Choose Apple Notes if
your notes live on Apple devices and you mostly capture, check and share.
Choose Cambium if
you want notes stored as plain Markdown, a daily note and backlinks without building a system, or access from Android or a Windows browser.
At a glance
| Apple Notes | Cambium | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Included with Apple devices; iCloud has 5 GB free | $4.99/month or $39.99/year |
| Platforms | iPhone, iPad, Mac; iCloud.com in a browser on a Windows PC | Any modern browser, installable on phone or desktop |
| Markdown | Typed Markdown converts to rich text (iOS and macOS 26) | Stored as plain Markdown |
| Links | Link to another note by typing >> | [[links]], backlinks, unlinked mentions and a graph |
| Daily notes | No dedicated feature | One note per day, calendar, daily template |
| Export | PDF; Markdown, one note at a time, on macOS 26 | ZIP of Markdown files with attachments |
| Sharing | Collaborate by link, view or edit | Private by default; share a chosen note with your partner |
Sources: Apple Support on import and export, Markdown import, note links, collaboration, iCloud.com by device and iCloud storage.
Where Apple Notes is stronger
It's already on your phone, it's free, and it's fast. Live collaboration by link, locked notes and system-wide integration are things a browser app can't match. With macOS 26 it also understands Markdown you type and can export a note as Markdown, so it is more open than it used to be.
Where Cambium is different
Your notes are Markdown files. What you write is stored as Markdown, not converted to rich text, and exports as a ZIP of plain files you can open anywhere.
Connections without setup. Type [[ to link a note; every note shows what links to it and mentions that aren't linked yet.
A daily note. One note per day with an optional template, and a calendar to jump around. Here's a simple template to start with.
Not Apple-only. It runs in any browser, so it works on Android and Windows the same way.
Apple Notes vs Obsidian vs Cambium
Obsidian is the usual next step from Apple Notes: free, local Markdown files, huge plugin ecosystem. Cambium sits between the two, with Markdown and links but no plugins to manage.
Moving notes over
On macOS 26, export the notes you want as Markdown, then use Import notes in Cambium with the .md files or a ZIP of them. Nothing is overwritten. Start with one folder rather than everything.