Comparison

markru vs Marten

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

Head to head
About

markru

Features
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Markdown notes are easy to write โ€” and easy to forget. markru is built for what comes after writing: shelving, binding, and rereading your own notes like books. (Some features โ€” tag suggestions, summaries โ€” use Apple Intelligence on supported devices.) YOUR NOTES, SHELVED LIKE BOOKS Promote finished notes from drafts to your bookshelf. Browse by shelf, search, and sort by what you read last. BIND NOTES INTO ONE READABLE BOOK Combine related pages into one book. Reorder pages, add new ones, and read them as a single piece โ€” or unbind anytime. WRITE IN CLEAN MARKDOWN A focused editor with live preview and a formatting bar for headings, lists, checklists, tables, code, and more. Some writing helpers โ€” tag suggestions, formatting, and summaries โ€” are partly powered by Apple Intelligence, right on your device. Note: These AI-assisted features require a supported device and OS version. Where Apple Intelligence isn't available, they simply fall back to manual entry โ€” everything else in the app still works, and no note content is ever sent to an external server. CAPTURE IDEAS IN SECONDS Quick Capture works like a paper memo: jot it down, the title can come later. Import .md and .txt files, or send text from any app with the share sheet. KEEP YOUR SHELVES IN ORDER See your note, shelf, and book counts at a glance. Clean up, compress, or bind notes as your library grows. PICK UP RIGHT WHERE YOU LEFT OFF markru remembers your reading progress in every book, so returning to your notes feels like reopening one. PRIVATE BY DESIGN No account required. Your notes live as plain Markdown files on your device or in iCloud Documents โ€” never on our servers. Write lightly. Reread deeply.

About

Marten

Features
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Marten is a clean, distraction-free note app built for developers. Write in Markdown with syntax-highlighted code blocks, then turn any note into a project with just the tabs you need. Keep a plain note, or add API keys, secrets, passwords, social logins, links, references, and checklists. Each filled tab becomes an item, so one note holds everything about a project. FEATURES Markdown editor Fenced code blocks with an olive, editor-style highlight. Toggle a live preview anytime. Project tabs Note, List, API, Ref, Link, Secret, Password, and Social. Add only the tabs you want with a tap. Secrets vault Store API keys, passwords, and accounts with masked fields and a quick reveal. Checklists Reminders-style lists with tap-to-complete items. Tags and search Organize with #hashtags and find anything instantly with full-text search. Sync, your way Local-first storage that works offline, with optional cloud sync across your devices. Turn sync on or off whenever you want. Built for every screen A native app for iPhone, iPad, and Mac, with an adaptive three-column layout on iPad and Mac. Light and dark themes. Private by design Your notes are yours. No ads, no tracking, and you can delete your account and all data from inside the app at any time. Marketing URL: https://marten.kodefoundry.com Privacy Policy URL: https://marten.kodefoundry.com/privacy

Screenshots

markru4 screens
Marten4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: markru at weekly against Marten's every 2 months. Marten's advantage is iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

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

UpkeepUpdate frequency

markru ships an update weekly, Marten every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences ยท 4 level
markru versus Marten: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParametermarkruMarten
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyWeekly โ€” betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Mac โ€” better
Requires iOS26.017.0 โ€” better
Further details โ€” not scored
Size9 MB15 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developerkazunobu tsujinojoseph hamawi

In-app purchases

None

markru

No in-app purchases

None

Marten

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is markru free?
markru is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Marten free?
Marten is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do markru or Marten have ads?
Neither markru nor Marten shows ads.
Which is updated more often, markru or Marten?
markru ships an update weekly, and Marten every 2 months. Most recently, markru was updated on October 24, 2026 and Marten on October 28, 2026.

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