BookStax vs Notelane
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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
Read full descriptionHide 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/
Notelane
This app allows you to write and edit notes using markdown with live formatting. It stores your notes as standard .md files in any folder you choose, including cloud storage, and offers features like wikilinks, tags, revision history, and note statistics.
- Live markdown rendering
- Supports local and cloud storage
- Wikilinks for note connection
- Tag-based organization
- Revision history
- PDF export
- Note statistics
Read full descriptionHide full description
Write in markdown and see your formatting come to life as you type — headings, bold, italic, links, code blocks, checklists, and more — all rendered inline. Your files. Your folders. Your way. Notelane works directly with the files on your device. On first launch, pick any folder — local storage, iCloud Drive, Dropbox, or any connected cloud provider visible in the Files app. Your notes stay as standard .md files, fully portable and never locked in. Write with clarity A distraction-free editor with live formatting that renders your markdown as you type. No toggle between "edit" and "preview" — just write. Store notes anywhere Pick any folder on your device or in the cloud. Notelane works with iCloud Drive, Google Drive, Dropbox, or any storage provider visible in the Files app. Connect your thinking Link notes together with [[wikilinks]] and organize with #tags to build your own personal knowledge base — no complex setup required. Stay in control Revision history lets you restore previous versions of any note. PDF export and sharing are built in. A trash bin keeps deleted notes recoverable. Organize your way Nested folders, pinning, and tag-based filtering keep everything tidy. A clean sidebar puts your entire library one tap away. Note statistics Word count, character count, paragraphs, and estimated reading time — always available at a glance. Your writing deserves a home that respects simplicity. Notelane is that home.
Screenshots
Verdict
BookStax and Notelane both sit at 5.0 stars, but that hides the real split: 100% of Notelane's written reviews are positive against 50% of BookStax's. Notelane also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 4) and update cadence (every 3 days vs every 9 days). On price, rating, ads and monetization model 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. BookStax sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Notelane asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for BookStax against 5.0 for Notelane. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Notelane has 5 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 50% of BookStax's written reviews are positive against 100% of Notelane's.
BookStax ships an update every 9 days, Notelane every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on November 9, 2026 and November 11, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | BookStax | Notelane |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) | 5.0 (5 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 50.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 5 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 9 days | Every 3 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 18.6 | 18.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 16 MB | 19 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Sven Uwe Hanold | Asterios Digital GmbH |
Customer experience
BookStax
Notelane
In-app purchases
BookStax
- Page$2.99
- Themes & more Servers$5.99
- Book$5.99
Show 1 moreShow fewer
- Encyclopaedia$12.99
Notelane
No in-app purchases









