Comparison

The Stack vs BookStax

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

Head to head
About

The Stack

This app offers a straightforward approach to managing tasks and capturing thoughts. It utilizes a single list of text-based notes organized with hashtags for easy retrieval and organization.

Highlights
  • Simple text-based notes
  • Hashtag organization
  • Easy idea capture
  • To-do list management
  • Streamlined interface
Features
Read full description

The Stack is a different take on To-Do List management. It favours simplicity, and encourages easy capture of your thoughts ("notes to self") as you have them. It uses a single list of simple text-based notes, organised using #hashtags.

About

BookStax

Access and manage your self-hosted BookStack knowledge base natively on iPhone. Edit pages with a Markdown editor, search your content, and access it offline. Prioritizes privacy with secure API token storage.

Highlights
  • BookStack hierarchy navigation
  • Full-text search with filters
  • Markdown editor with live preview
  • Offline read access
  • Secure API token connection
  • Light/Dark/System mode
  • Multi-language support
Features
Read full description

BookStax brings your self-hosted BookStack wiki to iPhone and iPad as a native app. Read, write and search – directly on your own server. Read • Shelves, books, chapters and pages – the same structure as in BookStack • Images, callouts, tables and collapsible blocks look like they do on the web • Favorites and recently opened pages on the home screen Write • Markdown editor with preview, or the visual editor • Upload images, add tags, insert callouts • Quick Note: capture an idea – without a connection it is uploaded later Search • Full-text search with filters for content type and tag • Find downloaded pages in Spotlight, too Notifications (Pro) • Push notifications from your wiki: new and updated pages, comments, new chapters and books • For admins: keep an eye on new users, registrations, API tokens and changed settings • Choose the events per server – BookStax sets up the webhook in BookStack Offline and widgets • Download books and shelves and browse them without a connection, images included • Widgets for your favorites and an overview of your wiki AI helpers for your pages • Summarize, translate or proofread your own pages • With Apple Intelligence right on your device, or with an AI service you connect yourself Privacy • Your API token is stored in the iOS Keychain. If you like, Face ID or Touch ID locks the app. • BookStax connects to your BookStack server. AI requests go only to the service you set up yourself. • For notifications, BookStack sends events to the BookStax push service. It only forwards the ones you choose to Apple and stores no content. • Anonymous usage statistics (e.g. first launch, server connected) help improve the app – no server addresses, content or personal data. You can turn them off in Settings under "Security". Free and Pro Reading, writing, search, offline reading, widgets and AI are free. BookStax Pro, a one-time purchase, adds: • Notifications from BookStack: pages, comments, books and administration • Shortcuts & Siri: search, open and create pages, fetch content for your own automations • Sharing & export: share page links, export as PDF, Markdown, HTML or text, save text, links and photos from other apps to BookStack • Offline editing with automatic sync • Multiple server profiles • Three premium reader themes, a custom accent colour, one colour per server Requirements • Your own BookStack instance and an API token from your BookStack profile • No server yet? You can try BookStax with the BookStack demo server right in the app. Good to know — BookStax is an independent client and not an official product of the BookStack project. It requires your own self-hosted BookStack server and does not include a server of its own. About the project: https://www.bookstackapp.com / BookStax Pro is a one-time purchase – no subscription, no automatic renewal. Purchases can be restored in the app. / Terms of use (Apple's standard EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

The Stack4 screens
BookStax4 screens

Verdict

The call

The Stack and BookStax both sit at 5.0 stars, but that hides the real split: 100% of The Stack's written reviews are positive against 50% of BookStax's. The Stack also leads on device support (4 vs 2). BookStax's advantage is monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases) and update cadence (every 9 days vs every 5 weeks). On price, rating, ratings volume 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. The Stack sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and BookStax sells 4 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 — 5.0 for The Stack against 5.0 for BookStax. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 1 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 100% of The Stack's written reviews are positive against 50% of BookStax's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

The Stack ships an update every 5 weeks, BookStax every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
The Stack versus BookStax: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterThe StackBookStax
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better50.0% of reviews
Number of ratings11
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeksEvery 9 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS26.018.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size12 MB16 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperElegant Chaos LimitedSven Uwe Hanold

Customer experience

The Stack

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

BookStax

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

In-app purchases

3 purchases

The Stack

One-time3
  • Fresh Straw$0.99
  • A Nice Juicy Carrot$2.99
  • Deluxe Hamster Wheel$9.99
4 purchases

BookStax

One-time4
  • Page$2.99
  • Themes & more Servers$5.99
  • Book$5.99
Show 1 more
  • Encyclopaedia$12.99

Questions

Is The Stack free?
The Stack is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is BookStax free?
BookStax is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, The Stack or BookStax?
The Stack and BookStax are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 1 and 1 ratings respectively.
Do The Stack or BookStax have ads?
Neither The Stack nor BookStax shows ads.
Which is updated more often, The Stack or BookStax?
The Stack ships an update every 5 weeks, and BookStax every 9 days. Most recently, The Stack was updated on November 3, 2026 and BookStax on October 31, 2026.

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