Comparison

*scratch* vs LocalVoiceNote

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

*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.

Highlights
  • Instant note-taking
  • Plain text support
  • Checkbox lists
  • Share to other apps
  • Save to Files
  • Emacs org mode markup
Features
Read full description

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.

About

LocalVoiceNote

This app converts speech to text using on-device AI for enhanced privacy. It offers offline transcription, summarization, and action generation, with a fallback to a bundled Whisper model for broader language and device support. Transcripts can be saved, searched, revised, and translated.

Highlights
  • On-device speech recognition
  • AI-powered summarization and actions
  • Offline transcription with Whisper fallback
  • Live transcript display
  • Save, rename, and search transcripts
  • Text revision and translation
Features
Read full description

LocalVoiceNote turns speech into text directly on your iPhone or iPad — built around Apple's own on-device intelligence, with privacy first. Apple Speech comes first. On supported devices, LocalVoiceNote transcribes with Apple's built-in on-device speech recognition — the same engine the system uses — so you get fast, natural, low-power results with no setup and no account. Apple Intelligence powers the thinking. On devices with Apple Intelligence, your transcripts are polished, summarised, and turned into actions entirely on-device. Nothing is uploaded, nothing is stored on a server, and none of it costs you a subscription. Whisper keeps you covered. If Apple Speech isn't available for your device or your language, LocalVoiceNote falls back automatically to a bundled Whisper Large model. It ships inside the app, needs no download and no network, and covers languages and older devices Apple Speech doesn't reach — so transcription always works. LocalVoiceNote is designed for fast capture: tap once to start recording, speak naturally, and watch your transcript appear live. Save transcripts automatically, rename them, search later, revise text, and translate supported content when needed. Whether you are capturing meeting notes, voice memos, ideas on the go, lecture summaries, bilingual phrases, or quick dictated drafts, LocalVoiceNote keeps the workflow simple and local.

Screenshots

*scratch*2 screens
LocalVoiceNote4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: LocalVoiceNote at Free against *scratch*'s $2.99. *scratch*'s advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and update cadence (daily vs weekly). On 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

LocalVoiceNote is free to download; *scratch* costs $2.99 up front. LocalVoiceNote sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. *scratch* asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

*scratch* ships an update daily, LocalVoiceNote weekly. Both last shipped on October 31, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
*scratch* versus LocalVoiceNote: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
Parameter*scratch*LocalVoiceNote
Price$2.99Free — better
Rating4.9 (28 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings28 — better—
Update frequencyDaily — betterWeekly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size1 MB575 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperXenodium Ltd.Liang Cheng

Customer experience

*scratch*

All ratings28 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews14 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

LocalVoiceNote

Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

*scratch*

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

LocalVoiceNote

One-time1
  • LocalVoiceNote Pro$5.99

Questions

Is *scratch* free?
*scratch* costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is LocalVoiceNote free?
LocalVoiceNote is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do *scratch* or LocalVoiceNote have ads?
Neither *scratch* nor LocalVoiceNote shows ads.
Which is updated more often, *scratch* or LocalVoiceNote?
*scratch* ships an update daily, and LocalVoiceNote weekly. Most recently, *scratch* was updated on October 31, 2026 and LocalVoiceNote on October 31, 2026.

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