# Craft vs Merlin AI

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Craft at 85% against Merlin AI's 43%. Craft also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.5) and ratings volume (6.6K vs 789). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Craft sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month and Merlin AI sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Craft holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Craft has 6.6K ratings behind it against 789, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 85% of Craft's written reviews are positive against 43% of Merlin AI's.

Craft ships an update every 11 days, Merlin AI every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on November 8, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Craft | Merlin AI |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.8 (6.6K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/craft-notes-documents-ai/id1487937127/reviews)** | [4.5 (789 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/merlin-ai-ai-chat-assistant/id6453692447/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **6.6K** | 789 |
| Positive reviews | **84.6% of reviews** | 42.8% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 11 days | **Every 10 days** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 345 MB | 102 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | **16.4** |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, Mac, Vision Pro** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | [Craft Docs Limited](https://appshunter.io/developer/1487937126) | [Foyer Tech, Inc](https://appshunter.io/developer/1726728196) |

## What reviewers say

### Craft

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/craft-notes-documents-ai/id1487937127)

This app helps you organize your thoughts, manage tasks, and boost productivity with an AI assistant. Create structured documents, plan your day, and connect with other tools for a seamless workflow across all your devices.

**Highlights:** AI Assistant for research and writing, Structured document creation, Native task management system, Daily notes and calendar view, Offline access and sync, Integrations with other tools

**Features:** Family Sharing, iPhone Duo support

**In-app purchases (9)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Plus Monthly Subscription | $9.99 | per month |
| Legacy - Monthly Subscription | $10.99 | per month |
| Family Monthly Subscription | $17.99 | per month |
| Team Monthly Subscription | $59.99 | per month |
| Plus Annual Subscription | $95.99 | per year |
| Legacy - Annual Subscription | $99.99 | per year |
| Family Annual Subscription | $179.99 | per year |
| Business Monthly Subscription | $299.00 | per month |
| Team Annual Subscription | $599.00 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Absolutely amazing
- 👍 Beautiful, clean, simple, increasingly powerful
- 👍 Fantastic Essential App
- 👍 Intuitive and easy to use
- 👍 Seamless sync between devices

**What reviewers complain about**

- 💰 Expensive subscription
- 🐛 Crashes after recent update
- 🔍 Lack of customization options (e.g. font size)
- 🔍 Inconsistent and confusing UI conventions
- 🔍 Lack of basic features like tags and tables

**Reported bugs**

- Crashes when using voice control dictation
- Inconsistent behavior when rearranging notes
- Exporting to PDF creates blank first page

**Requested features**

- Add support for tables and columns
- Implement tagging system for better organization
- Improve text editing and formatting options
- Integrate with more third-party apps and services
- Add graph view for visualizing note connections


### Merlin AI

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/merlin-ai-ai-chat-assistant/id6453692447)

Access multiple advanced AI models for text, image, and video generation, research with sources, and chat with your files. Organize conversations into projects and collaborate with others. Offers a free tier with daily queries and paid upgrades for higher limits.

**Highlights:** Multiple AI models in one app, Web research with sources, Chat with files and photos, Image and video creation, Code and app generation (Crafts), Project organization and collaboration

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (10)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Merlin Pro Weekly | $9.99 | per 7 days |
| Weekly Merlin Unlimited | $10.00 | per 7 days |
| Monthly Merlin Unlimited | $15.00 | per month |
| Merlin Pro Monthly | $20.00 | per month |
| Yearly Black Friday | $89.99 | per year |
| Yearly Merlin Unlimited | $100.00 | per year |
| Yearly Merlin Unlimited | $150.00 | per year |
| TopUp - 1500 Queries, 7 Days | $3.49 | one-time |
| TopUp - 3000 Queries, 30 Days | $4.99 | one-time |
| TopUp - 10000 Queries, 30 Days | $14.00 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Fast and efficient
- 👍 User-friendly interface
- 💡 Variety of AI models
- 🔥 Powerful and versatile
- 😊 Helpful and convenient

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Buggy and unreliable
- ⏱️ Slow response times
- 💰 Expensive subscription
- 🔍 Misleading advertising
- 🤔 Inconsistent performance

**Reported bugs**

- Frequent app crashes
- Overlapping UI elements
- Incorrect model selection
- Inability to cancel subscriptions
- Censorship of user inputs

**Requested features**

- Shortcut integration for iOS
- Improved iPad compatibility
- Ability to save and reuse prompts
- Enhanced security and privacy features
- Seamless integration with other apps


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Craft free?

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

### Is Merlin AI free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Craft or Merlin AI?

Craft is rated higher. Craft averages 4.8 out of 5 from 6.6K ratings, while Merlin AI averages 4.5 from 789 ratings.

### Do Craft or Merlin AI have ads?

Neither Craft nor Merlin AI shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Craft or Merlin AI?

Craft ships an update every 11 days, and Merlin AI every 10 days. Most recently, Craft was updated on November 8, 2026 and Merlin AI on November 7, 2026.

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