Is RemNote or Ulysses better?

Neither clearly leads. RemNote starts at Free and Ulysses at $5.99/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, RemNote or Ulysses?

RemNote has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for RemNote and $5.99/month for Ulysses.

Does RemNote or Ulysses run on more platforms?

RemNote runs on Web. Ulysses runs on MacOS, IOS, IPadOS.

Can I use RemNote for free?

Yes. RemNote has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Ulysses starts at $5.99/month.

What is RemNote best used for?

RemNote is most often used for medical or law study where the sheer volume of material makes maintaining a separate flashcard deck impractical., annotating lecture slides and textbook pdfs so that highlights become review material directly., learning anatomy or any diagram-heavy subject where image occlusion is the effective card type., language learning where vocabulary emerges from reading notes rather than from a prepared deck.. Of those, medical or law study where the sheer volume of material makes maintaining a separate flashcard deck impractical. and annotating lecture slides and textbook pdfs so that highlights become review material directly. are not what Ulysses is typically brought in for.

What can RemNote do that Ulysses cannot?

RemNote covers Notes and cards in one document, Spaced repetition scheduler, PDF annotation, Image occlusion. Ulysses covers Distraction-free writing, Markdown support, Syntax highlighting, Organization with sheets and groups.

Productivity · head to head

RemNote vs Ulysses

RemNote

Productivity

Note-taking where lines become spaced repetition flashcards as you write them

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

Ulysses

Productivity

Distraction-free writing application for creative professionals

From: $5.99/month
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Only RemNote has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
Each has a real cost: RemNote the free plan is unlimited on notes and flashcards but meters exactly what a student needs, at three annotated PDFs, five image-occlusion images and one handwritten document, so the trigger to pay arrives in the first week of a term rather than after a year.; Ulysses no free tier available
They diverge on capability: RemNote covers Notes and cards in one document, Ulysses covers Distraction-free writing.
Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which RemNote and Ulysses actually diverge.

Attributes where RemNote and Ulysses differ
Attribute	RemNote	Ulysses
Starting price	Free	$5.99/month
Pricing model	freemium	subscription
Free tier	Yes	No
Platforms	Web	MacOS, IOS, IPadOS
Founded	Unknown	2003

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Productivity).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in RemNote

Notes and cards in one document
Spaced repetition scheduler
PDF annotation
Image occlusion
Handwriting documents
Exam scheduler
Unlimited notes and devices
Metered AI credits

Only in Ulysses

Distraction-free writing
Markdown support
Syntax highlighting
Organization with sheets and groups
iCloud sync
Dark and light themes
Full-screen mode
Search and filter

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

RemNote

Medical or law study where the sheer volume of material makes maintaining a separate flashcard deck impractical.not Ulysses
Annotating lecture slides and textbook PDFs so that highlights become review material directly.not Ulysses
Learning anatomy or any diagram-heavy subject where image occlusion is the effective card type.not Ulysses
Language learning where vocabulary emerges from reading notes rather than from a prepared deck.not Ulysses

Ulysses

Writing and editing on Apple devicesnot RemNote
Cross-device document synchronizationnot RemNote
Markdown-based writingnot RemNote

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

RemNote

The free plan is unlimited on notes and flashcards but meters exactly what a student needs, at three annotated PDFs, five image-occlusion images and one handwritten document, so the trigger to pay arrives in the first week of a term rather than after a year.
Notes can be exported as text, but the review history and scheduling state cannot be carried into another spaced repetition system, and after a year of study that scheduling state is the real asset rather than the notes.
Knowledge bases built over several years slow the application down, and because the method depends on daily reviews, the performance problems arrive exactly when you have the most invested and the least appetite to move.
AI features are metered in credits at a hundred a month on the free plan, and the tier that makes them usable costs more than double the standard paid plan, so the AI is effectively a second purchase rather than a feature of the product.
It is a small independent vendor serving individual students, with no organisational sales underwriting it, so anyone committing several years of study material is betting on the company's continuity without an institutional customer base as a safety net.

Ulysses

No free tier available
Only subscription model, no one-time purchase option
Family Sharing limited to 5 additional members (6 total users)

Pricing, plan by plan

RemNote

Free

Free PlanFree
- Unlimited notes and flashcards
- 3 annotated PDFs
- 5 image occlusion cards
Pro$8/month
- All Free features
- Unlimited PDF annotation and image occlusion
- Tables and templates
Pro with AI$18/month
- All Pro features
- 20000 AI credits monthly
- Unlimited flashcard explanations

Ulysses

$5.99/month

Annual Subscription$39.99/year
- Ulysses on all Macs, iPads, and iPhones
- Full iCloud synchronization
- Frequent improvements and updates
Monthly Subscription$5.99/month
- Ulysses on all Macs, iPads, and iPhones
- Full iCloud synchronization
- Frequent improvements and updates

Which should you pick?

Choose RemNote if

You need notes and cards in one document.
You want to start without paying.
You also want spaced repetition scheduler.

RemNote review

Choose Ulysses if

You need distraction-free writing.
You work on MacOS, IOS, IPadOS.
You also want markdown support.

Ulysses review

Questions people ask

Is RemNote or Ulysses better?: Neither clearly leads. RemNote starts at Free and Ulysses at $5.99/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, RemNote or Ulysses?: RemNote has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for RemNote and $5.99/month for Ulysses.
Does RemNote or Ulysses run on more platforms?: RemNote runs on Web. Ulysses runs on MacOS, IOS, IPadOS.
Can I use RemNote for free?: Yes. RemNote has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Ulysses starts at $5.99/month.
What is RemNote best used for?: RemNote is most often used for medical or law study where the sheer volume of material makes maintaining a separate flashcard deck impractical., annotating lecture slides and textbook pdfs so that highlights become review material directly., learning anatomy or any diagram-heavy subject where image occlusion is the effective card type., language learning where vocabulary emerges from reading notes rather than from a prepared deck.. Of those, medical or law study where the sheer volume of material makes maintaining a separate flashcard deck impractical. and annotating lecture slides and textbook pdfs so that highlights become review material directly. are not what Ulysses is typically brought in for.
What can RemNote do that Ulysses cannot?: RemNote covers Notes and cards in one document, Spaced repetition scheduler, PDF annotation, Image occlusion. Ulysses covers Distraction-free writing, Markdown support, Syntax highlighting, Organization with sheets and groups.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

RemNote: How is it different from Anki?

Anki is a flashcard system you feed, free and open with an enormous library of shared decks and a long record of stability. RemNote generates the cards from notes you are already writing, which saves the copying step but ties the cards to one vendor.

Ulysses: What are Ulysses pricing options?

Ulysses costs $39.99 per year (annual) or $5.99 per month (monthly). Student discounts are available. Volume licensing is available for businesses through their licensing portal.

Source

RemNote: Does it work offline?

An offline mode is offered. Sync conflicts across devices are the usual caveat, so test it with your own workflow before depending on it during an exam period.

Ulysses: Does Ulysses include Family Sharing?

Yes, both annual and monthly Ulysses subscriptions include Apple Family Sharing, allowing up to five additional family members to use Ulysses on their devices at no extra cost.

Source

RemNote: What does the free plan actually restrict?

Not notes or flashcards, which are unlimited, and not the number of devices. It restricts annotated PDFs, image occlusion images, handwritten documents, daily uploads and AI credits.

Ulysses: Can I get Ulysses through a subscription service?

Yes, Ulysses is available through the Setapp subscription service as an alternative to direct subscription. Volume licensing is also available for businesses and organizations through their licensing portal.

Source

RemNote: Can I get my material out?

Notes export in text form. The scheduling state and review history do not transfer, so leaving means keeping your notes and restarting the review cycle from nothing.

Ulysses: Does Ulysses pricing vary by location?

Prices listed apply to the U.S., and local pricing may differ in other regions. Check your regional App Store for exact pricing.

Source

RemNote vs Ulysses

RemNote

Ulysses

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in RemNote

Only in Ulysses

What people use each for

RemNote

Ulysses

Where each one falls short

RemNote

Ulysses

Pricing, plan by plan

RemNote

Ulysses

Which should you pick?

Choose RemNote if

Choose Ulysses if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on RemNote

More on Ulysses

Keep looking

Other head to heads