Comparison

Beaver Notes vs Mandrill

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

Head to head
About

Beaver Notes

Features
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Beaver Notes is a fast, native client for the open-source Beaver Notes server โ€” a self-hosted note wall you run on your own infrastructure. Write markdown notes. Drop in photos, videos and files. Everything lands on your server, nowhere else. No accounts to sign up for, no third-party services, no analytics, no telemetry. FEATURES โ€ข Multi-server โ€” connect to as many self-hosted Beaver Notes servers as you need and switch between them from the sidebar. โ€ข Local-first sync โ€” an outbox queue keeps everything working offline and catches up the moment the server comes back. โ€ข Markdown editor โ€” bold, italic, code, lists, links, headings, with live preview. โ€ข Attachments โ€” photos, videos, and arbitrary files. Images appear in an adaptive grid with a fullscreen viewer. Inline video playback. โ€ข Upload progress โ€” per-file and per-message progress overlays, including retry on failure. โ€ข Image editor โ€” crop, draw, filters, and optional optimization before upload. โ€ข Video trim & optimize โ€” HEIC and H.265 encoding to keep uploads small. โ€ข Quick input โ€” a compact composer at the bottom of the wall for fast capture. โ€ข Search โ€” local full-text search with type, tag, pinned and date filters. โ€ข Spotlight โ€” your notes are findable from the system search. โ€ข Privacy โ€” biometric lock with Face ID / Touch ID, auto-lock timeout, and the option to hide previews in the App Switcher. โ€ข Storage controls โ€” per-server cache size limit and one-tap erase. โ€ข Multi-platform โ€” adapted layouts for iPhone, iPad, and Mac, with native sidebar, context menus, swipe actions, and keyboard shortcuts. PRIVACY The app talks only to the self-hosted server you configure. No analytics SDKs. No third-party services. No developer-side backend. Read the full privacy policy at https://eduard256.github.io/beaver-notes-apple/PRIVACY.md REQUIREMENTS You need a running Beaver Notes server. The server is open source โ€” see https://github.com/eduard256/beaver-notes

About

Mandrill

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Mandrill is a fast, native Markdown reader and editor for iPhone and iPad; beautifully designed. Whether you're reviewing a README on the go, editing notes in your GitHub repo, or reading documentation on your iPad, Mandrill renders Markdown the way it's meant to look. Clean typography. GitHub themes. Zero clutter. GitHub integration: your repos in your pocket Sign in with GitHub and browse your repositories directly from the app. Open any repo, read and edit your Markdown files, and push changes back to GitHub when you're ready without ever touching a terminal or switching apps. Mandrill tracks which files have been modified and surfaces them clearly so you always know what's changed. Open anything Tap + to open a file from your device, browse a local folder, or connect to a GitHub repository. Mandrill shows only your .md files; no noise, no clutter, just the documents you care about. A reader you'll actually enjoy using Mandrill turns plain .md files into clean, typographically polished pages. Headings, lists, blockquotes, fenced code blocks, tables, inline code, bold, italic, and strikethrough, all rendered with care, in the theme you love. GitHub themes built in Choose GitHub Light, GitHub Dark, or System which follows your device's appearance automatically. Code blocks are highlighted per language like Swift, Python, JavaScript/TypeScript, Go, Rust, Java/Kotlin, C, C++, Objective-C, Ruby, Bash, SQL, CSS and more using authentic GitHub palettes. Made for how you read Mandrill gives you real control over your reading experience. Pick your typeface: Sans, Serif, or Mono. Adjust text size with a slider. Set your reading width to Narrow, Wide, or Full. Every setting is there because it matters. Tables, done right Markdown tables render properly with correct alignment, theming, and zero fuss. One-click code copying Every fenced code block ships with a copy button so you can grab snippets without selecting a single character. Fast, even on large files Markdown parsing and syntax highlighting run on a background thread, so the UI stays smooth and responsive on long documents. Private by design Mandrill requires no account to use and collects zero data. The optional GitHub integration connects only to GitHub's own servers we see nothing. No analytics. No third-party SDKs. Your files never leave your device. Highlights - GitHub integration: sign in, browse repos, track modified files, and push to GitHub from your iPhone or iPad - Open files, folders, or GitHub repositories from a single tap - Beautiful Markdown rendering: H1โ€“H6, bold/italic/strikethrough, inline code, fenced code blocks, blockquotes, lists, tables, and horizontal rules - GitHub Light, GitHub Dark, and System themes - Per-language syntax highlighting like Swift, Python, JS/TS, Go, Rust, Java/Kotlin, C/C++/Obj-C, Ruby, Bash, SQL, CSS and more - Typeface picker: Sans, Serif, or Mono - Adjustable text size and reading width - One-click copy on every code block - Off-thread parsing for smooth performance on large files - Works on iPhone and iPad - Zero data collection. No account required to read and edit. Built with love for iOS and iPadOS.

Screenshots

Beaver Notes4 screens
Mandrill4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Beaver Notes at Free against Mandrill's $4.99. Beaver Notes also leads on iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). On 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

Beaver Notes is free to download; Mandrill costs $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Scorecard2 real differences ยท 4 level
Beaver Notes versus Mandrill: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBeaver NotesMandrill
PriceFree โ€” better$4.99
Update frequencyโ€”Weekly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac โ€” betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.0 โ€” better26.0
Further details โ€” not scored
Size2 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperArtur JeremiczVandan Desai

In-app purchases

None

Beaver Notes

No in-app purchases

None

Mandrill

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Beaver Notes free?
Beaver Notes is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Mandrill free?
Mandrill costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do Beaver Notes or Mandrill have ads?
Neither Beaver Notes nor Mandrill shows ads.

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