# Not Emacs vs Metanote

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Not Emacs at none against Metanote's 3. Not Emacs also leads on iOS requirement (6.1 vs 14.0). Metanote's advantage is rating (4.3 vs 4.0) and review sentiment (73% vs 50%). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Metanote sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Not Emacs asks for nothing beyond the download.

Metanote holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 21 and 15 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 50% of Not Emacs's written reviews are positive against 73% of Metanote's.

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 weeks. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | Not Emacs | Metanote |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.0 (21 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/not-emacs/id948330589/reviews) | **[4.3 (15 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/metanote-notesdocsagenda/id6452550221/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **21** | 15 |
| Positive reviews | 50.0% of reviews | **72.7% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Every 2 weeks |
| Monetization | **Free** | Freemium |
| Size | 18 MB | 16 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) | [雪双 陈](https://appshunter.io/developer/1698224749) |

## 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


### Metanote

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/metanote-notesdocsagenda/id6452550221)

A privacy-focused offline editor that supports Org mode for writing, task management, and knowledge wikis. It offers real-time editing of rich content and seamless synchronization across devices.

**Highlights:** Privacy-first offline editor, Full Org mode support, Real-time rich content editing, Seamless synchronization, Integrated task management, Full-text search

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Metanote Premium | $1.99 | per month |
| Metanote Premium | $12.99 | per year |
| One-time purchase | $19.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Not Emacs free?

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

### Is Metanote free?

Metanote is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Not Emacs or Metanote?

Metanote is rated higher. Not Emacs averages 4.0 out of 5 from 21 ratings, while Metanote averages 4.3 from 15 ratings.

### Do Not Emacs or Metanote have ads?

Neither Not Emacs nor Metanote shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Not Emacs or Metanote?

Not Emacs ships an update every 2 weeks, and Metanote every 2 weeks. Most recently, Not Emacs was updated on October 24, 2026 and Metanote on October 24, 2026.

---

*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*