Octarine vs UpNote
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Octarine
Local Markdown notes app with daily notes, views and optional AI
UpNote
Cross-platform notes app with a lifetime purchase option
Where they differ
- Octarine starts at $79 one-time purchase. UpNote starts at $1.99 per month, or $39.99 once for lifetime (Premium).
- Only UpNote lists iOS and Android apps.
- Octarine also covers daily notes.
- UpNote also covers web clipper and templates.
At a glance
| Octarine | UpNote | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $79 one-time purchase | $1.99 per month, or $39.99 once for lifetime (Premium) |
| Free plan | Personal: the WYSIWYG editor, unlimited workspaces, daily and weekly notes, graph view, full-text search, templates, 4 themes and txt export. The vendor says the core features will always be free. | Free to use and sync across all your devices, limited to 50 notes with basic features. Attachments, tables, locks and export need Premium. |
| Free trial | 7-day trial of Pro features included with the download | None listed |
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Rajat Kulkarni | UpNote Pte. Ltd. |
| Price read from | octarine.app | getupnote.com |
| Checked | Oct 9, 2026 | Oct 5, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Octarine
- Writers who want Markdown notes kept as local files
- People who prefer a one-time license to a subscription
- Those who want linking, daily notes and views built in, not added as plugins
UpNote
- People who prefer a one-time lifetime purchase to a subscription
- One notes app across Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS and Android
- Moving notes over from Evernote, Apple Notes, Bear or Simplenote
Worth knowing
Octarine
- Properties, filtered views, note types, focus mode, note sharing and every AI feature need the $79 Pro license.
- There is no public phone app: an iOS beta runs on TestFlight for eligible Pro users, and no Android app is listed.
- AI features need your own API key or a local model, and syncing relies on a file-sync service or the built-in Git sync.
- Pricing is early-access: the docs say the price goes up as Pro features are added, while earlier buyers keep all future Pro features.
UpNote
- The free version is limited to 50 notes; attachments, tables, locks and export need Premium.
- There is no end-to-end encryption: notes sync through Firebase and are encrypted in transit and at rest.
- Premium cannot be bought in the Windows or Linux apps; it is purchased on Mac, iOS or Android and then syncs to your account.
- Attachments are limited to 20 MB, and image resolution is reduced automatically on upload.
Key features
Octarine
- Markdown files you keep
- Notes are plain Markdown files in a workspace folder you pick, and core note-taking works offline. Files sync through any file-sync service or the built-in Git sync to GitHub or GitLab.
- Daily Desk
- Daily and weekly notes are part of the free plan, and unfinished tasks from yesterday's note can be moved into today's without copying.
- Links, backlinks and graph
- Wikilinks can point at a note or a single heading and carry an alias. Backlinks and mentions are listed in their own sheet, and a graph view maps the workspace.
- Properties and Views
- On Pro, Note Types start new notes with a set of properties, and Views filter, sort and group notes by any property in a table or kanban layout.
- Quick Capture and Inbox
- A Spotlight-style window opens over any app to take down a thought, which lands in an Inbox to be sorted into notes later.
- Ask Octarine and Writing Assistant
- On Pro, a chat over your notes can create, update and move notes, and an assistant rewrites text inline. Both need your own API key or a local LLM.
UpNote
- Notebooks, hashtags and Quick Access
- Notes are organized with nested notebooks and hashtags, can be pinned to the top of a list or added to Quick Access, and are filtered by matching keywords.
- Rich text and Markdown editor
- The editor offers rich text options, Markdown support, lists, images, links, attachments, quotes, code blocks, text highlighting and collapsible sections.
- Sync and offline use
- Notes sync automatically across devices after you sign in and can be read and written without a connection. Without an account, notes stay on the device.
- Web Clipper
- Browser extensions for Chrome, Safari and Firefox save a web page into UpNote.
- Version history, backup and export
- Version history is saved as you edit, the desktop app keeps automatic local backups, and Premium exports notes to text, PDF, HTML or Markdown.
- Focus mode, locks and sharing
- Focus mode hides the note list and menus, a note can be shared through a secret web link, and Premium adds locks for notes, notebooks and the whole app.
Plans
Octarine
Personal$0
WYSIWYG editor, unlimited workspaces, daily and weekly notes, graph view, full-text search, templates, Mermaid diagrams, 4 themes and txt export.
Pro$79
one-time purchase
Adds properties, filtered views, note types, focus mode, note sharing, AI tools, 30+ themes and PDF, HTML and DOCX export. One key works on 3 devices at a time.
UpNote
Free$0
Up to 50 notes with basic features, synced across all your devices.
Premium$1.99
per month
Unlimited notes, attachments, tables and code, locks for notes and notebooks, themes and notebook covers, and export to text, PDF, HTML and Markdown.
Premium Lifetime$39.99
one-time purchase
The same Premium features for a single payment. One purchase covers all your devices once you sign in to your UpNote account.
Ways to pay less
Octarine
No public discounts listed.
UpNote
- Lifetime license
Lifetime Premium for a one-time $39.99
Premium can be bought once for $39.99 instead of $1.99 a month. UpNote says existing lifetime licenses will still be honored if its pricing model changes.
