# Noteful vs StarNote

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.

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.

## The numbers

| Metric | Noteful | StarNote |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.8 (24K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/noteful-notes-and-pdf-markup/id1587904334/reviews)** | [4.6 (124 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/starnote-handwritten-notes/id6751570915/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **24K** | 124 |
| Positive reviews | **87.0% of reviews** | 74.4% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Fortnightly** | Every 2 weeks |
| Monetization | **Freemium** | Paid |
| Size | 157 MB | 422 MB |
| Requires iOS | 16.4 | **15.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Noteful Technologies Ltd](https://appshunter.io/developer/1587904336) | [Onyx International Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1527846836) |

## What reviewers say

### Noteful

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/noteful-notes-and-pdf-markup/id1587904334)

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.

**Highlights:** 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

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

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Noteful Pro, Lifetime | $6.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Smooth writing experience
- 👍 Intuitive and easy to use
- 💡 Layers feature
- 👍 Affordable one-time purchase
- 🚀 Efficient and lightweight

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Occasional crashes or freezes
- 🔍 No handwriting recognition or search
- 🔍 Limited text editing options
- 🔍 Lack of advanced features like math conversion
- 🔍 Exporting PDFs loses some formatting

**Reported bugs**

- Syncing issues across devices
- Lasso tool not working properly with PDFs
- Eraser tool not functioning as expected

**Requested features**

- 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.)


### StarNote

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/starnote-handwritten-notes/id6751570915)

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.

**Highlights:** 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

**In-app purchases (10)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| StarNote AI Trial | $0.99 | one-time |
| Templates\Stickers | $3.90 | one-time |
| Templates\Stickers | $4.49 | one-time |
| StarNote Lifetime PRO | $5.99 | one-time |
| Templates\Stickers | $6.69 | one-time |
| Templates\Stickers | $7.79 | one-time |
| Templates\Stickers | $9.79 | one-time |
| Templates\Stickers | $9.99 | one-time |
| Templates\Stickers | $12.99 | one-time |
| StarNote AI Pro | $22.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Noteful free?

Noteful is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is StarNote free?

StarNote is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Noteful or StarNote?

Noteful is rated higher. Noteful averages 4.8 out of 5 from 24K ratings, while StarNote averages 4.6 from 124 ratings.

### Do Noteful or StarNote have ads?

Neither Noteful nor StarNote shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Noteful or StarNote?

Noteful ships an update fortnightly, and StarNote every 2 weeks. Most recently, Noteful was updated on November 6, 2026 and StarNote on November 5, 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.*