# BookStax vs Notelane

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Notelane at none against BookStax's 3. Notelane also leads on ratings volume (4 vs 1). On price, rating, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. BookStax sells 3 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. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 4 respectively.

BookStax ships an update every 9 days, Notelane every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 2, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | BookStax | Notelane |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bookstax/id6761068485/reviews) | [5.0 (4 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/notelane-markdown-editor/id6761887912/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 1 | **4** |
| Positive reviews | — | 100.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 9 days** | Every 2 weeks |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 14 MB | 19 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.6 | **18.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Sven Uwe Hanold](https://appshunter.io/developer/1887623795) | [Asterios Digital GmbH](https://appshunter.io/developer/1815221142) |

## What reviewers say

### BookStax

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bookstax/id6761068485)

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:** macOS Compatibility, Family Sharing, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Page | $2.99 | one-time |
| Book | $5.99 | one-time |
| Encyclopaedia | $12.99 | one-time |


### Notelane

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/notelane-markdown-editor/id6761887912)

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.

**Highlights:** Live markdown rendering, Supports local and cloud storage, Wikilinks for note connection, Tag-based organization, Revision history, PDF export, Note statistics

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is BookStax free?

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

### Is Notelane free?

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

### Which has better reviews, BookStax or Notelane?

BookStax and Notelane are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 1 and 4 ratings respectively.

### Do BookStax or Notelane have ads?

Neither BookStax nor Notelane shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, BookStax or Notelane?

BookStax ships an update every 9 days, and Notelane every 2 weeks. Most recently, BookStax was updated on October 13, 2026 and Notelane on October 2, 2026.

---

*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*