Comparison

StarNote vs Bindery

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

Head to head
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.

About

Bindery

Features
Read full description

Bindery turns Markdown files into finished documents — Word (.docx), PDF, EPUB and Kobo KEPUB — with a table of contents that actually works: Word's navigation pane, the PDF's outline and contents page, an e-reader's chapter list. Add one file or a dozen chapters at once. The order you put them in is the order of the book: sort by name with a tap, or drag the chapters into place. Headings, lists, tables, code with syntax colouring, footnotes, images, Mermaid diagrams and mathematics all come through, and links between chapters keep working in every format. Everything happens on your device. Your files are not uploaded anywhere; there is no account and nothing to sign in to. Results land in the Files app, under Bindery, ready to share. FREE TO USE Convert up to 20 pages of Markdown a month, free. Bindery Pro removes the limit with a single purchase — no subscription. THE FORMATS • Word (.docx) — real Heading styles and a contents field, bookmarks for every internal link • PDF — an outline, a contents page with page numbers, code blocks that break cleanly across pages • EPUB — one file per chapter, EPUB 3 navigation plus the classic NCX for older readers • Kobo KEPUB — the EPUB with Kobo's own markup, so page counts and reading position work as they should WRITTEN FOR MARKDOWN AS PEOPLE ACTUALLY WRITE IT Two-space list nesting, fenced code inside list items, $…$ mathematics, raw HTML passed through. Where you wrapped a line is not where the reader's is: soft wraps reflow, and only a real line break stays one. Bindery is made by The Owlery Works. Nothing you convert leaves your device. Kobo is a trademark of Rakuten Kobo Inc., and Word is a trademark of the Microsoft group of companies. Neither company is connected with The Owlery Works or has endorsed this app; the names say only what a file is made to open in.

Screenshots

StarNote4 screens
Bindery4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: StarNote at 15.0 against Bindery's 26.0. On price, update cadence, 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. StarNote sells 21 one-off in-app purchases and Bindery sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

StarNote ships an update every 2 weeks, Bindery fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
StarNote versus Bindery: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStarNoteBindery
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (94 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews74.4% of reviews—
Number of ratings94 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationPaid—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size422 MB76 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperOnyx International Inc.Duy Anh Tuan Nguyen

In-app purchases

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
1 purchases

Bindery

One-time1
  • Bindery Pro$3.99

Questions

Is StarNote free?
StarNote is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Bindery free?
Bindery is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do StarNote or Bindery have ads?
Neither StarNote nor Bindery shows ads.
Which is updated more often, StarNote or Bindery?
StarNote ships an update every 2 weeks, and Bindery fortnightly. Most recently, StarNote was updated on October 14, 2026 and Bindery on October 2, 2026.

Other comparisons