*scratch* vs Anecnote
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
*scratch*
Quickly jot down notes, phone numbers, or directions on the go. This simple scratchpad app requires no sign-in or cloud storage, offering a straightforward way to capture information instantly. Supports plain text and basic Emacs org mode markup.
- Instant note-taking
- Plain text support
- Checkbox lists
- Share to other apps
- Save to Files
- Emacs org mode markup
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You're on the go. Someone's giving you directions, or a phone number, name of a restaurant... you need to write it down now, quickly! No time to create new contact, or a note, a file, or waste time on additional taps, bring up keyboard... You just need to write it somewhere right now. *scratch* is a simple scratch pad. • No bells or whistles, just a simple area to quickly jot something down. • Launch *scratch* and write. • Quickly create lists or checkboxes. • All plain text. • Share to other apps or save to Files as an org file (plain text). • No cloud, account, sign-in, or social required. Bonus: Emacs org mode lovers, you can use lightweight org markup like headings, plain lists, numbered lists, and checkboxes.
Anecnote
Capture and organize your thoughts, memories, and important information with a powerful note-taking app. Utilize custom categories, tags, and smart views to easily filter and retrieve your notes when you need them most. Offers flexible in-app purchase options to unlock full potential.
- Flexible note creation with custom metadata
- Smart views for advanced note filtering
- Distraction-free reading experience
- Custom URL scheme for external note creation
- Categorization, tagging, and starring options
- Actionable notes for to-do lists
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Anecnote: Your Personal Note-Taking Companion and Memory Manager Unlock the power of Anecnote, the ultimate note-taking and management app designed for anyone who wants to capture their memories, quotes, advice, reviews, anecdotes, and more. Whether you’re journaling your travels, documenting personal experiences, storing interesting trivia or simply keeping track of important notes, Anecnote provides the flexibility and features you need. Its real superpower is being able to 'surface' your notes when you need them via the use of our powerful filtering system (called Smart views). It is the ultimate aide-memoire! FLEXIBLE NOTE MANAGEMENT Create notes for any and every purpose — memories, reviews, travelogues, journal entries, facts and more. Customise each note with relevant metadata to suit your needs: • Categories: Classify your notes by type (e.g., review, memory, anecdote, fact, trivia, journal). • Area: Contextualise your notes by assigning it an area (e.g. home, work, family, personal). • People: Tag individuals related to your notes for easy reference. • Source: If the content of the note is from a particular person (or website) then you can add that info in too • Tags: Add unlimited tags to describe your notes' content and subject matter. • Starred: Mark any note with a star to quickly add to a favourites list • Action required: Mark any note as needing some kind of action and it will show up in a Todo list of notes You can use as many or as few of these as you want/need to describe your notes. And if these default labels don't suit you can even change them to words that better relate to your use cases / language. SMART VIEWS Effortlessly filter your notes using built-in smart views (All Notes, Starred Items, Todos) or create Custom views tailored exactly to your needs. All of your added metadata is available for filtering purposes so you can create advanced filters to show just what you need. For example, view all Reviews for Movies with a 5-star rating or list all memories that involve your daughter etc. The options are endless! STREAMLINED READING Enjoy a distraction-free reading experience in any Smart View with the ability to view all note content at once, hiding metadata all metadata for a clean look. CUSTOM URL SCHEME Add notes from anywhere using the custom url scheme. For example you could use Shortcuts app to build prompts that ask you about your day that will create the all of the required content for a daily journal entry that gets automatically added to Anecnote. There are urls to create and open notes. IN-APP PURCHASING OPTIONS Unlock the full potential of Anecnote with our flexible in-app purchasing options: • Free Tier: Create up to 10 notes and 1 custom smart view. • Monthly Subscription: Enjoy unlimited notes and smart views, plus the ability to duplicate notes and smart views. • Annual Subscription: Get all the benefits of the monthly plan at a discounted rate. • Lifetime One-Off Payment: Make a single payment to unlock unlimited notes, smart views, and duplication features forever. Any of the above payment options unlocks UNLIMITED notes and smart views! They also enable the ability to duplicate notes and saved views as well as allowing importing of notes via a CSV file. WHY CHOOSE ANECNOTE? With a beautiful interface and extensive customisation options, Anecnote takes note-taking and memory management to a whole new level. Organise your thoughts, preserve your memories, and access your notes with ease. Start your journey of capturing life’s moments today! TERMS OF USE: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ PRIVACY: https://anecnote.app/privacy/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Anecnote at Free against *scratch*'s $2.99. *scratch*'s advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and update cadence (daily vs monthly). On rating, review sentiment, ads and device support 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
Anecnote is free to download; *scratch* costs $2.99 up front. Anecnote sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. *scratch* asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for *scratch* against 5.0 for Anecnote. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: *scratch* has 27 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.
*scratch* ships an update daily, Anecnote monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 19, 2026 and September 5, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | *scratch* | Anecnote |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $2.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.9 (27 ratings) | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 27 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Daily — better | Monthly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | Free with in-app purchases — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 1 MB | 6 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Xenodium Ltd. | Stuart Marshall |
Customer experience
*scratch*
Anecnote
In-app purchases
*scratch*
No in-app purchases
Anecnote
- Monthly subscription$0.991 Month
- Annual subscription$9.991 Year
- Lifetime purchase$24.99









