# Steno Notes vs Lumen

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Lumen at none against Steno Notes's 4. Lumen also leads on iOS requirement (18.0 vs 26.0). Steno Notes's advantage is update cadence (every 2 days vs every 2 weeks) and device support (3 vs 1). On price and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Steno Notes sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Lumen asks for nothing beyond the download.

Steno Notes ships an update every 2 days, Lumen every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 9, 2026 and September 28, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Steno Notes | Lumen |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | **[5.0 (4 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/lumen-knowledge-browser/id6762682475/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | — | **4** |
| Positive reviews | — | 100.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 2 days** | Every 2 weeks |
| Monetization | — | Free |
| Size | 85 MB | 28 MB |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | **18.0** |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, Mac** | iPhone |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | [Mikail Kraft](https://appshunter.io/developer/1816063784) | [Daniel Kosukhin](https://appshunter.io/developer/1852657475) |

## What reviewers say

### Steno Notes

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/steno-notes/id6746288600)

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

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Tip Jar (Small) | $0.99 | one-time |
| Tip Jar (Medium) | $2.99 | one-time |
| Steno Complete | $4.99 | one-time |
| Steno Tip (Large) | $4.99 | one-time |


### Lumen

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/lumen-knowledge-browser/id6762682475)

This app acts as a browser that remembers what you read, building a personal knowledge base from engaged pages. It allows you to ask questions in plain English about your reading history, with answers generated by an on-device AI. All your data remains private and offline.

**Highlights:** On-device AI knowledge base, Plain English questioning, Automatic content organization, Private and offline browsing, Tracker blocking, Source citation for answers

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Steno Notes free?

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

### Is Lumen free?

Lumen is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Do Steno Notes or Lumen have ads?

Neither Steno Notes nor Lumen shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Steno Notes or Lumen?

Steno Notes ships an update every 2 days, and Lumen every 2 weeks. Most recently, Steno Notes was updated on October 9, 2026 and Lumen on September 28, 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.*