Comparison

Stardate vs Outerline

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

Head to head
About

Stardate

Record and transcribe voice notes instantly from your Apple Watch or iPhone. Enjoy complete privacy with 100% local processing and offline functionality. Access your audio and text files easily via iCloud Drive.

Highlights
  • One-tap voice note transcription
  • Offline functionality
  • 100% local processing
  • Unlimited recording length
  • iCloud Drive integration
  • Searchable notes
Features
Read full description

* Transcribe super fast voice notes from Apple Watch or iPhone with one tap. * Works offline. No servers involved. * Transcription is 100% local to your device. Keep your notes private! * No forced limits on recording length or number of recordings. * Copy all or some of your entries straight from the search bar. * Audio and text files are saved to iCloud Drive for easy access from Finder.

About

Outerline

A fast, fluid Markdown editor for macOS and iOS that prioritizes your writing and file ownership. It offers robust features for organizing, linking, and exporting notes, all while working offline and without requiring an account.

Highlights
  • Offline Markdown editing
  • File ownership with .md files
  • Live syntax highlighting
  • Keyboard toolbar for formatting
  • In-document search and word count
  • Wiki links and note connections
  • Export to Markdown, HTML, PDF
  • Mermaid diagram rendering
Read full description

Outerline gives you space to think and space to write. A fast, fluid Markdown editor with no server, no database, and no clutter. Truly native on macOS and iOS. It works offline, opens instantly, and stays out of your way so you can just write. YOUR FILES STAY YOURS Every note is an ordinary .md file in a folder you choose, on your iPhone, in iCloud Drive, or anywhere in Files. No proprietary format and no account required to write. Open the same folder in any other Markdown app whenever you like, and take your work with you if you ever leave. A WRITING SURFACE, NOT A DASHBOARD • Live syntax highlighting, with each heading level at its own size • A keyboard toolbar with the formatting you actually reach for • Smart lists that continue, indent, and break out the way you expect • Auto-pairing brackets, quotes, and backticks • In-document search, word count, and reading time • Editor and preview, a tap apart • Choose your typeface, size, line height, and preview theme • Autosave, so a draft is never waiting on you to remember FIND ANYTHING FAST Full-text search across your whole library. Nested folders, Starred and All Documents views, and colored #tags you write inline and filter by later. Swipe to star, move, or delete. CONNECT YOUR IDEAS Link notes with [[wiki links]] and an autocomplete palette. The inspector shows what points here, each with a line of context and the folder it came from, keeps every external link in one place, and jumps you to any heading in the document. ANNOTATE WITHOUT TOUCHING THE MARKDOWN Highlight passages in five colors, attach notes to them, and leave anchored comments on any selection. Annotations live beside your files, so your Markdown stays clean and portable. NEVER LOSE A DRAFT Automatic timestamped snapshots, a diff viewer, and one-tap restore. Deleted notes move to Recently Deleted, where you can bring them back. WORK WITH SIRI AND SHORTCUTS Ask Siri to create or find a note, and use Shortcuts to open or append to one. On iOS 27, Siri and Apple Intelligence can use the open document as context on supported devices. Availability depends on language, region, and system settings. No Outerline account or subscription required. EXPORT, DIAGRAM, AND BACK UP Export any note as Markdown, HTML, or PDF. Write Mermaid diagrams in fenced code blocks and see them render in preview and in exports, entirely offline. Zip your whole library, metadata included, whenever you want a backup. THE SAME NOTES ON YOUR MAC This is the whole app, not a companion. Outerline for macOS syncs the same library as iOS, while adding split view, Quick Look, and an optional local Model Context Protocol server for AI assistants. Buy Outerline once on either platform and use it on both. Your Outerline account and Publish subscription carry across seamlessly. OUTERLINE PUBLISH (OPTIONAL) Publish a note to a link anyone can open, then keep it current as you save. Publishing needs a free Outerline account and an Outerline Publish subscription. Everything else in Outerline works without either. Outerline Publish is an auto-renewing monthly subscription. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase, and renews automatically unless you turn it off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel in your Apple Account settings. Terms of Use: https://outerline.so/support/terms/ Privacy Policy: https://outerline.so/support/privacy/

Screenshots

Stardate4 screens
Outerline4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Stardate at Free against Outerline's $9.99. Stardate also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 4) and ratings volume (23 vs 3). Outerline's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.6) and review sentiment (100% vs 79%). On 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Stardate is free to download; Outerline costs $9.99 up front. Outerline sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Stardate asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Outerline holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Stardate has 23 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 79% of Stardate's written reviews are positive against 100% of Outerline's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Stardate ships an update every 3 weeks, Outerline every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
Stardate versus Outerline: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStardateOuterline
PriceFree — better$9.99
Rating4.6 (23 ratings)5.0 (3 ratings) — better
Positive reviews78.6% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings23 — better3
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 4 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, Apple WatchiPhone, Mac
Requires iOS18.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size11 MB28 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperNeptune Day, LLCAdam Goehrig-Bawany

Customer experience

Stardate

All ratings23 ratings
Positive87.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative13.0%
Written reviews14 reviews
Positive78.6%
Neutral0.0%
Negative21.4%

Outerline

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Stardate

No in-app purchases

4 purchases

Outerline

Subscriptions1
  • Outerline Publish$1.991 Month
One-time3
  • Small Tip$1.99
  • Outerline Tip Medium$4.99
  • Large Tip$9.99

Questions

Is Stardate free?
Stardate is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Outerline free?
Outerline costs $9.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Stardate or Outerline?
Outerline is rated higher. Stardate averages 4.6 out of 5 from 23 ratings, while Outerline averages 5.0 from 3 ratings.
Do Stardate or Outerline have ads?
Neither Stardate nor Outerline shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Stardate or Outerline?
Stardate ships an update every 3 weeks, and Outerline every 4 days. Most recently, Stardate was updated on October 14, 2026 and Outerline on October 5, 2026.

Other comparisons