Comparison

Noteline vs Metis

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

Head to head
About

Noteline

Features
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Noteline is a fast, minimal note app for people who write in Markdown. Type a # and it becomes a heading. Type **bold** and it turns bold โ€” right where you typed it. Noteline gives you live preview: your formatting renders inline as you write, so there's no split-screen and no clutter. Just clean text that quietly becomes a clean document. Your notes are plain .md files stored on your device. No account, no sign-in, no servers of ours โ€” and if you want them on your other devices, you can keep the folder in your own iCloud Drive. Open them, back them up, move them, or edit them in any other Markdown app. Noteline works fully offline and stays out of your way. Every note is plain Markdown โ€” the same format AI tools read and write โ€” so your notes stay usable by whatever you reach for next. It's the calm, focused place to think, take notes, and write. Features: โ€ข Live preview Markdown โ€” headings, bold, italics, lists, and checkboxes render inline as you type โ€ข Local-first โ€” your notes are plain .md files on your device โ€ข Works fully offline โ€” no connection required, ever โ€ข No account, no sign-in โ€” nothing to set up โ€ข Open format โ€” your files stay portable and yours โ€ข The format AI speaks โ€” plain Markdown that AI tools read and write directly โ€ข Minimal, distraction-free interface โ€ข Checklists and task lists for quick to-dos โ€ข Fast and lightweight No ads. No tracking. No telemetry. Just notes.

About

Metis

Read full description

Metis is a native Markdown editor and local-first knowledge base. Your notes are just .md files in a folder you own - Metis is a fast, beautiful, native view over them. No lock-in, no proprietary format, no account required to write. WRITE IN LIVE PREVIEW A clean Obsidian-style editor styles your Markdown as you type - headings, bold, lists, quotes and code - while keeping the raw syntax one tap away. It feels like writing in a document, not in code. On iPad it's a full three-pane workspace with hardware-keyboard shortcuts. CONNECT YOUR IDEAS Link any two notes with [[wiki links]]. Backlinks appear automatically, so you always see what references the note you're reading. An interactive link graph shows your whole knowledge base at a glance - zoom, pan, and drag nodes to explore the connections. READ BEAUTIFULLY Reading mode renders the full document: headings, tables, task lists, images, syntax-highlighted code, Mermaid diagrams, and real math (LaTeX) rendered natively - no web view. ORGANIZE YOUR WAY Tag anything with #tags, group notes into folders, and see typed properties (status, owner, due...) that live as YAML front matter and are preserved as you edit. A fast switcher and full-text search get you anywhere instantly. ON-DEVICE AI (Apple Intelligence) Summarize a note, suggest tags or related links, and ask your whole vault a question - all running privately on your device. AI is optional; the app is fully functional without it. SYNC ACROSS YOUR DEVICES Keep your vault in iCloud and the same notes are on your Mac, iPad and iPhone - still as plain .md files you can open anywhere. Edits sync in the background, and Metis helps you resolve conflicts if two devices change the same note. LOCK WHAT MATTERS Any note can be locked with your notes password and opened with Face ID or Touch ID. Locked notes are encrypted on disk and stay encrypted in iCloud - and they're kept out of search and previews. PRIVATE AND YOURS Everything stays in plain files on your device. No tracking, no cloud lock-in. Open the same folder in any other Markdown editor whenever you like. Import an existing folder of notes (from Obsidian or anywhere) and Metis just works. ONE PURCHASE, ALL YOUR DEVICES A single one-time purchase unlocks Metis Pro on your Mac, iPad and iPhone - no subscription. Try everything free for 7 days. Metis is made by Empiric Apps. Questions or feedback? contact@empiricapps.com

Screenshots

Noteline4 screens
Metis4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Noteline at none against Metis's 1. Noteline also leads on iOS requirement (14.0 vs 18.0). Metis's advantage is update cadence (every 2 days vs every 2 weeks). On price, ads 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. Metis sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Noteline asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Noteline ships an update every 2 weeks, Metis every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on September 8, 2026 and September 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences ยท 3 level
Noteline versus Metis: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNotelineMetis
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 2 days โ€” better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo โ€” betterYes
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod โ€” betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS14.0 โ€” better18.0
Further details โ€” not scored
Size7 MB14 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperFoo AI Corp.Burlac Mihail

In-app purchases

None

Noteline

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Metis

One-time1
  • Metis Pro$14.99

Questions

Is Noteline free?
Noteline is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Metis free?
Metis is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Noteline or Metis have ads?
Neither Noteline nor Metis shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Noteline or Metis?
Noteline ships an update every 2 weeks, and Metis every 2 days. Most recently, Noteline was updated on September 8, 2026 and Metis on September 12, 2026.

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