Comparison

Marklens vs Notate

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

Head to head
About

Marklens

This app is a fast, native Markdown viewer for macOS, iPadOS, and iPhone. It renders .md files instantly with beautiful typography, themes, syntax highlighting, and diagrams. Designed for reading, it offers a private and friction-free experience.

Highlights
  • Instant Markdown rendering
  • Syntax highlighting for 30+ languages
  • Mermaid diagram support
  • GitHub-Flavored Markdown
  • Light and dark themes
  • Export to PDF
  • Quick Look preview on macOS
Features
Read full description

Marklens is a fast, native Markdown viewer for macOS, iPadOS, and iPhone. Open any .md file with a click and see it rendered immediately — beautiful typography, light and dark themes, syntax-highlighted code, and Mermaid diagrams. No editor, no library, no friction. HIGHLIGHTS • Instant render — every .md opens in a clean, focused window • 30+ language syntax highlighting via highlight.js, bundled offline • Mermaid 11 diagrams — flowcharts, sequence, state, xy-charts and more • GitHub-Flavored Markdown — tables, task lists, footnotes, strikethrough • Light and dark theme matching the system appearance • Quick Look on macOS — press Space on any .md in Finder for a rendered preview • Export to PDF on every platform • Pinch-to-zoom on iPadOS and iPhone, ⌘+ / ⌘− / ⌘0 on macOS • Open files via drag-and-drop, the Share Sheet, or the Files app MADE FOR READING Marklens doesn't try to be a notes app or a knowledge base. It opens a file, renders it perfectly, and gets out of the way. If you write Markdown in another tool — VS Code, Obsidian, GitHub, your favorite text editor — Marklens is the viewer you reach for to look at the result. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Marklens collects nothing. No analytics, no telemetry, no crash reports, no network requests. Every rendering asset — Mermaid, highlight.js, fonts — ships inside the app. Read the full privacy policy at https://donald-jackson.github.io/marklens/privacy/ OPEN SOURCE Marklens is MIT-licensed and developed in the open. Source, issues, and contribution guide live at https://github.com/donald-jackson/marklens.

About

Notate

Features
Read full description

Notate transcribes speech, music, and audio files entirely on your iPhone. No account, no cloud, no subscription. Your audio never leaves the device. Powered by an on-device Whisper model, Notate transcribes live from the microphone or from audio files you import—whether it's your voice, song lyrics, podcasts, or lectures. Everything runs locally, so it works on a plane, in a basement, anywhere, and nothing you say is ever uploaded. FREE, FOREVER - Unlimited live microphone transcription - Transcribe music and lyrics - Auto, Tiny, and Base models - Full history, copy, and share - 12 languages with auto-detect VOXPRINT PRO, ONE PAYMENT - Unlimited audio file transcription - The Small model, the most accurate - One purchase. Not a subscription, ever. WHY VOXPRINT - On device. Your voice stays yours. - No account, no sign-up, no tracking. - No monthly fee. Own it once. Notate is built for people who want their words, music, and audio transcribed without uploading to a server.

Screenshots

Marklens3 screens
Notate4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Marklens at Free against Notate's $0.99. Notate's advantage is update cadence (every 2 weeks vs monthly). On ads, in-app purchases, device support 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Marklens is free to download; Notate costs $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Marklens ships an update monthly, Notate every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 19, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Marklens versus Notate: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMarklensNotate
PriceFree — better$0.99
Rating5.0 (2 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings2 — better—
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, MaciPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS18.017.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size4 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDonald JacksonJoshua Trommel

In-app purchases

None

Marklens

No in-app purchases

None

Notate

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Marklens free?
Marklens is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Notate free?
Notate costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do Marklens or Notate have ads?
Neither Marklens nor Notate shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Marklens or Notate?
Marklens ships an update monthly, and Notate every 2 weeks. Most recently, Marklens was updated on September 19, 2026 and Notate on October 7, 2026.

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