Samurai Search vs Scratchnote
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Samurai Search
Efficiently search text and PDF files across your device, iCloud, and external storage. Preview matched files or open them in other applications. Supports advanced search options like regular expressions.
- Search text and PDF files
- iCloud and external storage support
- File preview
- Regular expression support
- Customizable file types
- Saved search locations
Read full descriptionHide full description
Search your iOS device or iCloud for text, source code, plain text files, and PDFs. Find matches inside files and preview results instantly, or open any matched file in your favourite editing or viewing app. Flexible search options: whole word, case sensitive (all file types), and regular expressions (for text files). Choose which files to include by selecting standard or custom text file types, or by searching filenames that match a pattern. Select where to search from On My iPad, iCloud Drive, or external file providers such as SMB and USB folders. When possible, the app retains saved search selections so you can quickly repeat the same searches later. If you search selected folders in iCloud Drive, matching iCloud files are synced to your device before searching, ensuring fast local results. Searching plain text files is extremely fast and memory efficient. PDF search speed depends on the document content and can be slow. Note also that PDF search may consume large amounts of memory which can cause Samurai Search to crash.
Scratchnote
This utility app allows for rapid text writing, editing, and copying. It offers smart actions to quickly access links and calendar events, serving as an ideal temporary solution for various writing tasks.
- Quick text writing
- Text editing
- Copy text
- Smart actions for links
- Smart actions for calendar events
- Temporary writing solution
Read full descriptionHide full description
Scratchnote is the perfect place to quickly write, edit, and copy text. Plus, use our smart actions to access links, calendar events, and more! Scratchnote is the perfect temporary solution for all your writing needs--start creating now!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Samurai Search at 5.0 against Scratchnote's 4.4. Samurai Search also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 67%) and update cadence (every 5 days vs every 11 days). On price, ratings volume, ads 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Samurai Search holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 25 and 13 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of Samurai Search's written reviews are positive against 67% of Scratchnote's.
Samurai Search ships an update every 5 days, Scratchnote every 11 days. Both last shipped on November 3, 2026.
| Parameter | Samurai Search | Scratchnote |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (25 ratings) — better | 4.4 (13 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better | 66.7% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 25 — better | 13 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 days — better | Every 11 days |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 16.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 2 MB | 2 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Michael Rourke | Magnus Jensen |
Customer experience
Samurai Search
Scratchnote
In-app purchases
Samurai Search
No in-app purchases
Scratchnote
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Samurai Search free?
Is Scratchnote free?
Which has better reviews, Samurai Search or Scratchnote?
Do Samurai Search or Scratchnote have ads?
Which is updated more often, Samurai Search or Scratchnote?
Other comparisons
