Comparison

MarkText vs UpNote

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

Head to head
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

About

UpNote

This app provides a clean and beautiful interface for writing and organizing notes, journals, and to-do lists. It offers rich formatting options, an intuitive organization system, and instant syncing across devices, with offline capabilities. Premium features include enhanced security and export options.

Highlights
  • Rich text editor with formatting tools
  • Intuitive organizing system (notebooks, pins, links)
  • Secure note locking with Touch/Face ID
  • Instant cross-device syncing and offline access
  • Markdown support and export
  • Task management and to-do lists
Features
Read full description

UpNote is a clean and beautiful app for writing and organizing. It's easy to use with rich features and delightful experience. UpNote is designed to help you take notes easily and stay focused on what matters most. UpNote has beautiful fonts and elegant themes that you can adjust to make your writing experience most comfortable and pleasant. UpNote is an ideal place to keep your diary and journal. It has a powerful lock feature so that you can rest assured that your notes stay private and secure. You can also use Touch ID or Face ID to securely unlock your notes. UpNote’s intuitive organizing system will keep your note space neat and light. There are many ways to organize your notes: putting them into notebooks, pinning your notes to the top of the note list, bookmarking them for quick reference or linking to other notes. You can also close any notebooks to focus on only most important one. UpNote’s rich editor makes it perfect for planning and managing your tasks. Simply write down your to-do list and have them synced to all your devices. UpNote offers highlight, text colors, table, nested list, code and many other important formatting tools so that you could easily format your notes. UpNote syncs notes instantly on all devices. It also works reliably offline, so you could take note anytime, anywhere. If you are a markdown user, UpNote is great for you too. It has intuitive shortcuts based on markdown, which makes it more fun to write notes. You can also export your notes to Markdown or PDF. Try UpNote now and you will fall in love with it! ---- Upgrade to Premium to get full power of UpNote: - Lock your notes and notebooks - Insert table and attachments - Write unlimited number of notes - Elegant themes and notebook covers - Export to text PDF, HTML and Markdown ---- Price may vary by location. Subscriptions will be charged to your credit card through your iTunes account. Your subscription will automatically renew unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You will not be able to cancel the subscription once activated. Manage your subscriptions in Account Settings after purchase. Any unused portion of a free trial peri​od will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription. ---- If you have any question or feedback, we would love to hear it. Send an email to support@getupnote.com, and we would love to get in touch with you! ---- Privacy policy: https://getupnote.com/privacy.html Terms of use: https://getupnote.com/terms.html

Screenshots

MarkText4 screens
UpNote4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: UpNote at Free against MarkText's $3.99. UpNote also leads on rating (4.7 vs 3.0) and review sentiment (86% vs 54%). MarkText's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 8). On ads, device support and iOS requirement 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

UpNote is free to download; MarkText costs $3.99 up front. UpNote sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. MarkText asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

UpNote holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: UpNote has 1.1K ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 54% of MarkText's written reviews are positive against 86% of UpNote's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

MarkText ships an update every 4 months, UpNote weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 8, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
MarkText versus UpNote: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMarkTextUpNote
Price$3.99Free — better
Rating3.0 (3 ratings)4.7 (1.1K ratings) — better
Positive reviews54.2% of reviews85.9% of reviews — better
Number of ratings31.1K — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFreemium — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS14.0 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size14 MB81 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developer刘生 林UpNote Company Limited

Customer experience

MarkText

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

UpNote

All ratings1,067 ratings
Positive92.5%
Neutral2.8%
Negative4.7%
Written reviews766 reviews
Positive85.9%
Neutral6.0%
Negative8.1%

Bugs and requests

MarkText

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

UpNote

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Black screen issues
  • Lost notes and data
  • Incompatibility with newer iOS versions
  • Google sign-in not working

Requested features

8 requests
  • Reminders and calendar integration
  • More customization options (fonts, colors, etc.)
  • Improved drawing/handwriting support
  • PDF annotation and embedding
  • Optical character recognition (OCR)
Show 3 more
  • Ability to reorder bullets and lists
  • Improved table editing and formatting
  • Apple Watch app

In-app purchases

None

MarkText

No in-app purchases

8 purchases

UpNote

Subscriptions1
  • Premium monthly subscription$1.991 Month
One-time7
  • Life-time Upgrade$19.99
  • Life-time Upgrade to Premium$19.99
  • Life-time Upgrade$24.99
Show 4 more
  • Life-time Upgrade to Premium$24.99
  • Life-time Upgrade$29.99
  • Life-time upgrade to Premium$34.99
  • Life-time upgrade to Premium$39.99

Questions

Is MarkText free?
MarkText costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is UpNote free?
UpNote is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, MarkText or UpNote?
UpNote is rated higher. MarkText averages 3.0 out of 5 from 3 ratings, while UpNote averages 4.7 from 1.1K ratings.
Do MarkText or UpNote have ads?
Neither MarkText nor UpNote shows ads.
Which is updated more often, MarkText or UpNote?
MarkText ships an update every 4 months, and UpNote weekly. Most recently, MarkText was updated on October 8, 2026 and UpNote on October 16, 2026.

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