Comparison

Second Notes vs MarkText

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

Head to head
About

Second Notes

A text editor for creating notes with live Markdown formatting. Sync notes across your iOS devices and Mac via iCloud. Export notes as text files and import from other applications.

Highlights
  • Live Markdown formatting
  • iCloud sync
  • Cross-device compatibility (iOS/Mac)
  • Export to text file
  • Import from other apps
  • Text search
  • Keyboard shortcuts
Features
Read full description

Second Notes is an text editor for making a note with Live Markdown in your iCloud folder. You can share the note with your iOS devices via Second Notes for Mac. And Live Markdown automatically indents lists and quoted strings, and changes font to bold or italic. ## Features - Typing text with Live Markdown - iCloud and Second Notes for iOS - Exporting a note as a text file to iCloud Drive - Importing a text file from other applications - Text search in whole Notes - Keyboard shortcuts - Autosaving - Dynamic Type

About

MarkText

This app is a markdown editor and note-taking tool for iOS devices. It offers real-time syntax highlighting, conversion to various formats like HTML, PNG, and PDF, and seamless syncing across Apple devices via iCloud Drive.

Highlights
  • Real-time markdown syntax highlighting
  • Convert notes to HTML, PNG, PDF
  • Share to Evernote, Dropbox, Email
  • iCloud Drive sync across devices
  • FlowChart & Diagrams support
  • LaTeX and MathML rendering
Features
Read full description

MarkText is a minimalist, lightweight Markdown text editor with local-first storage and iCloud sync. It supports syntax highlighting and comes with multiple built‑in preview themes, ideal for notes, writing, memos, journals and quick notes. Export to PDF, PNG or HTML in one tap for easy sharing. ## Key Features - Markdown syntax highlighting. - Built‑in HTML previews with various styles. - Move cursor by sliding the toolbar above the keyboard; - Simple import & export, edit files in Files app in place. - One-tap conversion to long image, multi-images, PDF or HTML. - Easily share to Dropbox, Email, or open with other apps. - Full-text search, word count, regex find & replace; - Sync between iPhone, iPad and Mac via iCloud Drive. - Mermaid and Graphviz support for editing and previewing flowcharts & diagrams. - MathJax support to edit and preview mathematical formulas. ## Import & Export Multiple import and export methods available - Directly manage file list via the Files app. - Import / export files through iTunes. - Upload and download files over WiFi. - Share MD, HTML, PNG, PDF files to other apps. ## Keyboard Toolbar - Tap buttons to quickly insert Tabs, headings, lists, code blocks, images, hyperlinks and more. - Customize toolbar buttons and reorder them. - Swipe toolbar left/right to move cursor fast. - Pinch toolbar with two fingers for quick text selection. - Custom quick input phrases and templates supported. ## Syntax Highlighting & HTML Preview - Built-in preview themes for light and dark modes. - Customizable preview style for code blocks. - Supports multiple Markdown flavors: Standard Markdown, MultiMarkdown, GitHub Flavored Markdown. ### GMF (GitHub Flavored Markdown) Syntax Supports extended syntax: strikethrough, tables, task lists, code blocks. #### Task Lists Lists starting with [ ] or [x] indicate incomplete or completed tasks. Example: - [ ] Incomplete - [x] Completed ## iCloud Drive Sync - Automatically sync and store all note files across your devices via iCloud Drive. - View synced note files inside the iCloud Drive folder on Mac. ## Supported File Extensions md, mmd, markdown, markdn, mdown, mkdn, markd, txt, text, etc. ## Other Features - Swipe left on note item to delete; long press to rename. - Add "#Hashtag" or "@Mention" inside notes to create tag categories, equivalent to folders. - Deleted notes go to Trash and stay there until permanently removed. ## scheme - Open App: marktext://x-url-callback/ - Open note: marktext://x-url-callback/open?name=xx - New note: marktext://x-url-callback/new?content=xx - New note from pasteboard: marktext://x-url-callback/new?pasteboard=1 If you have questions or suggestions, contact: xappbox+mt@gmail.com

Screenshots

Second Notes4 screens
MarkText4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: MarkText at 54% against Second Notes's 0%. Second Notes's advantage is price ($0.99 vs $3.99). On update cadence, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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

Second Notes costs $0.99 and MarkText $3.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Second Notes ships an update every 6 months, MarkText every 4 months. Both last shipped on November 1, 2026.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Second Notes versus MarkText: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSecond NotesMarkText
Price$0.99 — better$3.99
Rating—3.0 (3 ratings) — better
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews54.2% of reviews — better
Number of ratings—3 — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 monthsEvery 4 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS1414.0
Further details — not scored
Size1 MB14 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperGoldbug Software刘生 林

Customer experience

Second Notes

Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

MarkText

All ratings3 ratings
Positive33.3%
Neutral33.3%
Negative33.3%
Written reviews24 reviews
Positive54.2%
Neutral20.8%
Negative25.0%

In-app purchases

None

Second Notes

No in-app purchases

None

MarkText

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Second Notes free?
Second Notes costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is MarkText free?
MarkText costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do Second Notes or MarkText have ads?
Neither Second Notes nor MarkText shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Second Notes or MarkText?
Second Notes ships an update every 6 months, and MarkText every 4 months. Most recently, Second Notes was updated on November 1, 2026 and MarkText on November 1, 2026.

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