Comparison

Marko vs Climb Time

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

Head to head
About

Marko

Features
Read full description

Marko is a fast, native Markdown reader for iPhone and iPad. Open any .md file and read it the way it was meant to look, with real typography, syntax-highlighted code, GFM tables and task lists, Mermaid diagrams, and KaTeX math. Everything renders on your device with no network access, so your documents never leave it. Marko is a reader, not an editor. It never changes your files. Open Markdown straight from the Files app, or share it in from Mail, Safari, or any other app, and read it full-screen with an outline, find in page, and adjustable text size. It is built for the Markdown you didn't write by hand, too: the .md that AI assistants and coding agents produce, generated READMEs, and agent output. LISTEN TO ANY DOCUMENT Read Aloud speaks the rendered document and highlights each sentence as it goes, so you can follow along or put the phone down. Start anywhere with Read from Here, adjust the speaking rate, and control it from the Lock Screen. Ask Siri to read a document and it starts hands-free. DOCUMENT INTELLIGENCE, ON DEVICE Summarize a long document, ask questions about it, or explain a selected passage. Marko can explain a Mermaid diagram too, reading the diagram itself. All processed on your device with Apple Intelligence. Nothing is sent to a server. (Requires iOS 26 or later on a device with Apple Intelligence. Explaining diagrams requires iOS 27.) TRANSLATE WITHOUT LEAVING THE PAGE Translate a document into another language in place, then switch back to the original. On device, offline, once the language is downloaded. (Requires iOS 26.4 or later.) PICK UP WHERE YOU STOPPED Marko remembers where you were in every document. For documents in iCloud Drive, that position follows you to your other devices, and Handoff moves the document itself between iPhone, iPad, and Mac. ON YOUR HOME SCREEN A Continue Reading widget shows the page you left off on and takes you straight back to it. A Recent Documents widget lists what you have been reading. Spotlight and Shortcuts can find your documents by name. HIGHLIGHTS - Native Swift and SwiftUI app for iPhone and iPad. Not a web app. - Renders fully offline. Your documents never leave your device. - Opens Markdown in place from Files, and via the share sheet from other apps. - Read Aloud with follow-along highlighting and a speaking-rate control. - On-device summarize, ask, and explain, including diagrams. - Outline, find in page, and text zoom. - Light, Dark, and System themes. - The same app on iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Marko collects no data. It has no analytics, no accounts, and makes no network requests of its own. Free. Requires iOS or iPadOS 18 or later.

About

Climb Time

Features
Read full description

Climb stairs. Earn screen time. Pick the apps you want to stop opening. When you try to open one, it stops. Climb one flight of stairs and you earn 15 minutes. Your iPhone's barometer counts the climb, so elevators and escalators do not count. **Free to use, from today. No account. No survey.** Your floors and your minutes stay on your iPhone. Nothing is sent anywhere. What you get for free • Pick the apps to block (up to 5) • 15 minutes for every flight you climb • Up to 60 minutes a day (resets at midnight) • See "45 minutes left" and "6 floors today" on the home screen Pro — and yes, there is a one-time purchase • Choose 10, 15 or 30 minutes per flight • No daily cap • Block as many apps as you like $1.99 / month Ā· $11.99 / year Ā· **$29.99 once, forever** Monthly and yearly plans renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the period ends. Before you install • Climb Time needs Screen Time access. If that access is turned off, the blocks disappear with it. We tell you on the home screen and put the blocks back with one tap. • **We do not claim you can never unlock it.** You can always turn it off in Settings. What this app can do is notice when it is off, and say so. • Devices without a barometer cannot count floors. Terms and privacy Terms of Use: https://rainbowtree.work/app/terms Privacy Policy: https://rainbowtree.work/app/privacy

Screenshots

Marko4 screens
Climb Time4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Marko at none against Climb Time's 3. Marko also leads on update cadence (every 6 days vs every 6 weeks) and device support (3 vs 1). On price, ads and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price Ā· Rating Ā· Positive reviews Ā· Number of ratings Ā· Update frequency Ā· Ads Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Monetization Ā· Best chart rank Ā· Devices Ā· Requires iOS

CostPrice Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Ads Ā· Monetization

Both are free to download. Climb Time sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Marko asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Marko ships an update every 6 days, Climb Time every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 19, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences Ā· 3 level
Marko versus Climb Time: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMarkoClimb Time
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 6 days — betterEvery 6 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac — betteriPhone
Requires iOS18.017.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size19 MB9 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperYash BankaRAINBOW TREE LLC

In-app purchases

None

Marko

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Climb Time

Subscriptions2
  • Noboru Pro (Monthly)$1.991 Month
  • Noboru Pro (Yearly)$11.991 Year
One-time1
  • Noboru Pro (Lifetime)$29.99

Questions

Is Marko free?
Marko is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Climb Time free?
Climb Time is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Marko or Climb Time have ads?
Neither Marko nor Climb Time shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Marko or Climb Time?
Marko ships an update every 6 days, and Climb Time every 6 weeks. Most recently, Marko was updated on October 19, 2026 and Climb Time on October 8, 2026.

Other comparisons