StarNote vs Mello
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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
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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.
Mello
This app helps students manage their academic life with a customizable planner. It includes features for events, timetables, tasks, and a built-in Pomodoro timer for focused study sessions. Stay organized and in control of your studies with a clean and visually appealing interface.
- Customizable student planner
- Event and task management
- Clean timetable view
- Built-in Pomodoro timer
- Personalized profile options
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Mello is an all-in-one student planner designed to help you stay organized and in control of your academic life. Built around the way students actually work, Mello combines everything you need into one clean and customizable experience. Personalize your profile with custom images and choose an accent color that matches your vibe. Stay organized with events, a clean timetable view for your schedule, and tasks with custom symbols to keep everything visually distinct. Need to focus? Use the built-in Pomodoro timer to stay on track during study sessions. Mello brings your classes, deadlines, and study time into one place — designed to look as good as it works. https://mellotheapp.com/terms
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Mello at 97% against StarNote's 74%. Mello also leads on rating (4.9 vs 4.6) and update cadence (every 4 days vs every 2 weeks). StarNote's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 26.2). On price, ratings volume, 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
Both are free to download. StarNote sells 21 one-off in-app purchases and Mello sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Mello holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 94 and 111 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 74% of StarNote's written reviews are positive against 97% of Mello's.
StarNote ships an update every 2 weeks, Mello every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | StarNote | Mello |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (94 ratings) | 4.9 (111 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 74.4% of reviews | 97.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 94 | 111 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Every 4 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | Free with in-app purchases — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 26.2 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 422 MB | 20 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 9+ |
| Developer | Onyx International Inc. | Iris Arteaga |
Customer experience
StarNote
Mello
In-app purchases
StarNote
- StarNote AI Trial$0.99
- Templates\Stickers$3.90
- Templates\Stickers$4.49
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- 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
Mello
- Mello Member Monthly Subscription$2.991 Month
- Mello Member Yearly Subscription$19.991 Year









