Starrise Contacts and Dex both help you stay in touch with people. They differ in one big way: Dex keeps your network in its cloud, Starrise keeps it on your devices. This page follows your data through both apps and adds up the cost.
Updated October 2026
Dex: you create an account and connect sources, and Dex builds a database of your network on its servers. Starrise: you install the app and allow access to your contacts. There is no account.
Dex keeps its own database next to your address book. An optional two-way sync with your iPhone contacts (in beta) runs through Dex’s CardDAV server, and notes, tags and reminders stay in Dex. Starrise works directly on your iCloud, Google and Exchange contacts, so there is only one address book.
Dex stores your data on its servers. In Starrise, notes stay on your device; with Pro, iCloud Sync carries them to your iPad and Mac through your own iCloud account, which we can’t access. More on the private personal CRM.
| Starrise Contacts | Dex | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes, core features | No; 7-day trial |
| Month to month | $0.99 (Pro) | $20 (website) |
| Billed yearly | $5.99 per year | From $12/month (website) |
| In the App Store | $0.99/month or $5.99/year | $19.99/month or $143.99/year |
| Starrise Contacts | Dex | |
|---|---|---|
| Reminders to keep in touch | Yes (Pro) | Yes |
| Birthday reminders | Yes | Yes |
| Map of your contacts | Yes | Yes |
| Account | None needed | Required |
| Where your data lives | Your device and your own iCloud | Dex’s cloud |
Dex facts from getdex.com and its App Store listing on 11 October 2026; US prices.
On top of that, Starrise gives you gift ideas, file attachments, to-dos with reminders (Pro) and name days (Pro).
Both apps remind you to stay in touch. Starrise does it without an account, without a second database and for $5.99 a year, with the core features free.
Facts about other apps were checked on 11 October 2026 on the pages below.
No. Your notes stay on your device. If you turn on iCloud Sync (Pro), they sync through your own private iCloud account, which we can’t access.
Yes. Keep in Touch reminders are part of Starrise Contacts Pro: choose how often you want to catch up with someone, and Starrise reminds you when it’s time.
Starrise Contacts is free to download with free core features; Pro costs $0.99 per month or $5.99 per year. On its website, Dex Premium starts at $12 per month billed yearly, with no free plan.
Starrise Contacts works on the contacts already on your iPhone, iPad and Mac. No account, nothing to import. Free to download, with an optional Pro subscription.
Free on iPhone, iPad and Mac. Pro costs $0.99 per month or $5.99 per year in the US.
Find the right way to manage your contacts and relationships on iPhone, iPad and Mac.
