# em vs Skein Notes

The clearest difference is price: Skein Notes at Free against em's $19.99. Skein Notes also leads on iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). em's advantage is chart position (#179 vs unranked). On rating, ratings volume, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Skein Notes is free to download; em costs $19.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

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

em ships an update every 9 days, Skein Notes every 2 weeks. Both last shipped on October 15, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | em | Skein Notes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $19.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | [5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/em-markdown-writer-and-editor/id6797005003/reviews) | [5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/skein-notes/id6800062797/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 1 |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 9 days** | Every 2 weeks |
| Monetization | Paid | **Free** |
| Best chart rank | **#179** | — |
| Size | 18 MB | 22 MB |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | **17.0** |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, Mac** | iPhone, Mac |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Justin Cox](https://appshunter.io/developer/6797005005) | [Tomasz Smieja](https://appshunter.io/developer/1888980924) |

## What reviewers say

### em

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/em-markdown-writer-and-editor/id6797005003)

**Currently charting:** #179 Top Paid · Productivity (US App Store)

A distraction-free Markdown editor for Mac, iPad, and iPhone that keeps your writing files private and accessible. Features smart search, automatic version history, and optional AI assistance for editing and content review.

**Highlights:** Distraction-free Markdown editor, Smart Search with filters and Smart Folders, Automatic version history stored in iCloud, Ghost site integration for publishing, On-device AI for editing and review, Offline editing capabilities, Customizable reader and editor

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


### Skein Notes

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/skein-notes/id6800062797)

This app allows users to create and organize notes using plain Markdown files stored locally or in iCloud Drive. It offers powerful search capabilities, real-time editing of Markdown features, and the ability to manage JSON Canvas boards. Notes are kept safe with version history and conflict resolution.

**Highlights:** Plain Markdown file storage, Direct iCloud Drive integration, Instant capture field, Advanced search and tagging, Full Markdown support, JSON Canvas board integration, Note version history

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is em free?

em costs $19.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Skein Notes free?

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

### Which has better reviews, em or Skein Notes?

em and Skein Notes are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 1 and 1 ratings respectively.

### Do em or Skein Notes have ads?

Neither em nor Skein Notes shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, em or Skein Notes?

em ships an update every 9 days, and Skein Notes every 2 weeks. Most recently, em was updated on October 15, 2026 and Skein Notes on October 15, 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.*