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
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Search source code, plain text files and PDF files on your iOS device or in iCloud/USB/SMB, preview matched files. or open in your favourite editing/viewing app. Supports flexible search options, including regular expressions (for plain text files). Files searched can be selected from standard or custom text file types or a filename pattern may be specified. Search files and folders can be selected from On My iPad, iCloud Drive or external file providers (e.g SMB/USB folder). Saved search files and folders are retained by the app where possible. iCloud files in selected iCloud Drive folders that match the file type (file extension) criteria or pattern, will be synced to device prior to searching. Searching text files is extremely fast. PDF search speed depends on content. It can be slow.
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
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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 4.5. 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 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 20 and 11 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. The most recent releases landed on September 29, 2026 and October 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Samurai Search | Scratchnote |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (20 ratings) — better | 4.5 (11 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better | 66.7% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 20 — better | 11 |
| 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
