full description
Levity is a fast Markdown editor for your own plain-text notes, based on a folder in iCloud Drive or on your device. No account, no proprietary database, no separate sync service to set up. Point Levity at a folder and it mirrors every Markdown file inside it, and keeps mirroring as they change. Built for speed on your phone and read-compatible with Obsidian vaults. Levity opens, scrolls, and searches instantly, even in a large vault. It's tuned for mobile from the first line of code. If you already keep an Obsidian vault, Levity reads it as-is: the same files, the same folders, the same frontmatter. Your notes are just text files. They live in your own iCloud Drive or on your device, sync through your own Apple account, and open in any other editor. A live, clean editor: ⢠Formatting appears as you type. The raw Markdown symbols stay out of your way, while your files stay pure Markdown on disk ⢠Headings, bold, italic, task lists, checkboxes, blockquotes, code blocks, and tables you can edit cell by cell ⢠[[Wiki-links]] between notes, with autocomplete ⢠Inline images ⢠A formatting bar, so you never have to hunt for a raw symbol Organize without a database: ⢠Tag your notes and filter by tag ⢠YAML frontmatter ā add any property you like (status, type, dates, lists) and build filtered views around it ⢠Folders, templates, archive, and trash ⢠Full-text search across every note, instantly Made yours: ⢠Seven themes, plus an automatic day / night mode that follows your surroundings ⢠Adjustable font, size, and spacing ⢠Designed for both iPhone and iPad Levity is focused and supports text, tags, and links; no graph view or plugins, just the fastest way to write and read Markdown on iOS, on top of files you already own. Free to start. One optional yearly subscription unlocks unlimited note creation and editing; reading your notes is never limited. Your privacy, by design: your notes stay in your own iCloud or device storage. Levity Premium is an auto-renewing subscription billed yearly. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. The subscription renews automatically unless it is canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel anytime in your Apple Account settings. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
SteelNote and Levity Markdown Notes are too close to call on the numbers: across 5 compared parameters ā price, ads, in-app purchases and device support among them ā neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.
Scored on Price Ā· Rating Ā· Positive reviews Ā· Number of ratings Ā· Update frequency Ā· Ads Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Monetization Ā· Best chart rank Ā· Devices Ā· Requires iOS
Both are free to download. SteelNote sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $24.99 per year and Levity Markdown Notes sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $11.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
| Parameter | SteelNote | Levity Markdown Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | ā |
| Update frequency | Every 4 days | ā |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | ā |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac ā better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17.6 | 17.0 ā better |
| Further details ā not scored | ||
| Size | 17 MB | 5 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Claude Bezeaud | S Tan |
In-app purchases
SteelNote
- Annual14 Days trial$24.991 Year
- Lifetime$44.99
- Founder$44.99
Levity Markdown Notes
- Levity Premium$11.991 Year









