Comparison

Smolpad vs Fold

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

Head to head
About

Smolpad

A minimalist Markdown editor that stores your notes as plain .md files, accessible across all your devices via iCloud. Offers beautiful writing tools and robust file management without bloat.

Highlights
  • Plain .md file storage
  • iCloud sync
  • Markdown syntax highlighting
  • Task list checkboxes
  • Folder organization and search
  • File version history
  • Menu bar app on Mac
Features
Read full description

Smolpad is a smol Markdown editor with respect for your files. Every note is a plain .md file you can open with any app, on any device, forever. Your files are your own. No database. No lock-in. No bloat. Just a tiny, fast home for your notes on Mac, iPhone, and iPad. WRITE IN MARKDOWN, BEAUTIFULLY • Syntax dims as you type, or hides away entirely with one tap • Task lists become real checkboxes. Checkboxes that check. • Headings, bold, italic, code, quotes, and tables, styled as you write • A formatting bar for common touches, plus full keyboard shortcuts • Pictures too: drag or paste one in, resize it by its corner, and it lives as a plain file beside the note YOUR FILES, ANYWHERE • Notes sync through your own iCloud Drive, included free • Open your notes folder in Finder or Files any time • Organize with folders, pins, and instant search • A Trash for deleted notes, and a history of every note's earlier versions • Find notes in Spotlight, and open them with Siri or Shortcuts • Your notes never leave your devices except to your own cloud SMOL ON PURPOSE • On the Mac, Smolpad lives in your menu bar, one hotkey away • Tear off a note into its own window when you want to stay a while • On iPhone and iPad, it opens fast and stays out of your way • Eight hand-picked fonts and a clean, quiet interface MAKE IT YOURS WITH SMOLPAD PRO • Unlimited notes (the free tier includes ten) • Dropbox, pCloud, or Google Drive sync, in a folder that belongs to you • Notepads: open any folder of Markdown files as its own notepad, an Obsidian vault or a Bear export among them • Export to PDF, HTML, or rich text, and print • Widgets on the Mac, iPhone and iPad, Lock Screen widgets on iPhone, and Smolpad on Apple Watch • Twenty-nine editor themes, from Tokyo Night to Catppuccin • Seventeen app icons and the full menu bar icon set Smolpad Pro is available as a monthly or yearly subscription, or a one-time lifetime purchase. The free tier is a real notes app, not a trial. Made by a smol team that believes plain text outlives everything. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://smolpad.com/privacy

About

Fold

Features
Read full description

Give repeated notes a useful shape. Fold is a structured notes app built just for iPhone. Give each folder a flexible structure with reusable fields, such as author, price, date, rating, or links, all while every note keeps space for free writing. • Create folders around the way you think • Start with templates or make your own fields • Write freely alongside the details you need to repeat • Search titles, folders, fields, tags, checklists, and writing • Keep checklists, reminders, and rich-text notes together • Keep your notes local, with backup and export tools when you need them Fold helps you capture ideas quickly, then find the important details later.

Screenshots

Smolpad4 screens
Fold4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Fold at none against Smolpad's 3. Smolpad's advantage is update cadence (every 10 days vs every 2 months) and device support (4 vs 1). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads 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. Smolpad sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.49 per month. Fold asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Smolpad against 5.0 for Fold. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 1 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Smolpad ships an update every 10 days, Fold every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 13, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 6 level
Smolpad versus Fold: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSmolpadFold
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings)
Number of ratings11
Update frequencyEvery 10 days — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemium—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch — betteriPhone
Requires iOS18.018.0
Further details — not scored
Size76 MB141 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBaconWorks, LLCMofura Labs LLC

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Smolpad

Subscriptions2
  • Smolpad Pro$1.491 Month
  • Smolpad Pro7 Days trial$14.991 Year
One-time1
  • Smolpad Pro Lifetime$29.99
None

Fold

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Smolpad free?
Smolpad is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Fold free?
Fold is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Smolpad or Fold?
Smolpad and Fold are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 1 and 1 ratings respectively.
Do Smolpad or Fold have ads?
Neither Smolpad nor Fold shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Smolpad or Fold?
Smolpad ships an update every 10 days, and Fold every 2 months. Most recently, Smolpad was updated on November 6, 2026 and Fold on November 13, 2026.

Other comparisons