Comparison

DraftDog vs Firstext

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

Head to head
About

DraftDog

Features
Read full description

here are so many note taking apps. You can find a lots of them with many advanced features. Many of them can count the words, change the color and size of characters, categorize documents by folders, synchronize with the cloud, put photos, and even recognize handwriting ... At first, I tried to create such an app. However, the impression of a friend who touched the prototype changed my mind. "I don't need so many features like this." I don't usually take notes with an app.When I use them, I'll copy to my paper notebook later so digital data will be needless after all. The only feature I need is tidying up notes more easily. Tidy up I didn't noticed it Certainly digital data does not take up space, but when it accumulates it make us feel stressed. We need tidying up. That's why I made this. It's an app for taking notes and tidying up them. I can't affirm this is a full featured note-taking app because I got rid of many features to make my app lighter. It's more like draft than note what you can take with this app is. So, I named this "DraftDog". Why "Dog"? Because doggies are cute.

About

Firstext

This app is a straightforward text editor designed for quick note-taking and text creation. It automatically saves your work and allows for easy sharing to other applications with customizable actions. Advanced features like search, replace, and character counting are also included.

Highlights
  • Instant text input on launch
  • Automatic text saving and restoration
  • Customizable text sharing actions
  • Cursor movement by swiping
  • Search and replace functionality
  • Character and line counting
  • Font size adjustment
Features
Read full description

Firstext is a simple text editor application. I named it "First" + "Text" = "Firstext" with the aim of making it the "first step" in all kinds of text creation. Firstext has the following features. ・Start typing as soon as the application is launched. ・The text you type is automatically saved and can be restored at any time. ・Ability to freely share text to other apps by creating and adding share actions to suit your needs. There is no functionality for managing multiple texts or notes, decorating text, or inserting photos. *Before removing the limitation by in-app purchase, the number of shared actions is limited to 10, and the number of saved history is limited to 20. Please understand. After confirming the usability of the application, you can use it without restrictions by making an in-app purchase. Main functions and features ・Input text as soon as the application is launched. ・Automatic saving and restoration of text ・Ability to create and add shared actions. ・Ability to move the cursor by swiping left and right. ・Ability to search and replace text. ・Ability to search and delete history. ・Ability to count the number of characters and lines. ・Ability to change the font size of text. ・Ability to change icons. ・URL scheme support - Launch → firstext:// - Startup by replacing the current text with the clipboard contents → firstext://clipReplace - Starts by appending the clipboard contents to the end of the current text → firstext://clipAdd - Inserts the clipboard content at the cursor position of the current text → firstext://clipInsert - Starts with replacing the current text with the specified text → firstext://textReplace?text=[text] - Appends the specified text to the end of the current text → firstext://textAdd?text=[text] - Inserts the specified text at the cursor position of the current text → firstext://textInsert?text=[text] The following features will be added in future updates Synchronization of text, shared actions, and history with other devices via iCloud *I have confirmed an issue where an alert regarding pasting is displayed every time when using clipboard-related URL schemes on iOS 16 or later.  This issue can be avoided by updating to iOS16.1 or later and making the following settings from the Settings app.  (1) Select "Firstext" in the Settings app and select "Paste from Other Apps".  (2) Change the setting to "Allow".  *Notification about pasting will appear even after changing to "Allow". Due to the limitation of iOS, you cannot turn off this notification.

Screenshots

DraftDog2 screens
Firstext4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: DraftDog at none against Firstext's shown. DraftDog also leads on update cadence (weekly vs every 2 weeks) and device support (3 vs 1). On price and in-app purchases 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. DraftDog sells 4 one-off in-app purchases and Firstext sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

DraftDog ships an update weekly, Firstext every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and October 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 4 level
DraftDog versus Firstext: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDraftDogFirstext
PriceFreeFree
Positive reviews—50.0% of reviews
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 2 weeks
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
Monetization—Free with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS8.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size55 MB6 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperYoshinori KasayaAkihiro Usui

In-app purchases

4 purchases

DraftDog

One-time4
  • Buy me a coffee$1.99
  • Remove ads$1.99
  • Buy me a hamburger$5.99
Show 1 more
  • Buy me a lunch$11.99
4 purchases

Firstext

One-time4
  • Snack-Sized Tip$0.49
  • Restriction Removal$1.99
  • Coffee-Sized Tip$1.99
Show 1 more
  • Lunch-Sized Tip$3.99

Questions

Is DraftDog free?
DraftDog is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Firstext free?
Firstext is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do DraftDog or Firstext have ads?
Firstext shows ads; DraftDog does not.
Which is updated more often, DraftDog or Firstext?
DraftDog ships an update weekly, and Firstext every 2 weeks. Most recently, DraftDog was updated on September 24, 2026 and Firstext on October 3, 2026.

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