Noteful vs StarNote
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Noteful
This app revolutionizes paperless note-taking on iPad, allowing for handwritten notes, document annotation, and knowledge organization. It offers a fluid writing experience, PDF markup, powerful tagging, and audio recording synced with notes.
- Handwritten notes with Apple Pencil
- PDF and document annotation
- Organize notes with tags
- Layers for annotations
- Audio recording synced with notes
- Import PDFs and MS Office documents
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Noteful is your one-stop note-taking app to experience the new paperless revolution on iPad. Perfect for annotating documents, taking class notes or even building your personal knowledge system. It is time to put aside the paper clutter, as Noteful is a versatile tool that helps you to accelerate your learning and knowledge work. Take Beautiful Handwritten Notes • Natural, fluid and precise handwriting experience • Precise handwriting on iPad with Apple Pencil native support • Custom-built ink engine InfiniteStroke that captures and converts your strokes into high-resolution vector ink • 3 brushes available: ballpoint pen, fountain pen and highlighter • Switch between pen sizes and colours • Recognise geometrical shapes Markup, Highlight, Annotate • Import PDFs, MS Office documents to a notebook • Add images, shapes and typed text to notes • Use multiple paper templates in a single notebook • Export and share handwritten annotations as PDF • Use Quick Create to create a new notebook for quick sketching Powerful Tagging • Organise quickly by tagging with #tag or even #nested/tag anywhere in notebooks • More flexible than folders; Notes can be organised by subjects, by topics or by priorities • Browse notebooks or pages by tags • Rename, delete or re-assign tags to easily re-organise your library Layers in Notebook • Add annotation on separate layers without changing original content* • Hide or show layers independently • Rearrange layers • Make it possible to composite complex layout* All Your Notes, All the Time • Sync to all your iPhone and iPad devices* • Take textbooks, slides, handwritten notes and PDF documents with you wherever you go • Notebooks synced with iCloud are encrypted via account-based keys Powerful Editing • Erase strokes with eraser • Double tap on Apple Pencil to switch to eraser tool • Move and resize annotations with lasso tool • Unlimited undo, redo • Support Split View for multitasking Audio Record Notes • Record audio while you take notes • Audio playback position synced with the notes Modern App Design • A minimalist UI that maximizes content space • Streamlined design that requires fewer taps for common functions • Different orientations are available for the main toolbar • A clean UI that lets you focus on note-taking and the content We will be adding new features so please stay tuned for future updates. — Noteful is free to use without time limit but with certain features (marked with*) only available to users who upgrade to Noteful Pro via In-app purchase. Noteful Pro is available for one-time purchase and the features will be unlocked forever. — If you have support questions or product suggestions, please contact us by support. Wishing you happy note-taking! Customer Support: support@getnoteful.com Privacy Policy: https://www.getnoteful.com/privacy
StarNote
This app offers a realistic pen-on-paper handwriting experience on tablets with an infinite canvas for notes and sketches. It includes advanced layering, PDF annotation, and a robust organizer for efficient digital note-taking and planning.
- Realistic low-latency handwriting
- Infinite canvas for unlimited space
- Layered design for complex projects
- Deep PDF annotation and markup
- Robust file management and search
- Lifetime access with one-time purchase
- Free templates and digital assets
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StarNote is a clean and powerful note-taking app for handwriting, PDF annotation, study, work, and everyday planning. Write naturally with your stylus, organize notebooks, mark up PDFs, and keep all your ideas in one simple workspace. Built for students, professionals, and tablet users, StarNote helps you take class notes, review lecture slides, annotate documents, plan your day, and build a paperless study or work system. With smooth handwriting, flexible notebooks, PDF markup, and digital planning tools, StarNote makes it easy to capture ideas and stay organized. No monthly subscription. Choose a one-time purchase and enjoy a long-term note-taking tool without ongoing fees. Download StarNote and start building your digital notebook today.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ratings volume: Noteful at 24K against StarNote's 124. Noteful also leads on review sentiment (87% vs 74%) and monetization model (freemium vs paid). On price, rating, update cadence and ads 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
Both are free to download. Noteful sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and StarNote sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Noteful holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Noteful has 24K ratings behind it against 124, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 87% of Noteful's written reviews are positive against 74% of StarNote's.
Noteful ships an update fortnightly, StarNote every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Noteful | StarNote |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (24K ratings) — better | 4.6 (124 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 87.0% of reviews — better | 74.4% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 24K — better | 124 |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly — better | Every 2 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Freemium — better | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.4 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 157 MB | 422 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Noteful Technologies Ltd | Onyx International Inc. |
Customer experience
Noteful
StarNote
Bugs and requests
Noteful
Reported bugs
3 issues- Syncing issues across devices
- Lasso tool not working properly with PDFs
- Eraser tool not functioning as expected
Requested features
6 requests- Handwriting recognition and search
- More text editing options (bullet lists, etc.)
- Improved PDF handling and annotations
- Custom templates and sticker support
- Expanded cloud storage options (Dropbox, OneDrive, etc.)
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- Customizable pen pressure and smoothing
StarNote
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Noteful
- Noteful Pro, Lifetime$6.99
StarNote
- StarNote AI Trial$0.99
- Templates\Stickers$3.90
- Templates\Stickers$4.49
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- StarNote Lifetime PRO$5.99
- Templates\Stickers$6.69
- Templates\Stickers$7.79
- Templates\Stickers$9.79
- Templates\Stickers$9.99
- Templates\Stickers$12.99
- StarNote AI Pro$22.99








