When comparing Xournal++ vs Kate, the Slant community recommends Xournal++ for most people. In the question“What are the best note taking apps for UNIX-like systems?” Xournal++ is ranked 15th while Kate is ranked 21st. The most important reason people chose Xournal++ is:
Fill shape functionality, shape drawing (line, arrow, circle, rect, spline), shape resizing and rotation.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Advanced PDF annotation tools
Fill shape functionality, shape drawing (line, arrow, circle, rect, spline), shape resizing and rotation.
Pro Supports pen input from devices such as Wacom tablets
Pro LaTeX support (requires a working LaTeX install)
Pro PDF, PNG export
PDF Export (with and without paper style);
PNG Export (with and without transparent background)
Pro Grid and rotation snapping
Pro SUPPORT
Pro Plugins using LUA scripting
Pro Audio recording and playback alongside with handwritten notes
Pro Integrated terminal
Has a terminal that can sync to the location of your document, letting you compile or run your program quickly or run quick commands, all without leaving the editor.
Pro Project mode
Kate allows you to make projects to simplify the organisation of your code. This brings in additional organization of an IDE without the overhead.
Pro Fast and minimaistic
Kate is pretty fast and lightweight. This helps it with it's start up speed.
Pro Syntax highlighting
Kate supports syntax highlighting for over 180 languages, from Assembler to Zsh.
Pro Edit over FTP, SSH, or other protocols
Kate uses KDE's input and output libraries to read and write files, allowing seamless integration with FTP, SMB, SFTP, and many other protocols.
Pro Thriving plugin ecosystem
Lots of plugins allow Kate to expand or shrink based on your needs. It includes GDB integration, XML completion, and symbol viewing to speed up programming.
Pro By far one of the best and lightest text editors.
Notepads alternative (for the Windows users).
Pro Vi entry mode
Kate has a vi entry mode.
Cons
Con Hard to install on Windows or OS X
Kate can be a little hard to install and configure, especially for beginners.
On Linux or BSD, it can be easily installed from your distribution's repositories.