# Not Emacs vs Plain Org

The clearest difference is price: Not Emacs at Free against Plain Org's $14.99. Not Emacs also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 2 months) and iOS requirement (6.1 vs 14.0). Plain Org's advantage is rating (4.7 vs 4.0) and review sentiment (86% vs 50%). On ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Not Emacs is free to download; Plain Org costs $14.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Plain Org holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Plain Org has 156 ratings behind it against 21, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 50% of Not Emacs's written reviews are positive against 86% of Plain Org's.

Not Emacs ships an update every 2 weeks, Plain Org every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Not Emacs | Plain Org |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | **Free** | $14.99 |
| Rating | [4.0 (21 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/not-emacs/id948330589/reviews) | **[4.7 (156 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/plain-org/id1578965002/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 21 | **156** |
| Positive reviews | 50.0% of reviews | **85.7% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 2 weeks** | Every 2 months |
| Monetization | **Free** | Paid |
| Size | 18 MB | 9 MB |
| Requires iOS | **6.1** | 14.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Marc Feeley](https://appshunter.io/developer/434534079) | [Xenodium Ltd.](https://appshunter.io/developer/304568690) |

## What reviewers say

### Not Emacs

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/not-emacs/id948330589)

A programmer's text editor that mimics common Emacs keybindings and supports iCloud document syncing across devices. It offers syntax highlighting for several languages and is optimized for external keyboards, with an extended virtual keyboard as a backup.

**Highlights:** Emacs keybinding support, iCloud document editing, Syntax highlighting (Lisp, Scheme, JS, CSS, XML), External Bluetooth keyboard optimization, Extended virtual keyboard

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


### Plain Org

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/plain-org/id1578965002)

Manage your org mode tasks and notes on the go. This app offers a rich editing experience with support for various markup features, filtering, and cloud syncing. It allows for outline-style editing, task management, and customization of display modes.

**Highlights:** Rendered org markup, Filter by keyword, tag, priority, Cloud file syncing, Outline-style editing, Interactive checkboxes, Light/dark mode

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Clean, intuitive, and minimalist interface
- 🚀 Fast and lightweight performance
- 📝 Excellent for viewing and editing org files on mobile
- 🔄 Seamless sync with iCloud, Dropbox, NextCloud, and Git
- 💪 Robust org-mode implementation with tables and images

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Occasional sync issues on mobile networks
- 🐛 Copy/paste functionality unreliable
- 🐛 Text disappears when closing keyboard
- 📱 Poor iPad experience with no keyboard shortcuts
- 🐛 'What's New' dialog persists when opening via shortcuts

**Reported bugs**

- Text disappears when closing keyboard without saving
- Copy and paste doesn't work reliably
- Pasting from external sources fails
- Roam links fail to resolve
- 'What's New' dialog won't close when opening files via shortcuts

**Requested features**

- Widget support for home screen
- Agenda view across multiple files
- Apple Watch support
- Tag filtering and display
- Schedule/deadline date picker button


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Not Emacs free?

Not Emacs is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Plain Org free?

Plain Org costs $14.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Not Emacs or Plain Org?

Plain Org is rated higher. Not Emacs averages 4.0 out of 5 from 21 ratings, while Plain Org averages 4.7 from 156 ratings.

### Do Not Emacs or Plain Org have ads?

Neither Not Emacs nor Plain Org shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Not Emacs or Plain Org?

Not Emacs ships an update every 2 weeks, and Plain Org every 2 months. Most recently, Not Emacs was updated on October 16, 2026 and Plain Org on October 13, 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.*