Comparison

ZenNotes vs SaveTag

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

Head to head
About

ZenNotes

This app allows you to write, organize, and connect ideas using plain markdown files. It offers a local-first approach with optional cloud sync for cross-device access, backups, and web publishing. Enjoy a rich editing experience with offline previews of various content types.

Highlights
  • Local-first markdown notes
  • Optional cloud sync and backup
  • Rich markdown editor
  • Offline preview for math and diagrams
  • Organize with folders and tags
  • Quick capture via share sheet
  • Home screen widgets
Features
Read full description

ZenNotes is a local-first markdown notes app for writing, organizing, and connecting ideas without giving up ownership of your files. YOUR NOTES, YOUR FILES Every note is a plain .md file in a vault you control. Start with storage on your iPhone or iPad, use iCloud Drive, or open a folder through the system document picker. Local and iCloud vaults work without an account. ZENNOTES CLOUD Connect an optional ZenNotes Cloud plan to: • Sync a vault across ZenNotes desktop and mobile • Sync notes and attachments • Create manual and automatic daily backups • Restore a full vault or a single note from a backup • Publish notes to the web and manage their public links Cloud never replaces the free local-first workflow. Use it only when you want hosted sync, backup, or publishing. WRITE IN MARKDOWN Use a focused editor with headings, lists, tasks, tables, code, links, wikilinks, tags, callouts, footnotes, and frontmatter. A mobile formatting bar keeps common actions close to the keyboard, and a pinch resizes the text to your eyes. RICH, OFFLINE PREVIEW Render KaTeX math, Mermaid diagrams, JSXGraph, function plots, tables, callouts, and more directly on your device. ORGANIZE YOUR WAY Pin your go-to notes and folders to the top, swipe rows to act on them, create and rename nested folders, browse tags, search the full vault, manage tasks, create periodic notes, and work with table databases stored as CSV. CAPTURE QUICKLY Create a quick note from the app or send text and links to ZenNotes from the iOS share sheet. HOME SCREEN WIDGETS Start a note, open a recent one, or check today's tasks without opening the app. New Note also lives on the Lock Screen, and the widgets wear your theme. PRIVACY BY DEFAULT ZenNotes has no advertising or tracking. Local and iCloud notes stay in the storage you choose. When you enable ZenNotes Cloud, the account identity, connected-device information, and vault content needed for the Cloud features you use are sent to the ZenNotes service. Payment details are handled by Stripe. ZenNotes is open source. Your vault remains useful outside the app because it is made of ordinary files.

About

SaveTag

Features
Read full description

Optimized for iPhone Duo. Built with the latest SDK, the app fills the entire inner display and automatically adjusts its layout whether the device is folded or open. Save it now. Actually read it later. Share a link from any app and SaveTag tags it on your device: food, travel, style, shopping and more. Titles, sites and previews fill in for you, and search finds things from a rough memory, not exact words. Rediscover brings back a few unread saves each day, so the list actually gets shorter. You send yourself links all day. A recipe from a friend, a jacket you liked, a video you promised to watch, a thread you wanted to reread. They scatter across chats, notes and screenshots, and you never see them again. SaveTag gives all of them one home, and it does the filing for you. Save from anywhere • Share any link into SaveTag from any app with a share sheet • Copy a link and quick-save it straight from the clipboard • Title, site and preview are pulled in for you Tags that write themselves • Every save is sorted the moment it lands, on your device • Precise topics, not one big pile: shopping, food, recipes, travel, places, learning, work, tech, finance, health, style, home, news, pets, parenting, gaming, design, sports, photography, music and inspiration • Add your own custom tags when you want your own system Search that understands what you meant Look for the idea, not the exact words you typed. Search runs across titles, notes, tags and sources, so a vague memory is enough to find the thing again. Rediscover, your daily ritual Saving is easy. Coming back is the hard part. Rediscover surfaces a small handful of unread saves each day, with a goal ring and a streak, so your list finally shrinks instead of growing. Built to stay on your iPhone No account. No cloud. No ads. No tracking. Your saves never leave your device. Tagging runs on Apple's on-device text intelligence, reading your saves locally to file them. It is not a chatbot and it never writes content for you. Basic and Pro Without a purchase you get every feature with your latest 5 saves. SaveTag Pro is a one-time in-app purchase: unlimited saves, custom tags, Markdown export and backup, and Family Sharing. No subscription, ever. Also included • Home Screen widget showing today's Rediscover • Siri shortcuts to save the link in front of you • Markdown export, so your saves are never locked in • 50 languages Made for people who save more than they read. Shoppers building a wishlist, cooks collecting recipes, travellers planning a trip, parents keeping advice, designers keeping references, and anyone whose saved tab has quietly become a black hole. Support: hourstag.app@gmail.com Optimized for iPhone Duo.

Screenshots

ZenNotes4 screens
SaveTag3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: ZenNotes at none against SaveTag's 1. ZenNotes also leads on iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, update cadence, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. SaveTag sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. ZenNotes asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ZenNotes ships an update every 2 days, SaveTag every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
ZenNotes versus SaveTag: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterZenNotesSaveTag
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (12 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings12 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 days — betterEvery 4 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size93 MB5 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLumary Labs LLCGuan Feng Lai

In-app purchases

None

ZenNotes

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

SaveTag

One-time1
  • Lifetime Pro$4.99

Questions

Is ZenNotes free?
ZenNotes is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is SaveTag free?
SaveTag is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do ZenNotes or SaveTag have ads?
Neither ZenNotes nor SaveTag shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ZenNotes or SaveTag?
ZenNotes ships an update every 2 days, and SaveTag every 4 days. Most recently, ZenNotes was updated on November 10, 2026 and SaveTag on November 6, 2026.

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