# MarkNote vs Side

The clearest difference is price: Side at Free against MarkNote's $1.99. Side also leads on update cadence (daily vs every 3 weeks). MarkNote's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3). On ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Side is free to download; MarkNote costs $1.99 up front. Side sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days. MarkNote asks for nothing beyond the download.

MarkNote ships an update every 3 weeks, Side daily. The most recent releases landed on September 29, 2026 and September 18, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | MarkNote | Side |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $1.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | **[4.8 (5 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/marknote-markdown-note/id991297585/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **5** | — |
| Positive reviews | 85.7% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | **Daily** |
| Monetization | Paid | — |
| Size | 63 MB | 36 MB |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | **15.1** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [淑敏 孙](https://appshunter.io/developer/991297584) | [Adam Southey](https://appshunter.io/developer/1845845950) |

## What reviewers say

### MarkNote

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/marknote-markdown-note/id991297585)

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:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


### Side

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/side-note/id6753957693)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Side Note Pro Access (Weekly) | $4.99 | per 7 days |
| Side Note Pro Access (Monthly) | $14.99 | per month |
| Side Note Pro Access (Annual) | $119.99 | per year |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is MarkNote free?

MarkNote costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Side free?

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

### Do MarkNote or Side have ads?

Neither MarkNote nor Side shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, MarkNote or Side?

MarkNote ships an update every 3 weeks, and Side daily. Most recently, MarkNote was updated on September 29, 2026 and Side on September 18, 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.*