Comparison

Freenotes® vs StarNote

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Freenotes®

This AI-powered digital notepad transforms your device into an intelligent workspace. It offers handwriting recognition, PDF annotation, and AI assistance for summarizing documents, answering questions, and aiding in study. Organize notes, sketch ideas, and sync across devices for a seamless paperless experience.

Highlights
  • AI Summaries and Chat with PDFs
  • AI Homework and Study Helper
  • Handwritten Note Organization
  • OCR Search and PDF Annotation
  • Infinite Canvas and Shape Recognition
  • Active Recall Tape and Flashcards
  • Picture-in-Picture Video Note-Taking
Features
Read full description

Freenotes: Freedom to write, organize, and shine Transform your iPad into a powerful AI-driven digital notepad. Freenotes is an all-in-one workspace designed for students and professionals who want the natural feel of handwriting with the power of artificial intelligence. Whether you are annotating a complex PDF, planning your week, or recording a lecture, Freenotes helps you stay organized with seamless, free-form experience. AI Summary Quickly find key points and action items from long recordings or documents. AI Chat with PDF Ask questions directly to your imported files to get instant answers. AI Homework Helper Take a screenshot or upload a document (PDF or photo) to instantly get answers. AI Study Companion Clarify concepts, define terms, and check your handwritten notes for accuracy, turning passive review into active recall. Organize Notes Categorize and organize your notes by projects, courses, or topics, automating the organization of your note library. Quick Search via OCR Search through your handwritten scripts easily using accurate text recognition. PDF Annotation Highlight, underline, and add comments to documents with custom pen styles. Infinite Canvas Sketch ideas or mind map on a whiteboard that expands as you work. Apple Pencil Pro Support Experience low-latency writing that feels like real paper. Shape Recognition Turn rough drawings into clean, perfect geometric shapes for diagrams. Hyperlink Support Navigate through digital planners using clickable internal and external links. Active Recall Tape Hide specific parts of your notes to test your memory and study better. Paper Templates Access various backgrounds including grid, Cornell, and dotted paper. Flashcards Build study sets directly from your pages to help with exam prep. Seamless Video Learning Use Picture-in-Picture (PiP) to take notes while watching online videos (YouTube, lecture recordings), and instantly capture relevant screenshots directly into your notes. iCloud & Google Drive Sync Securely back up your digital notebook to access your data anywhere. Who is Freenotes For? Students: Create study guides, annotate lecture slides, and use the "Active Recall" tape tool for exam prep. Professionals: Record meetings, organize projects into folders, and sign PDF documents on the go. Creatives: Sketch ideas on an infinite whiteboard and export high-quality files to share with your team. Join over 1 million happy users transitioning to a smarter, paperless future. Try Freenotes today and experience the next era of AI note-taking. Privacy Policy: https://www.freenotetech.com/policy/ Terms of Service: https://www.freenotetech.com/terms/

About

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.

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
Read full description

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

Freenotes®4 screens
StarNote4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ratings volume: Freenotes® at 63K against StarNote's 94. Freenotes® also leads on monetization model (free with in-app purchases vs paid) and update cadence (weekly vs every 2 weeks). StarNote's advantage is review sentiment (74% vs 60%). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Freenotes® sells 18 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per 7 days and StarNote sells 21 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Freenotes® against 4.6 for StarNote. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Freenotes® has 63K ratings behind it against 94, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 60% of Freenotes®'s written reviews are positive against 74% of StarNote's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Freenotes® ships an update weekly, StarNote every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Freenotes® versus StarNote: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFreenotes®StarNote
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (63K ratings) — better4.6 (94 ratings)
Positive reviews59.5% of reviews74.4% of reviews — better
Number of ratings63K — better94
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 2 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.515.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size711 MB422 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperFree Notes AI Note Taker LTDOnyx International Inc.

Customer experience

Freenotes®

All ratings62,856 ratings
Positive92.0%
Neutral2.9%
Negative5.2%
Written reviews2,430 reviews
Positive59.5%
Neutral5.7%
Negative34.8%

StarNote

All ratings94 ratings
Positive89.4%
Neutral5.3%
Negative5.3%
Written reviews90 reviews
Positive74.4%
Neutral14.4%
Negative11.1%

Bugs and requests

Freenotes®

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Occasional freezing or lagging when writing/drawing
  • Issues with the shape recognition tool not working as expected
  • Problems with the eraser tool not functioning properly

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add handwriting recognition and search functionality
  • Improve iCloud sync and backup capabilities
  • Expand pen/pencil customization options
  • Implement support for external links and clickable content
  • Introduce features for easier notebook organization and splitting

StarNote

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

18 purchases

Freenotes®

Subscriptions11
  • Freenotes Weekly Plus Member$1.997 Days
  • Freenotes Weekly Pro Member$6.997 Days
  • Premium Freenotes AI Weekly7 Days trial$6.997 Days
Show 8 more
  • Freenotes Yearly Plus Member$9.991 Year
  • Freenotes Yearly Plus Member1 Year trial2 variants$9.991 Year
  • Monthly Pro Member Promotion1 Month trial$19.991 Month
  • Freenotes Monthly Pro Member$19.991 Month
  • Premium Freenotes AI Monthly1 Month trial$19.991 Month
  • Freenotes Yearly Pro Member1 Year trial$39.991 Year
  • Yearly Pro Member Discount1 Year trial$39.991 Year
  • Freenotes Yearly Pro Member$39.991 Year
One-time7
  • Marketplace Content$1.99
  • Marketplace Content$2.99
  • Marketplace Content$3.99
Show 4 more
  • Marketplace Content$9.99
  • Marketplace Content$10.99
  • Freenotes Remove Ads$29.99
  • Freenotes Plus Member Lifetime$29.99
21 purchases

StarNote

One-time21
  • StarNote AI Trial$0.99
  • Templates\Stickers$3.90
  • Templates\Stickers$4.49
Show 18 more
  • Templates\Stickers$4.79
  • Templates\Stickers$5.00
  • Templates\Stickers$5.79
  • StarNote Lifetime PRO$5.99
  • Templates\Stickers$6.69
  • Templates\Stickers$6.79
  • StarNote AI Plus$6.99
  • Templates\Stickers$7.79
  • Templates\Stickers$8.99
  • Templates\Stickers$9.79
  • Templates\Stickers$9.99
  • Templates\Stickers$10.99
  • Templates\Stickers$11.49
  • Templates\Stickers$11.90
  • Templates\Stickers$12.99
  • StarNote AI Pro$22.99
  • Templates\Stickers$38.90
  • Templates\Stickers$42.90

Questions

Is Freenotes® free?
Freenotes® 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, Freenotes® or StarNote?
Freenotes® is rated higher. Freenotes® averages 4.7 out of 5 from 63K ratings, while StarNote averages 4.6 from 94 ratings.
Do Freenotes® or StarNote have ads?
Neither Freenotes® nor StarNote shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Freenotes® or StarNote?
Freenotes® ships an update weekly, and StarNote every 2 weeks. Most recently, Freenotes® was updated on October 16, 2026 and StarNote on October 14, 2026.

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