Comparison

MarkNote vs Minimal | Notes

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

Head to head
About

MarkNote

Create and manage markdown notes with rich formatting, image embedding, and code snippets. Sync across Apple devices via iCloud and access notes from any web browser. Publish notes as blog posts or share them easily.

Highlights
  • Markdown editing with live preview
  • Embed photos, images, and code snippets
  • iCloud synchronization across devices
  • Web browser access for notes
  • Publish notes as blog posts
  • Graph view for note relations
Features
Read full description

Take notes with markdown. Sync notes into iCloud. Access your documents with any of your mac or iOS devices. Share your notes with your friend. You can easily embed photos, format text, create tables, send rich formatted mail message, and share and edit notes from any devices. FEATURES - Embed photos and images into note - Live preview while writing - Auto save - Send mail with rich format - Swipe to delete a note - Syntax highlighting - Embed code snippets and mathematics formulas - Click to update the task status in todo list - Review and edit your notes from any web browsers or smart devices - Sync your notes into iCloud drive, and share with all your devices. You can read and edit your notes with marknote app on iPhone/iPad or marknotes on mac - Publish your note as blog posts - Import web page shared from apps like mobile safari, save in markdown format, so that you can read it later or edit it later - graph view, visualize notes relations You have complete control to your data. SUPPORT If you have any feedback or questions, reach us by mail at marknote@aliyun.com

About

Minimal | Notes

This app offers a distraction-free writing environment inspired by meditation. It features collaborative writing, note expiration, and the ability to publish notes as websites. Organize tasks with integrated to-do lists and sync across all your Apple devices.

Highlights
  • Note Lifetime reminders
  • Collaborative writing
  • Publish notes as websites
  • Todo lists sync with Calendar
  • Beautiful formatting
  • Sync across Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch
Features
Read full description

Write with focus. Open your mind with Minimal, a meditation-inspired notes and writing app. Minimal combines thoughtful, modern design with powerful features to deliver a spacious, beautiful writing environment. • Note Lifetime • Collaborative writing • Publish notes as websites • Add Todos to the Calendar app • Beautiful formatting • Sync everywhere: Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch Minimal is a simple yet powerful notes app. Inspired by meditation, nature, and architectural design, Minimal provides a beautiful space to think, write, and organize projects. NOTE LIFETIME The Note Lifetime keeps your notebook fresh and reflective of the present moment. When a note goes unedited for a duration you choose in settings, you’ll be gently notified. This is an opportunity to review the note, act on it, or let it go. COLLABORATIVE WRITING Share notes with friends, family, and teammates. With a gentle design, writing remains focused and tranquil, even as thoughts merge and ideas multiply. Everyone receives changes as notes evolve, and multiple people can make edits at the same time without conflict. FOCUSED + SPACIOUS DESIGN Minimal is designed so only one element is ever in focus. We love the beauty of a blank page – abundant empty space allows for an ease of creative expression. PUBLISH AS WEBSITE Transform notes into beautifully-formatted websites in microseconds. TODO LISTS Todo lists are an effective way to organize projects and complete tasks. Sync with the Calendar app, get things done, and check everything off. BEAUTIFUL FORMATTING Minimal combines Markdown-style formatting with elegant typography. The result is simple, expressive notes that make it easy to think and write. SYNC EVERYWHERE Bring focus to your favorite devices. Minimal is designed for Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch. Cloud Sync is fast, reliable, and invisible. SHARE, EXPORT, IMPORT You’re in control of your notes. Share directly in iMessage, export as PDF or HTML, and use the system share mechanism to take notes anywhere. Importing links + prose into Minimal is just as easy. CUSTOMIZE EVERYTHING The best notebook is personal. We made everything in Minimal customizable, from fonts + themes to sorting notes + note actions. You can also build custom workflows using the Shortcuts app. A LITTLE GIFT Wow, thanks for reading. As a little gift for tuning in, these are our favorite musicians -> Somi, Snarky Puppy, and London Grammar. They’re jazzy and introspective, just how we like it. Enjoy. —— For help, write us at team@minimal.app or on Twitter at @minimalnotesapp. To learn about our terms + approach to privacy, visit https://minimal.app/terms. We offer a long free trial and make cancellation easy. After that, Minimal costs $4.99 per month or $49.99 per year. These prices are in USD and may vary by region. Cancel in your iTunes account settings at least 24 hours before renewal.

Screenshots

MarkNote4 screens
Minimal | Notes4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Minimal | Notes at Free against MarkNote's $1.99. Minimal | Notes also leads on ratings volume (297 vs 5) and device support (4 vs 2). MarkNote's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3). On rating, review sentiment, update cadence and ads 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

Minimal | Notes is free to download; MarkNote costs $1.99 up front. Minimal | Notes sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. MarkNote asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for MarkNote against 4.7 for Minimal | Notes. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Minimal | Notes has 297 ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 86% of MarkNote's written reviews are positive against 81% of Minimal | Notes's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

MarkNote ships an update every 4 weeks, Minimal | Notes monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 27, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
MarkNote versus Minimal | Notes: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMarkNoteMinimal | Notes
Price$1.99Free — better
Rating4.8 (5 ratings) — better4.7 (297 ratings)
Positive reviews85.7% of reviews — better81.4% of reviews
Number of ratings5297 — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 weeks — betterMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaid — betterSubscription
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS16.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size63 MB59 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developer淑敏 孙Timeless

Customer experience

MarkNote

All ratings5 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews7 reviews
Positive85.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative14.3%

Minimal | Notes

All ratings294 ratings
Positive91.8%
Neutral3.1%
Negative5.1%
Written reviews376 reviews
Positive81.4%
Neutral6.4%
Negative12.2%

Bugs and requests

MarkNote

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Minimal | Notes

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Crashes when using certain formatting or pasting content
  • Syncing issues between iOS and macOS versions
  • Incompatibility with older macOS versions

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add ability to insert images or attachments
  • Improve iCloud sync reliability
  • Implement a folder-based organization system
  • Add a word/character count feature

In-app purchases

None

MarkNote

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Minimal | Notes

Subscriptions3
  • Minimal Monthly14 Days trial$4.991 Month
  • Minimal Annual14 Days trial$49.991 Year
  • Minimal Family Plan14 Days trial$79.991 Year

Questions

Is MarkNote free?
MarkNote costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Minimal | Notes free?
Minimal | Notes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, MarkNote or Minimal | Notes?
MarkNote is rated higher. MarkNote averages 4.8 out of 5 from 5 ratings, while Minimal | Notes averages 4.7 from 297 ratings.
Do MarkNote or Minimal | Notes have ads?
Neither MarkNote nor Minimal | Notes shows ads.
Which is updated more often, MarkNote or Minimal | Notes?
MarkNote ships an update every 4 weeks, and Minimal | Notes monthly. Most recently, MarkNote was updated on October 24, 2026 and Minimal | Notes on October 27, 2026.

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