Comparison

BookNote vs Kavya

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

Head to head
About

BookNote

Features
Read full description

BookNote keeps your reading notes alive — built for English print books. 【Snap & Translate】 Photograph any page. AI translates to fluent text with background context — deeper than a dictionary lookup. 【Pencil Annotations】 Mark up translated pages with Apple Pencil. Highlights and ink sync to page thumbnails. 【Deep Learning】 AI maps connections between your notes, cross-references in the book, and related works by the author. 【Spaced Review】 Vocabulary and notes enter a review queue on a forgetting-curve schedule. Active recall mode hides translations until you try. 【Reading Weekly】 Sunday summaries: pages read, new words, themes organized. 【iCloud Sync】 Capture on iPhone, continue on iPad. Library, notes, annotations, and review progress stay in sync. 【Organized Library】 One notebook per book. Full-text search and Markdown export. Privacy: Photos and notes stay in your iCloud. AI processes selected English text only — photos are never uploaded. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Kavya

Features
Read full description

Kavya is a calm, ad-free home for the classic poetry of India. Read the great public-domain poets — Kabir, Mirza Ghalib, Tulsidas, Meera, Surdas, Rahim, Amir Khusrau, Rabindranath Tagore, Subramania Bharati and more — the way they deserve to be read: with care, and with understanding. Every poem gives you: - The original verse in its own script (Devanagari, Urdu, Tamil...) - A clean Roman transliteration, so you can read along aloud - A faithful English translation - The meaning behind the poem, in plain language - Word glosses and the literary devices at work DISCOVER A new Poem of the Day, every day. Browse by poet, theme, era, and mood — from Bhakti devotion to the Urdu ghazal, from patriotic verse to quiet philosophy. Search any line, word, or poet. UNDERSTAND, LINE BY LINE Tap "Explain this poem" for a line-by-line reading — the imagery, the literary devices, and the cultural references a newcomer might miss. Made for students, exam preparation, and anyone reconnecting with the verse. YOUR LIBRARY Save favourites, keep your reading history, and add private notes — all on your device. KAVYA PRO Reading the entire library is always free and ad-free. Kavya Pro is a one-time purchase that unlocks unlimited line-by-line explanations (free readers get three a day). Pay once — there is no subscription and nothing auto-renews. Every poem in Kavya is in the public domain and is presented with attribution, for study and enjoyment. Terms of Use (EULA): https://kavya.uptrail.ai/terms Privacy Policy: https://kavya.uptrail.ai/privacy

Screenshots

BookNote3 screens
Kavya4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: BookNote at every 2 weeks against Kavya's every 2 months. On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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. BookNote sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month and Kavya sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

BookNote ships an update every 2 weeks, Kavya every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 5 level
BookNote versus Kavya: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBookNoteKavya
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS18.018.0
Further details — not scored
Size2 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developer海勇 叶Mitaanshu Agarwal

In-app purchases

2 purchases

BookNote

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly1 Month trial$5.991 Month
  • Yearly7 Days trial$49.991 Year
1 purchases

Kavya

One-time1
  • Kavya Pro Lifetime$9.99

Questions

Is BookNote free?
BookNote is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Kavya free?
Kavya is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do BookNote or Kavya have ads?
Neither BookNote nor Kavya shows ads.
Which is updated more often, BookNote or Kavya?
BookNote ships an update every 2 weeks, and Kavya every 2 months. Most recently, BookNote was updated on November 5, 2026 and Kavya on October 14, 2026.

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