Carets vs Wander
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Carets
This app offers a dual-purpose experience as a capable code editor and a fast notes and lists application. It focuses on speed, minimalism, and a clean aesthetic for mobile devices, allowing you to edit real files from cloud storage or create internal notes.
- Syntax highlighting for common languages
- Edit external files from cloud storage
- Plain text and Markdown notes
- Lists and checklists
- Full-text search across notes
- Generative art gallery
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Carets is two great apps in one: a genuinely capable pocket code editor and a fast, beautiful notes and lists app. Built for speed, minimalism, and a monospace-clean aesthetic — reshaped for a phone. On the editor side, Carets opens and edits the real files on your device, in iCloud Drive, and in Google Drive. You get syntax highlighting across the common languages, line numbers, code-aware editing, find and replace with full regex, and a touch-reimagined command palette for jumping between files and actions. Edits save back to the file's original location, not a copy. Opening and editing external files is unlimited on the free tier. On the notes side, Carets keeps internal notes in a local SQLite store you own. Plain text or Markdown, with live preview when you want it. Lists and checklists with tap-to-toggle to-dos. Folders and tags for lightweight organization. Instant full-text search across everything you've written. No login required, no account, no cloud — until you ask for one. There's also a Gallery of generative-art sketches that run right on your phone. Open one and watch it draw — every run is unique. With Pro, open the code behind any piece, tweak it live, and make it your own. The bridge between the two halves is the editor surface itself: the same fast, monospace, distraction-free typing experience whether you're editing a config file from iCloud Drive or jotting a grocery list. The chrome fades while you type. The keyboard never jumps. The cursor stays where you left it. Features: - Syntax highlighting across common languages - Line numbers and code-aware editing - Find and replace, with regex - Command palette for fast navigation - Open and edit external files from the Files app, iCloud Drive, and Google Drive - Save changes back to the original file - Plain text and Markdown notes with live preview - Lists and checklists, auto-continued - Folders and tags - Instant full-text search across all notes - Gallery of live generative-art templates (Pro unlocks the code to edit and export) - Auto-save with cursor and scroll restore per document - Light and dark themes, including a deep, editor-style dark - Native sign-in only when you opt into paid cloud sync — no passwords ever - Delete-all-data button that means it Pricing: - Free — open and edit unlimited external files; create up to 30 internal notes - Carets Pro — 5.99 USD, one-time (no subscription) Carets Pro is a single one-time unlock: unlimited internal notes, cloud sync to your own iCloud, cross-device editing, the premium theme pack and custom fonts, the generative-art template code (open, edit, export), and export to Markdown / PDF / .txt. Pay once, keep it forever. Privacy: - Local-first. The app works fully offline with no account. - We collect no personal information by default. - Sign-in is only invoked if you turn on paid cloud sync. - Cloud sync goes to your own iCloud container — not a server we operate. - Tap "Delete all data" in settings, and the local database and the cloud copy are wiped. Privacy policy: https://carets.app/privacy Terms of Use (EULA): https://carets.app/terms
Wander
This app offers a clean writing experience for markdown files, ensuring your notes remain in plain text and accessible in your own folders. It provides a WYSIWYG editor that accurately reflects your markdown while keeping files tidy on disk, allowing for seamless offline use and no vendor lock-in.
- Plain markdown in owned folders
- WYSIWYG editing
- Wikilinks, tables, code blocks
- Fast and native for iPhone/iPad
- Works fully offline
- No account required
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Wander is a markdown editor that respects your files. Your notes stay plain markdown in folders you control — no account, no lock-in, no cloud required. What you see is what lands on disk, byte for byte. Write in a clean WYSIWYG editor — bold looks bold, headings look like headings — while the file on disk stays tidy markdown with clean diffs. Images render in place too, so a note with photos reads like a page, not a preview pane. Open any folder of markdown and start writing; Wander reads and writes standard files, so nothing you open is trapped in the app. • Plain markdown, in folders you own • WYSIWYG editing, clean files on disk • Wikilinks, tables, code blocks, task lists, footnotes • Images inline — photos, galleries and captions render right in the note, sized with plain markdown • Fast and native for iPhone and iPad — works fully offline, no account • Your notes never leave your device unless you move them
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Wander at none against Carets's 1. Wander also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs every 6 weeks) and device support (3 vs 1). Carets's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.7). On price, ratings volume, ads and iOS requirement 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
Both are free to download. Carets sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Wander asks for nothing beyond the download.
Carets holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 3 respectively.
Carets ships an update every 6 weeks, Wander every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 2, 2026 and September 29, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Carets | Wander |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better | 4.7 (3 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | — | 90.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 2 | 3 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | Every 2 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.4 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 51 MB | 147 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Echo Persona LLC | System Operator LLC |
Customer experience
Carets
Wander
In-app purchases
Carets
- Carets Pro$5.99
Wander
No in-app purchases









