Scarlet vs The Developer
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Scarlet
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.
- Personal issue tracker
- Local file saving
- No accounts or cloud services
- Simple task management
- Tagging for organization
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Let's face it, there are a lot of developers who like the idea of an issue tracker, but find it too much effort to use & maintain for solo, indie or hobby projects. Enter Scarlet. Scarlet is a personal issue tracker that saves to a file that you can include in your project directory, or anywhere you prefer. No accounts, no cloud services, no syncing, no third-party integration. Just a simple place to file away your project's to-dos and close them when they're complete. Add tags to an issue to help organize things, and that's it — it really couldn't be simpler.
The Developer
Embark on an interactive tutorial with a unique story to learn programming and build your own app. This app guides beginners through the entire process, from setup to App Store submission, in under an hour.
- Interactive programming tutorial
- Learn Swift and Xcode
- App submission guide
- iOS and watchOS development
- Beginner-friendly lessons
- Create your first app in under an hour
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In the near future a programmer by the name The Developer develops an application called "Trillion Dollar App" that sends the world into chaos. He is forced to travel back in time to correct his ways so that his past self can develop a better application for the world. Welcome to the world of The Developer. A fun interactive tutorial with a very twisted story. Aside from a crazy far fetched story the app teach an important lesson - How to code and release you very own app to the App Store in less than one hour from A to Z. This is is intended for beginners wishing to learn Xcode/Swift programming. The app includes the following lessons: iOS Version: Chapter 1 - Items required to get started Chapter 2 - How to register and become a developer Chapter 3 - Creating your first Xcode Template Chapter 4 - Swift Basics Chapter 5 - Build and Test your app Chapter 6 - Dressing your app Chapter 7 - Uploading your project to the App Store Chapter 8 - Application guidelines Chapter 9 - Updating your app watchOS Version: Chapter 1 - Items required to get started Chapter 2 - How to register and become a developer Chapter 3 - Creating your first Xcode Template - New Chapter 4 - Swift Basics - New Chapter 5 - Build and Test your app - New Chapter 6 - Dressing your app - New Chapter 7 - Uploading your project to the App Store - New Chapter 8 - Application guidelines - New Chapter 9 - Updating your app - New Happy Coding!
Screenshots
Verdict
Scarlet and The Developer both sit at 4.5 stars, but that hides the real split: 92% of Scarlet's written reviews are positive against 0% of The Developer's. Scarlet also leads on ratings volume (294 vs 5) and device support (5 vs 3). The Developer's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and price ($0.99 vs $2.99). On rating, update cadence, ads and chart position 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
Scarlet costs $2.99 and The Developer $0.99 up front. Scarlet sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. The Developer asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.5 for Scarlet against 4.4 for The Developer. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Scarlet has 294 ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 92% of Scarlet's written reviews are positive against 0% of The Developer's.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 months. Both last shipped on October 9, 2026.
| Parameter | Scarlet | The Developer |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $2.99 | $0.99 — better |
| Rating | 4.5 (294 ratings) — better | 4.4 (5 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 92.5% of reviews — better | 0.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 294 — better | 5 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 3 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free — better | Paid |
| Best chart rank | #87 — better | #153 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac, Vision Pro — better | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 3 MB | 2.4 GB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 9+ |
| Developer | Steven Troughton-Smith | Salvatore La Mattina |
Customer experience
Scarlet
The Developer
Bugs and requests
Scarlet
Reported bugs
4 issues- 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
2 requests- Auto-open last used file on startup
- Support for popular apps and mods installation
The Developer
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Scarlet
- Scarlet (Full Unlock)$3.99
The Developer
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Scarlet free?
Is The Developer free?
Which has better reviews, Scarlet or The Developer?
Do Scarlet or The Developer have ads?
Which is updated more often, Scarlet or The Developer?
Which is more popular, Scarlet or The Developer?
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