Comparison

Marten vs Draftline

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

Head to head
About

Marten

Features
Read full description

Marten is a clean, distraction-free note app built for developers. Write in Markdown with syntax-highlighted code blocks, then turn any note into a project with just the tabs you need. Keep a plain note, or add API keys, secrets, passwords, social logins, links, references, and checklists. Each filled tab becomes an item, so one note holds everything about a project. FEATURES Markdown editor Fenced code blocks with an olive, editor-style highlight. Toggle a live preview anytime. Project tabs Note, List, API, Ref, Link, Secret, Password, and Social. Add only the tabs you want with a tap. Secrets vault Store API keys, passwords, and accounts with masked fields and a quick reveal. Checklists Reminders-style lists with tap-to-complete items. Tags and search Organize with #hashtags and find anything instantly with full-text search. Sync, your way Local-first storage that works offline, with optional cloud sync across your devices. Turn sync on or off whenever you want. Built for every screen A native app for iPhone, iPad, and Mac, with an adaptive three-column layout on iPad and Mac. Light and dark themes. Private by design Your notes are yours. No ads, no tracking, and you can delete your account and all data from inside the app at any time. Marketing URL: https://marten.kodefoundry.com Privacy Policy URL: https://marten.kodefoundry.com/privacy

About

Draftline

This app allows you to write and edit Markdown files directly within your GitHub repositories. It preserves your original content exactly, works offline, and integrates with pull requests for a seamless workflow.

Highlights
  • GitHub repository file system
  • Clean Markdown editor
  • Preserves original content
  • Offline editing
  • Pull request integration
  • Native SwiftUI app
Features
Read full description

Draftline is a Markdown editor that uses your GitHub repositories as its file system. Open a repo, pick a branch, write in a clean editor, and commit when you are done. On iPhone, iPad and Mac. It is built for people who publish from a repository: blogs on Jekyll, Hugo, Astro or Eleventy, documentation sites, and plain notes in git. WHAT MAKES IT DIFFERENT • Bytes you did not touch come back byte-identical. Edit one paragraph and the commit shows one paragraph. Frontmatter, raw HTML, Liquid tags and anything else the editor cannot render are kept exactly as written and shown as chips, never rewritten. • Real commits on real branches. Edits are kept per branch until you commit them with your own message, and a commit is refused when the branch moved under you, so nothing is overwritten silently. • Works offline. The last repository, branch, file tree and open file come back from the cache at launch. Edits wait until you are back online. • Knows about pull requests. See the branch's pull request, its checks and deployments, and open the preview site in one tap. • Nothing leaves your device except to GitHub. No analytics, no server of ours, no account to create. SIGN IN Sign in with GitHub through the Draftline GitHub App, or paste a fine-grained personal access token. Your credential is stored in the system Keychain. Draftline is a native SwiftUI app.

Screenshots

Marten4 screens
Draftline4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Draftline at every 2 weeks against Marten's every 2 months. Marten's advantage is iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Marten ships an update every 2 months, Draftline every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 28, 2026 and October 26, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 7 level
Marten versus Draftline: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMartenDraftline
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size15 MB7 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developerjoseph hamawiCecil Woebker

In-app purchases

None

Marten

No in-app purchases

None

Draftline

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Marten free?
Marten is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Draftline free?
Draftline is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Marten or Draftline have ads?
Neither Marten nor Draftline shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Marten or Draftline?
Marten ships an update every 2 months, and Draftline every 2 weeks. Most recently, Marten was updated on October 28, 2026 and Draftline on October 26, 2026.

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