Comparison
nTilia or Zettlr: field notebook or academic writing studio?
The short answer
Zettlr is a free, open-source Markdown editor for desktop, built for academic writing: Zotero citations, thousands of styles, Pandoc export to Word, PDF or LaTeX. nTilia is an offline notes app for field work, on the phone: records, audio transcribed on the device, then an article published with a Zenodo DOI. To write your thesis at your desk, choose Zettlr; for your field notebook and its citable publication, choose nTilia.
nTilia and Zettlr, side by side
| Criterion | nTilia | Zettlr |
|---|---|---|
| PriceZettlr’s edge | Free; Pro at $14/mo | Free and open source |
| PlatformsnTilia’s edge | Phone and computer (installable app, PWA) | Desktop only: Windows, macOS, Linux |
| FilesZettlr’s edge | Markdown in the app; ZIP export per Mission, .md import | Markdown files on your disk, wherever you keep them |
| Citations while writingZettlr’s edge | [@citekey] from a local Zotero / BibTeX file | Zotero, JabRef, Juris-M; over 9,000 citation styles |
| ExportZettlr’s edge | Mission .docx export (science profile), preprint PDF | Pandoc export: Word, PDF, LaTeX, journal templates, slides |
| Field and audionTilia’s edge | Offline capture on the phone, photo, place and GPS; on-device Whisper transcription (Pro) | No audio recording or transcription |
| SyncTie | Included (25 articles a month on Free); not end-to-end, so the published journal stays readable; “device” notes never synced | No imposed sync; you manage it yourself |
| Citable publishingnTilia’s edge | Public journal, abstract and ORCID co-authors, Cite block, one-click Zenodo DOI (Pro) | No built-in publishing |
Choose nTilia if…
- you take your field records on the phone, often without a network;
- you record interviews to transcribe without sending them to the cloud;
- you want to publish a citable field note, with a DOI;
- you want to declare an abstract and ORCID co-authors without leaving the editor.
Choose Zettlr if…
- you write a paper, dissertation or thesis on a computer;
- you need one specific citation style among thousands;
- you export to Word, LaTeX or a journal template;
- you care about free software and files on your own disk.
Two stages of the same work
Zettlr shines at the desk, when it is time to write: citations managed from Zotero, thousands of styles, Pandoc export to whatever format the journal requires. It is free, open-source software that leaves your files wherever you keep them.
nTilia comes in earlier, in the field: offline records on the phone, photo and GPS, interviews transcribed on the device. Then it publishes: abstract, ORCID co-authors and a Zenodo DOI.
Using them together
Both speak Markdown. Export an nTilia Mission as a ZIP of .md files and open them in Zettlr to write the long article. The [@citekey] entries typed in nTilia stay readable.
Frequently asked questions
Does Zettlr have a mobile app?
No, Zettlr runs on desktop (Windows, macOS, Linux). nTilia runs on phone and computer, offline.
Can nTilia replace Zettlr for writing a thesis?
No. For long-form writing with precise citation styles and Pandoc export, Zettlr is a better fit. nTilia serves field work and the publication of citable notes.
Can I move my notes from nTilia to Zettlr?
Yes: export the Mission as Markdown files and open them in Zettlr.
Which one gives me a DOI?
nTilia, from Pro: one click deposits the article on Zenodo (preprint PDF and Markdown source) and the DOI comes back in the Cite block. Zettlr has no built-in publishing.
Sources, checked on
Free · No credit card · Works offline