KTrunk vs StrataRead
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
KTrunk
This note-taking app allows you to save ideas with attached files and photos. You can create links between notes and files, and synchronize your data across devices. An optional in-app purchase enables note encryption for enhanced privacy.
- Save ideas with files and photos
- Link notes to other notes and files
- Synchronize across devices via iCloud
- Notes saved in HTML format
- Optional note encryption
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Knowledge Trunk - or short KTrunk - is a note taking App. Use KTrunk to save all your ideas augmented with related files and photos. You can establish links from one note to any other note or file in KTrunk. The notes are saved in html-format and can be synchronized across your devices using iCloud. In-App-Purchases: * Privacy Allows to encrypt/decrypt your notes.
StrataRead
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StrataRead is a research library and PDF reader for people who read closely, collect evidence, and write with sources. Bring your papers, books, and reports into an organized workspace. Search your library, highlight important passages, capture notes, and carry your research into your writing without losing its connection to the original source. READ AND ANNOTATE • Read PDFs with native rendering, zooming, and navigation. • Highlight passages with color-coded annotations. • Attach notes to the text you are reading. • Review source information, notes, and extracts in the Inspector. FIND INFORMATION ACROSS YOUR LIBRARY • Search indexed PDF text as well as bibliographic metadata. • Narrow searches by fields such as author, title, and year. • Use quoted phrases and search-field autocomplete. • Filter notes and extracts to focus on passages matching your search. • Find and open sources through Spotlight and supported Siri and Shortcuts actions. KEEP YOUR RESEARCH ORGANIZED • Browse your sources in Library and return to recent reading. • Organize sources with projects, keywords, and reading status. • Explore projects, keywords, and source groups through the Library Map. • On iPad, sort table columns and preview notes and extracts without opening each PDF. • On iPhone, use a streamlined reading workspace with essential controls within reach. CAPTURE AND REUSE YOUR NOTES • Collect highlighted text and notes as source-linked extracts. • Clean up common PDF text issues, including broken lines and hyphenation. • Export notes and extracts as structured Markdown with citation information. • Create a separate Markdown file for each source. • Bring your research into StrataWrite, Obsidian, and other writing or knowledge-management tools. BUILD BETTER REFERENCES • Find bibliographic information using DOI, title, author, or ISBN. • Manage details for journal articles, books, edited volumes, chapters, theses, dissertations, reports, and webpages. • Copy formatted citations in supported styles, including APA and Chicago. • Identify records with missing metadata and PDFs needing attention. • Find open-access replacement PDFs when available. KEEP YOUR LIBRARY WITH YOU • Synchronize library records, notes, and PDFs through iCloud. • Keep downloaded PDFs available for offline reading. • Share PDFs and export your notes when it is time to collaborate or write. PRIVACY AND CONTROL Your PDFs and notes remain in your library, with iCloud synchronization available across your devices. Full-text search indexes stay on your device. Metadata lookups use online bibliographic services. StrataRead contains no advertising, tracking, or developer analytics. Privacy & AI settings explain how the app handles your information. Built for researchers, students, educators, and anyone who wants to turn careful reading into useful, well-organized knowledge.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: KTrunk at Free against StrataRead's $9.99. KTrunk also leads on iOS requirement (18.0 vs 26.0). StrataRead's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3). On update cadence, ads and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
KTrunk is free to download; StrataRead costs $9.99 up front. KTrunk sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. StrataRead asks for nothing beyond the download.
KTrunk ships an update monthly, StrataRead every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | KTrunk | StrataRead |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $9.99 |
| Rating | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 50.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 2 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 10 MB | 22 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Clemens Schuetzdeller | Stance Hurst |
In-app purchases
KTrunk
- Operating Convenience$0.99
- Privacy$1.99
- #Tag-Proposals$1.99
StrataRead
No in-app purchases









