# Notate vs ZenNotes

The clearest difference is price: ZenNotes at Free against Notate's $0.99. ZenNotes also leads on update cadence (daily vs every 2 weeks) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

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

Notate ships an update every 2 weeks, ZenNotes daily. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | Notate | ZenNotes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $0.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | — | **[4.9 (12 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/zennotes-markdown-notes/id6791751575/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | — | **12** |
| Positive reviews | — | 100.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | **Daily** |
| Monetization | — | Free |
| Size | 438 MB | 90 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | **15.0** |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch** | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Joshua Trommel](https://appshunter.io/developer/6779522177) | [Lumary Labs LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1874151885) |

## What reviewers say

### Notate

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/notate/id6782604262)

**Features:** Apple Watch app, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


### ZenNotes

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/zennotes-markdown-notes/id6791751575)

This app allows you to create and manage notes using plain Markdown files. It offers flexible storage options, rich text formatting with live previews, and powerful organization tools like task management and note linking. Designed for both phone and tablet, it prioritizes user privacy with no accounts or tracking.

**Highlights:** Plain Markdown file storage, Live rich text previews, Wikilinks and #tags, Vault-wide task management, Table databases as CSV, Excalidraw drawing support, Share extension for quick capture

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Notate free?

Notate costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Is ZenNotes free?

ZenNotes is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Do Notate or ZenNotes have ads?

Neither Notate nor ZenNotes shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Notate or ZenNotes?

Notate ships an update every 2 weeks, and ZenNotes daily. Most recently, Notate was updated on October 24, 2026 and ZenNotes on October 24, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*