# Scarlet vs iWaka

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Scarlet at 93% against iWaka's 0%. Scarlet also leads on ratings volume (293 vs 1) and chart position (#83 vs unranked). iWaka's advantage is price (Free vs $2.99) and rating (5.0 vs 4.5). On ads, monetization model and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

iWaka is free to download; Scarlet costs $2.99 up front. Scarlet sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. iWaka asks for nothing beyond the download.

iWaka holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Scarlet has 293 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 93% of Scarlet's written reviews are positive against 0% of iWaka's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Scarlet ships an update every 5 months, iWaka every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Scarlet | iWaka |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $2.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | [4.5 (293 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/scarlet/id1532669250/reviews) | **[5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/iwaka/id1602478359/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **293** | 1 |
| Positive reviews | **92.6% of reviews** | 0.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | **Every 2 weeks** |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Best chart rank | **#83** | — |
| Size | 3 MB | 7 MB |
| Requires iOS | **14.0** | 15.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac, Vision Pro** | iPhone, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | [Steven Troughton-Smith](https://appshunter.io/developer/286133549) | [Pramodya Abeysinghe](https://appshunter.io/developer/1602478361) |

## What reviewers say

### Scarlet

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/scarlet/id1532669250)

**Currently charting:** #83 Top Paid · Developer Tools (US App Store)

A personal issue tracker designed for solo developers and hobby projects. It saves data locally to a file, eliminating the need for accounts, cloud services, or syncing. Easily manage and close project tasks with simple tagging for organization.

**Highlights:** Personal issue tracker, Local file saving, No accounts or cloud services, Simple task management, Tagging for organization

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Scarlet (Full Unlock) | $3.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Easy to set up and use
- 💾 Simple JSON-based data storage
- 🎯 Straightforward bug tracking functionality

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Critical data loss issues
- ❌ Fails to save added items
- 🚫 Limited app functionality
- ⚠️ Unreliable file persistence

**Reported bugs**

- Data loss when browsing issues
- Added items not saved after closing and reopening
- Only original items persist after multiple sessions
- Permanent data loss during normal usage

**Requested features**

- Auto-open last used file on startup
- Support for popular apps and mods installation


### iWaka

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/iwaka/id1602478359)

View your programming metrics from WakaTime on your iPhone. Track daily and historical stats for projects, languages, and editors. See recent commits and time spent on tasks.

**Highlights:** View today's top projects, languages, and editors, Track current day and past date range stats, Detailed summary of task categories, editors, and languages, See time worked on separate projects, Check recent commits of linked projects, Supports light/dark mode

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Scarlet free?

Scarlet costs $2.99, and also offers in-app purchases.

### Is iWaka free?

iWaka is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Scarlet or iWaka?

iWaka is rated higher. Scarlet averages 4.5 out of 5 from 293 ratings, while iWaka averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.

### Do Scarlet or iWaka have ads?

Neither Scarlet nor iWaka shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Scarlet or iWaka?

Scarlet ships an update every 5 months, and iWaka every 2 weeks. Most recently, Scarlet was updated on October 29, 2026 and iWaka on October 25, 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.*