# Keep It Mobile vs References

The clearest difference is price: Keep It Mobile at Free against References's $4.99. Keep It Mobile also leads on ratings volume (640 vs 25). References's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and review sentiment (88% vs 57%). On update cadence, ads and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Keep It Mobile is free to download; References costs $4.99 up front. Keep It Mobile sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. References asks for nothing beyond the download.

References holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Keep It Mobile has 640 ratings behind it against 25, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 57% of Keep It Mobile's written reviews are positive against 88% of References's.

Keep It Mobile ships an update every 2 weeks, References monthly. Both last shipped on September 23, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | Keep It Mobile | References |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | **Free** | $4.99 |
| Rating | [4.5 (640 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/keep-it-mobile/id1272769808/reviews) | **[4.9 (25 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/references/id1481843213/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **640** | 25 |
| Positive reviews | 56.8% of reviews | **87.5% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 2 weeks** | Monthly |
| Monetization | **Free with in-app purchases** | Paid |
| Size | 36 MB | 55 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.6 | **18.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, Mac, Vision Pro** |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Steve Harris](https://appshunter.io/developer/405949156) | [Benjamin Burton](https://appshunter.io/developer/687735578) |

## What reviewers say

### Keep It Mobile

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/keep-it-mobile/id1272769808)

This app is a powerful notebook and document organizer for mobile devices. It allows users to create and edit various file types, scan documents, manage PDFs, and archive emails. Organize everything with folders, tags, and color-coded labels for easy retrieval.

**Highlights:** Create and edit notes, rich text, plain text, and Markdown files, Scan documents and edit PDFs, Archive emails and save web links, Organize with folders, tags, and color-coded labels, Search across file names, content, and dates, Share items via iCloud

**Features:** Family Sharing, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Keep It for iPad and iPhone | $1.99 | per month |
| Keep It for iPad and iPhone | $19.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Powerful organization features
- 🔒 Secure and private data storage
- 👍 Intuitive and clean interface
- 💡 Versatile note-taking and file management
- 🚀 Reliable syncing across devices

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent crashes and sync issues
- 💰 Subscription-only model for mobile
- 🔍 Inconsistent search and preview functionality
- 🔧 Bugs and stability problems
- 🔒 Concerns about data lock-in

**Reported bugs**

- Notes randomly disappearing after sync
- Inability to delete items from 'All Items' view
- Typing cursor issues and UI lag
- Unreliable 'Save for Offline' functionality

**Requested features**

- Add ability to edit note dates
- Improve photo and image handling
- Implement web clipping and article saving
- Add Dropbox/Google Drive sync options
- Introduce a one-time purchase option


### References

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/references/id1481843213)

Browse and interact with your BibTeX libraries on your mobile device. View references, follow links, and access file attachments like PDFs. Supports both classic BibTeX and BibLaTeX formats.

**Highlights:** Browse BibTeX libraries, Search references, Follow links (DOIs, URLs), View file attachments (PDFs), Supports BibLaTeX, Group by keywords

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Keep It Mobile free?

Keep It Mobile is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is References free?

References costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Keep It Mobile or References?

References is rated higher. Keep It Mobile averages 4.5 out of 5 from 640 ratings, while References averages 4.9 from 25 ratings.

### Do Keep It Mobile or References have ads?

Neither Keep It Mobile nor References shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Keep It Mobile or References?

Keep It Mobile ships an update every 2 weeks, and References monthly. Most recently, Keep It Mobile was updated on September 23, 2026 and References on September 23, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*