Comparison

Starling vs Cohestry

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

Head to head
About

Starling

Features
Read full description

Your kid runs the routine. Not you. Starling turns the fridge chart into something your child actually operates themselves. Every step is a picture first and a word second, so a five-year-old who can't read yet can get through the morning without being asked forty times. You set it up once. It repeats on the days you choose. There's no daily data entry, no account, and nothing leaves your phone. HOW IT WORKS • Add your child — a name, a colour, a character • Pick a starter routine, or build your own • Your child taps through one step at a time • A finished routine earns a star • Stars buy real rewards you decide on BUILT FOR THE WAY CHILDREN ACTUALLY WORK One step, full screen. No lists to parse, no wall of text, no way to get lost. Tap it when it's done and the next one arrives. Older children can switch to a checklist view instead. NO FAILURE STATES. EVER. Nothing turns red. Nothing scolds. A routine that doesn't get finished is simply unfinished — there's no streak to lose and no red X waiting in the morning. That's a deliberate design decision. Many of the children who need a visual schedule most already experience routines as a place where they fail. MADE WITH NEURODIVERGENT KIDS IN MIND Visual schedules are an evidence-based practice, widely recommended for autistic and ADHD children — and useful for any child who isn't reading yet. • Every step is understandable without reading its label • Timers are optional, per step, and never punish • Full VoiceOver support and Dynamic Type • Reduce Motion honoured throughout • A reward-free mode, free forever ON THE HOME SCREEN A widget shows the next step and lets your child tick it off without even opening the app. Free on every plan, because that's the bit that makes the habit stick. NOTHING LEAVES YOUR PHONE No account. No sign-up. No email. No ads. No analytics on children. No third-party tracking of any kind. Your data lives on your device and syncs privately through your own iCloud, between your own devices. We have no server, so there is nothing for us to see. WHAT'S FREE One child, one routine, six steps, one reward — plus widgets, iCloud sync, every accessibility feature and reward-free mode, free forever. STARLING PLUS Unlimited children, routines and steps. A full reward menu. Photos of your own things as step pictures. The weekly view, and printable charts for the fridge. $4.99/month, $29.99/year with a 7-day free trial, or $49.99 once for lifetime access. Family Sharing on all three. If a subscription lapses, you go back to the free tier — you never lose a single day of your child's history. Made by one person, in the evenings. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://culi.app/apps/starling/privacy-policy/

About

Cohestry

This app helps you organize notes and discover connections between them. It visualizes your thoughts in a 3D brain and resurfaces older ideas to prevent them from being forgotten. Create rich notes with various formatting options and import existing notes from Apple Notes.

Highlights
  • Visualize note connections in a 3D brain
  • Rediscover older notes with 'Worth Revisiting'
  • Daily insights based on existing notes
  • Rich note creation with formatting, images, and tables
  • Import Apple Notes on Mac
  • Native iPhone and Mac app
Features
Read full description

Cohestry is a second brain for people who want their notes to become more useful over time. Capture ideas, thoughts, references, and unfinished threads in one place, then let Cohestry help you see how they connect. Instead of leaving notes buried in folders, Cohestry turns your knowledge into something you can explore, revisit, and build on. EXPLORE YOUR THINKING Cohestry visualizes connections between your notes as an interactive 3D brain, making it easier to spot related ideas and understand how your thinking is developing. REDISCOVER WHAT MATTERS Worth Revisiting brings older notes back into view so useful ideas do not disappear into an archive. Today’s Insight surfaces a connection from your existing notes, giving you a reason to return to ideas you may have forgotten. WRITE WITHOUT FRICTION Create and edit rich notes with support for formatting, lists, tables, images, and more. Cohestry is designed to work as a complete notes app, not just a layer on top of one. BRING YOUR APPLE NOTES WITH YOU On Mac, import your existing Apple Notes and start building from the knowledge you already have. BUILT FOR APPLE Cohestry is a native iPhone and Mac app designed around a simple idea: your notes should become more valuable the longer you keep them. Core note-taking features are free, including unlimited notes and Apple Notes imports. Advanced connection features are available with Cohestry Pro. End user license agreement: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Starling4 screens
Cohestry4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Cohestry at weekly against Starling's every 6 weeks. Starling's advantage is iOS requirement (18.0 vs 26.0). 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. Starling sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Cohestry sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Starling ships an update every 6 weeks, Cohestry weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and October 26, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 7 level
Starling versus Cohestry: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStarlingCohestry
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
Monetization—Freemium
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Mac — better
Requires iOS18.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size19 MB16 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRene FandidaUgochukwu Nwune

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Starling

Subscriptions2
  • Starling Plus Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Starling Plus Annual7 Days trial$29.991 Year
One-time1
  • Starling Lifetime$49.99
3 purchases

Cohestry

Subscriptions2
  • Cohestry Pro Monthly7 Days trial$5.991 Month
  • Cohestry Pro Annual7 Days trial$39.991 Year
One-time1
  • Cohestry Pro Lifetime$99.99

Questions

Is Starling free?
Starling is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Cohestry free?
Cohestry is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Starling or Cohestry have ads?
Neither Starling nor Cohestry shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Starling or Cohestry?
Starling ships an update every 6 weeks, and Cohestry weekly. Most recently, Starling was updated on October 31, 2026 and Cohestry on October 26, 2026.

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