Comparison

Etched vs MarkWrite

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

Head to head
About

Etched

Features
Read 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

About

MarkWrite

Features
Read full description

WYSIWYG Markdown editor that allows embedding pictures and natural language mathematics. MarkWrite is a fast, focused Markdown editor for Mac, iPad and iPhone. Your writing formats itself as you type — headings, bold, lists, quotes, tables and code appear the moment you write them, while the Markdown syntax stays visible only on the line you are editing. Nothing to toggle, no split screen required. EMBED IMAGES, NOT LINKS Drag a picture into your document and it is really there. Grab its corner to resize it and MarkWrite writes the new size back into the Markdown for you. Text and images are saved together in one self-contained document you can move, rename, duplicate or send without leaving a single broken link behind. Images can be embedded in any of the common formats: VS Code, Pandoc or HTML. WRITE EQUATIONS BY DESCRIBING THEM Say what you mean: "x equals minus b, plus or minus the square root of b squared minus four a c, all over two a." MarkWrite turns that sentence into a properly typeset formula. There is no LaTeX to memorise — though you can type LaTeX directly whenever you would rather. Powered by on-device Apple Intelligence; requires a supported device. ALSO • Tables that line up in the editor, not only in the preview • Live preview that follows your cursor, side by side or full width • Themes: fonts, colours, spacing, line height, list spacing — saved as presets • Callouts, footnotes, highlights, code blocks and inline code • Export to PDF or print, with your theme applied • Open a whole folder in tabs and work across files • Find and replace, including regular expressions STILL JUST MARKDOWN MarkWrite writes ordinary .md files. Nothing is trapped in a proprietary format, nothing is locked in a cloud, and nothing you have written is ever held behind a subscription. Open your work in any other editor, any time, or share it with anyone and they will be able to open it with any Markdown viewer, including the embedded images. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Etched4 screens
MarkWrite3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: Etched at 17.0 against MarkWrite's 26.4. On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price Ā· Rating Ā· Positive reviews Ā· Number of ratings Ā· Update frequency Ā· Ads Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Monetization Ā· Best chart rank Ā· Devices Ā· Requires iOS

CostPrice Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Ads Ā· Monetization

Both are free to download. Etched sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and MarkWrite sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $9.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Scorecard1 real difference Ā· 5 level
Etched versus MarkWrite: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterEtchedMarkWrite
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 2 days—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, iPad, MaciPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS17.0 — better26.4
Further details — not scored
Size87 MB14 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSoyeon NohGuy Shaviv

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Etched

One-time1
  • Etched Pro$14.99
1 purchases

MarkWrite

Subscriptions1
  • MarkWrite Pro$9.991 Year

Questions

Is Etched free?
Etched is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is MarkWrite free?
MarkWrite is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Etched or MarkWrite have ads?
Neither Etched nor MarkWrite shows ads.

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