Folio vs Inkstone Notes
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side โ with what reviewers say about each.
Folio
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Folio is a private app for quick notes, reminders, reading, and personal knowledge, with core data stored primarily on your device. Capture a thought by typing or speaking. Save links and documents from other apps. Organize records and reading into categories and folders, then revisit them through search, reports, and daily briefings. Key features: - Quick notes, todos, and scheduled reminders - Link and document import with structured reading summaries - Categories, folders, tags, templates, and quantity ledgers - Semantic search, smart reports, and daily briefings - On-device photo organization and duplicate or blurry-photo review - Optional read-only Calendar and Reminders integration - Optional iCloud sync for supported structured records Privacy by design: - No Folio account - No advertising or third-party analytics SDK - Core data is stored on your device - After explicit consent, Custom AI sends relevant text and queries directly to your chosen HTTPS endpoint using your API key, without passing through Folio servers Some advanced features require Folio Pro. Imported attachment files are not included in iCloud record sync or structured-data backup and should be backed up separately. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://YI112730.github.io/folio-legal/privacy.html
Inkstone Notes
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Inkstone keeps your notes as what they already are: plain Markdown files, in a folder you choose, on your own device. There is no database, no import step and no proprietary format. A vault another Markdown app created opens here, and a vault created here opens there. If Inkstone disappeared tomorrow, you would still have a folder of Markdown. WRITING Headings, bold, quotes, callouts, checkboxes, tables and code all render in place as you type, with the syntax revealed only on the line the cursor is on. Reading mode is a separate, read-only view for when you want the page without the scaffolding. Body font, code font and their sizes are set independently. LINKING [[Note]], [[Note#Heading]], [[Note^block]], ![[Embeds]] and aliases declared in frontmatter all resolve into one index. Every note shows what points at it, what it points at, and which of its links have no target yet. Rename a note and every link that pointed at it is rewritten across the whole vault, in the same action. SEEING THE SHAPE The graph view draws your notes as nodes joined by their links, and the simulation is deterministic โ the same vault draws the same picture every time, so you can learn its layout instead of re-reading it on every open. SPATIAL NOTES The canvas puts cards, files and connections on an infinite sheet, saved as JSON Canvas 1.0 โ the same open format other implementations read and write. FINDING THINGS A fuzzy switcher opens over every note with one gesture. Full-text search understands tag: and path:, and tags work inline or in frontmatter, nested, in any script. TYPOGRAPHY THAT HANDLES CJK Chinese sets solid โ no word spaces โ so a Latin word dropped into a Han sentence collides with it. Inkstone sets the gap between scripts properly, and lets you choose fonts and sizes that suit both. TWO DEVICES Sync a vault through iCloud, or push it to a GitHub repository with conflicts settled once rather than left as two copies. Per-file-type filters decide whether attachments and media travel with it. PRIVATE BY CONSTRUCTION No account. No telemetry. No network call you did not ask for. Your files are on your device and go only where you send them. Interface in English, Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Inkstone Notes at none against Folio's 2. On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Folio sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Inkstone Notes asks for nothing beyond the download.
| Parameter | Folio | Inkstone Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Every 5 days | โ |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No โ better |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad โ better |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | 26.0 |
| Further details โ not scored | ||
| Size | 9 MB | 15 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | ๆฏ ๅ ๅ | Orris |
In-app purchases
Folio
- Folio Pro Monthly$2.991 Month
- Folio Pro Yearly$29.991 Year
Inkstone Notes
No in-app purchases









