*scratch* vs Gravity
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.
Gravity
This app offers a streamlined note-taking experience by eliminating folders and tags, focusing on a single, continuous stream of thoughts. Capture ideas instantly and use simple gestures to manage your notes, prioritizing what matters most.
- Instant note capture
- Single stream organization
- Swipe gestures for actions
- Attention-based prioritization
- Private iCloud sync
- Lightweight prefixes for filtering
- Fast search functionality
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Gravity keeps all your notes in one stream, with the newest at the top. As you add more, older notes sink down the list. When one of them still matters, swipe it right and it comes back to the top. The idea comes from Andrej Karpathy's append-and-review note: write everything in one place, read back through it now and then, and move up whatever you still care about. Gravity has no folders, so there's nothing to file. Writing The cursor is waiting at the top when you open the app. Type your note and press Return twice, or tap the add button. A half-written draft stays where you left it. Rescuing and tidying Swipe right on a note to rescue it. Swipe left to archive, delete, share or copy. Archived notes have a page of their own, and deleted notes stay in Deleted Notes until you restore them or clear them out. Markdown and checklists Headings, bold, italics, lists, links and quotes show formatted in the stream. Start a line with "- [ ]" to make a checklist, then tick items off without opening the note. In the editor the formatting appears as you type, and a small bar above the keyboard adds headings, bold, lists and checklists. Everything is saved as plain Markdown text. Tags Start a note with todo:, idea:, read: or any word followed by a colon, and it gets a colour of its own. Type todo: into search to see only those notes. There's no tag manager to look after. Search Search covers every note on your phone, archived ones too, and works offline. It matches parts of words and ignores accents. Getting notes in The Home Screen widget starts a new note or pastes in whatever you last copied. You can also share text or a link from another app, and it becomes a new note at the top of the stream. Privacy Your notes are stored on your iPhone. Gravity has no accounts and no analytics, and it doesn't collect any data. If you want your notes on your other Apple devices, turn on iCloud sync; it also works with Gravity for Mac, which is sold separately. You can export everything as JSON or Markdown at any time. Looks Choose light, dark or OLED black, or follow the system, and pick from three text sizes. There's a stats page too, worked out on your phone, of course. Price You pay once. There's no subscription, no in-app purchases and no ads. Privacy policy: https://www.gravitynotes.app/privacy-policy
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: *scratch* at $2.99 against Gravity's $9.99. *scratch* also leads on update cadence (daily vs fortnightly) and chart position (#200 vs unranked). On rating, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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
*scratch* costs $2.99 and Gravity $9.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for *scratch* against 5.0 for Gravity. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 27 and 9 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 100% of *scratch*'s written reviews are positive against 92% of Gravity's.
*scratch* ships an update daily, Gravity fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 6, 2026 and October 2, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | *scratch* | Gravity |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $2.99 — better | $9.99 |
| Rating | 4.9 (27 ratings) | 5.0 (9 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better | 91.7% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 27 — better | 9 |
| Update frequency | Daily — better | Fortnightly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Best chart rank | #200 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 1 MB | 36 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Xenodium Ltd. | Tristan Manchester |
Customer experience
*scratch*
Gravity
In-app purchases
*scratch*
No in-app purchases
Gravity
No in-app purchases









