Comparison

Hounder vs Skrive

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

Head to head
About

Hounder

This app sends timely notifications to help you remember tasks and build habits. It operates entirely on your device, ensuring your privacy and not requiring an internet connection.

Highlights
  • Timely notifications
  • Task reminders
  • Habit building
  • On-device operation
  • No internet required
  • Privacy focused
Features
Read full description

Hounder will send you notifications to remind you to do things at specific times. It's perfect for remembering daily tasks or building new habits. Hounder is incredibly simple to use and runs entirely on your device, it collects no information about you and doesn't even use an internet connection.

About

Skrive

A straightforward and secure journaling app focused on daily writing. It offers a clean interface with no distractions, allowing users to easily record thoughts and memories. Entries are encrypted and can be exported as plain text.

Highlights
  • One entry per day
  • Plain text writing
  • Clean interface
  • Searchable history
  • Device encryption
  • Plain text export
  • Cross-device sync (Pro)
Features
Read full description

Skrive is a simple, secure journal built for daily writing. One entry per day, plain text, nothing in the way. Keeping a daily journal is one of the most rewarding habits you can build. It sharpens how you think and write, helps you process stress, and gives you a record of your life to look back on. Regular journaling has been shown to improve memory, boost mental clarity, and support mental health. Skrive exists to make that habit as easy as possible to keep. There are no tags, no folders, no formatting options. Just a clean writing surface that opens fast and gets out of the way. The focus is entirely on the words you write. Every entry is dated, and your full journal history is always at your fingertips. Scroll back through past entries or search for a specific memory, moment, or thought you wrote down months ago. Skrive is free to use with no limits on how much you write. Your entries are encrypted and stored securely on your device, and you can export everything as plain text at any time. Your journal belongs to you. Skrive Pro adds sync across all your devices. Write on your iPhone, continue on your iPad or your Mac. Everything is encrypted end to end before it ever leaves your device, and stored on servers in Europe. Only you hold the key. Only you can read what you write. Skrive is made by an independent developer who journals every day. It is a small app, built with care. Website: https://skrive.app Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Hounder3 screens
Skrive4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Hounder at none against Skrive's 2. Hounder also leads on device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (13.2 vs 16.4). Skrive's advantage is update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 33 months). On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume 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. Skrive sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Hounder asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Hounder against 5.0 for Skrive. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 3 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Hounder ships an update every 33 months, Skrive every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Hounder versus Skrive: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHounderSkrive
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (2 ratings)5.0 (3 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings23 — better
Update frequencyEvery 33 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS13.2 — better16.4
Further details — not scored
Size2 MB66 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJummp.com App DevelopmentIsak Solheim

Customer experience

Hounder

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Skrive

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Hounder

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Skrive

Subscriptions2
  • End-to-end encrypted sync$3.991 Month
  • End-to-end encrypted sync$29.991 Year

Questions

Is Hounder free?
Hounder is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Skrive free?
Skrive is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Hounder or Skrive?
Hounder and Skrive are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 2 and 3 ratings respectively.
Do Hounder or Skrive have ads?
Neither Hounder nor Skrive shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Hounder or Skrive?
Hounder ships an update every 33 months, and Skrive every 2 weeks. Most recently, Hounder was updated on November 3, 2026 and Skrive on October 31, 2026.

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