Etched vs Ahti
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Etched
Read full descriptionHide full description
Stop losing your own notes. Etched finds what you wrote by meaning — not just by keyword. Ask for "the note about slowing down to think" and it surfaces, even if those exact words were never written. Everything runs on your device. Write in plain markdown and watch it render as you type — no symbols, no preview pane, no modes. What you see is the file. Your notes stay portable .md, yours forever. FREE, and complete: • On-device semantic search — find notes by meaning • Live WYSIWYG markdown — bold, headings, lists, quotes, code • Tables, callouts, code blocks, footnotes, highlights, links • iCloud sync across your devices • Export to .md (raw or with rendered images), PDF, plain text ETCHED PRO — one-time purchase, yours forever: • Flashcards + spaced repetition — turn notes into memory • Diagrams from plain text (flowcharts, sequences, mind maps) • Typeset math and chemistry (LaTeX) • Charts from a few rows of data • Sheet music from ABC notation • Handwriting / sketches • Present mode — turn a note into full-screen slides • Per-note themes Reading every format is always free — Pro unlocks creating them. No subscription, ever. Pay once and keep it. Coming from Apple Notes, Obsidian, or Bear? Your markdown imports as plain .md, and you finally get search that finds notes by meaning — privately, with no account. Private by design: your notes never leave your devices except through your own iCloud. No account, no tracking, no ads. Your notes, etched in memory. — Made by Hyojin Mo. Support: support@vibeland.app
Ahti
This writing application provides a peaceful, uncluttered interface for planning, drafting, and finishing long-form projects like novels or screenplays. It offers tools for structuring your work, writing without distraction, and exporting your finished manuscript in various formats.
- Binder for chapters and scenes
- Corkboard for scene flash cards
- Outliner for structure overview
- Distraction-free writing modes
- Word goal and daily pace tracking
- Export to ePub, Word, PDF
- Customizable themes and styles
Read full descriptionHide full description
Ahti is somewhere quiet to finish writing your long-form book. It gives you what you need to plan, draft, and finish a novel, screenplay, or thesis. It's a peaceful, uncluttered interface that stays out of the way so you can focus on writing. PLAN THE SHAPE OF YOUR BOOK Keep your whole story in one place. The binder holds your chapters and scenes. The corkboard turns each scene into a rearrangeable flash card for structuring and quick reference. The outliner gives you a bird's-eye view of your structure and all the data that comes with it. WRITE WITHOUT DISTRACTION Write in a clean editor, or fold a chapters and scenes into one long manuscript so you can write straight through. Additionally, Composition Mode keeps it simple when all you want is the ink and the page. KEEP TRACK, AND FINISH Set a word goal and a daily pace to keep yourself moving. Take a snapshot before a big revision so you can always go back to an earlier draft. When the book is done, compile it to ePub, Word, PDF, and more, with a table of contents, chapter numbering, and your own title page. LOOK THE PART Choose between light and dark mode, or import your own custom themes so your workspace looks and feels like your story. The style editor gives you complete control over every color, font, and formatting of Ahti. YOUR WORK STAYS YOURS An Ahti project is an ordinary folder of plain text files on your own disk. You can open it in Finder or any other writing app, and nothing is trapped in a proprietary format. Turn on iCloud and your books follow you from Mac to iPad to iPhone. There are no sign ins or accounts to create, and unless you choose to sync to iCloud, everything is completely offline. There are robust features when you need them without disrupting your flow: • Wiki-style links between documents • Collections and saved searches • Places for characters and notes • Comments and footnotes • Light and dark themes • Writing targets and history Ahti is built to be calm and quiet, while being rich in functionality when you need it.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Etched at Free against Ahti's $5.99. Etched also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs every 6 days). Ahti's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and iOS requirement (14.0 vs 17.0). On ads and device support 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
Etched is free to download; Ahti costs $5.99 up front. Etched sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Ahti asks for nothing beyond the download.
Etched ships an update every 2 days, Ahti every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on October 5, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Etched | Ahti |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $5.99 |
| Rating | — | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | — | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | — | 2 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 days — better | Every 6 days |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | — | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 14.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 87 MB | 7 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Soyeon Noh | Bret Merritt |
In-app purchases
Etched
- Etched Pro$14.99
Ahti
No in-app purchases








