# Papyrus vs ZenNotes

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: ZenNotes at none against Papyrus's 2. ZenNotes also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs weekly) and ratings volume (11 vs 2). On price, rating, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Papyrus sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. ZenNotes asks for nothing beyond the download.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Papyrus against 4.9 for ZenNotes. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ZenNotes has 11 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.

Papyrus ships an update weekly, ZenNotes every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Papyrus | ZenNotes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[5.0 (2 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/papyrus-research-library/id6766133716/reviews)** | [4.9 (11 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/zennotes-markdown-notes/id6791751575/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 2 | **11** |
| Positive reviews | — | 100.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Weekly | **Every 2 days** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Free** |
| Size | 25 MB | 81 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | **15.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Zhenda Fu](https://appshunter.io/developer/1896207907) | [Lumary Labs LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1874151885) |

## What reviewers say

### Papyrus

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/papyrus-research-library/id6766133716)

Organize, annotate, and cite research papers within a native Apple ecosystem. This workspace allows you to import PDFs and citation records, take notes, and manage your reading collections as structured projects. It offers local-first storage with optional cloud sync and various export formats.

**Highlights:** Read and annotate PDFs, Organize citation records, Take Markdown notes, Search entire library, Create structured projects, Local-first storage, Optional iCloud/WebDAV sync

**Features:** Safari Extension, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Papyrus Lifetime Unlock | $3.99 | one-time |
| Papyrus Lifetime Unlock | $5.99 | one-time |


### ZenNotes

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/zennotes-markdown-notes/id6791751575)

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.

**Highlights:** 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

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Papyrus free?

Papyrus is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is ZenNotes free?

ZenNotes is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Papyrus or ZenNotes?

Papyrus is rated higher. Papyrus averages 5.0 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while ZenNotes averages 4.9 from 11 ratings.

### Do Papyrus or ZenNotes have ads?

Neither Papyrus nor ZenNotes shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Papyrus or ZenNotes?

Papyrus ships an update weekly, and ZenNotes every 2 days. Most recently, Papyrus was updated on October 12, 2026 and ZenNotes on October 10, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*