Comparison

TypeIt4Me Touch vs PaperTrail

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

Head to head
About

TypeIt4Me Touch

This app enhances note-taking and messaging with powerful text expansion. Define custom abbreviations that automatically convert to longer phrases as you type, saving time and effort. Seamlessly integrate with your Mac's abbreviations via iCloud for a unified experience across devices.

Highlights
  • Text expansion with custom abbreviations
  • Create and store unlimited notes
  • Share notes via email, message, or clipboard
  • Bundled keyboard extension for any app
  • iCloud sync with Mac TypeIt4Me
  • Import snippets via email attachments
Features
Read full description

TypeIt4Me Touch is a simple notepad app with built-in text expansion for swiftly composing notes and messages. Define your own custom shorthand abbreviations and they’ll instantly be replaced as you type with the longer texts they represent, saving you time and effort. Create and store snippet abbreviations on your iPhone or iPad and gradually build up your own custom shorthand library for quickly jotting things down. Store as many notes as you like to use and reuse later. These can be emailed, messaged and shared straight from within the app, or copied to the clipboard in a couple of taps. Install the bundled TypeIt4Me Touch keyboard extension and quickly bring it up in any app to access long snippets of frequently used text. Addresses, email signatures and boilerplate paragraphs stored locally or in iCloud will always be right at your fingertips. Use them in Mail, Safari, Messages or anywhere else you can type. (NB: the keyboard extension is for on-screen typing only. Bluetooth hardware support is limited to composing notes in the app itself.) Ever wished you could use your Mac TypeIt4Me abbreviations in iOS? This is the app for you. If you use TypeIt4Me 6 (or TypeIt4Me 5.4.x from the Mac App Store) and you keep your abbreviations in iCloud, you can use them on your iPhone and iPad. They will be available in the TypeIt4Me Touch app and keyboard as long as you’re signed in to iCloud. You can also add new snippets and sync them across all your Macs and iDevices. If you’re still using TypeIt4Me 5.5.3 (or earlier versions for Mac) downloaded directly from the Ettore Software website, automatic iCloud syncing of your abbreviations between Mac and iOS is not available. However, you can still use snippets created on your Mac. Just email your Mac TypeIt4Me snippet set files to yourself and open the attachments in TypeIt4Me Touch on your iPhone or iPad to import your abbreviations. With TypeIt4Me Touch installed on your iPhone or iPad, greetings, common phrases, boilerplate texts, URLs or even large chunks of programming code can all be just a couple of prods away. Enjoy :)

About

PaperTrail

This app provides a full TaskPaper editing experience on iOS and iPadOS, allowing you to manage projects, tasks, and notes using simple, flexible plain text files. Sync your work with iCloud and edit across devices, with powerful search and filtering capabilities.

Highlights
  • Full TaskPaper format support
  • OPML import
  • Distraction-free editing
  • Full query language search
  • Tag system with progress tracking
  • iOS Reminders integration
  • Shortcuts and Siri integration
Read full description

PaperTrail brings full TaskPaper editing to iOS and iPadOS. TaskPaper is plain text productivity—simple, fast, flexible. Projects, tasks, notes, and tags. Filter, search, and archive. All in plain text files you can sync via iCloud and edit in TaskPaper on your Mac. FEATURES • Full TaskPaper format support (.taskpaper, .todo, .txt, .md) • Open Bike (.bike) and OPML (.opml) outlines, with clear warnings when an import can't carry everything across • OPML and Bike-style export, so tags and done state round-trip back into Bike • Fold and focus into any subtree for distraction-free editing • Full query language with text, tag, boolean, and semantic search • Tag system with dates, progress tracking, and cost aggregation • Tag autocomplete ranked by how often you use each tag • Smart filters with edge-swipe gestures and an iPad side-by-side sidebar • Colour lines by priority, depth, or due date proximity • Natural date parsing and two-way iOS Reminders integration—import a Reminders list as a project • Quick capture: append tasks, notes, clipboard text, or web links to your most recent document • Planning shortcuts: Open in Today, Random Next Task, and Morning Brief • Shortcuts, Siri, Action Button, and Spotlight integration via App Intents • Find & update documents from Shortcuts: run queries, mark done, set tags, append tasks • Command palette for projects, searches, tags, and every editor command • iPadOS menu bar with Item, Tag, Outline, View, and Palette menus • Export documents as interactive HTML slide presentations or as OPML outlines • Built-in and custom document templates • 50+ keyboard shortcuts for power workflow • Native Swift app—tiny install size, built for speed • Dynamic Type, VoiceOver, and dark mode support

Screenshots

TypeIt4Me Touch4 screens
PaperTrail4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: TypeIt4Me Touch at $4.99 against PaperTrail's $19.99. TypeIt4Me Touch also leads on iOS requirement (11.0 vs 17.0). PaperTrail's advantage is rating (4.2 vs 3.5) and review sentiment (75% vs 39%). On ratings volume, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

TypeIt4Me Touch costs $4.99 and PaperTrail $19.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

PaperTrail holds the better App Store score, 4.2 against 3.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 11 and 15 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 39% of TypeIt4Me Touch's written reviews are positive against 75% of PaperTrail's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

TypeIt4Me Touch ships an update every 3 months, PaperTrail every 10 days. Both last shipped on September 10, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
TypeIt4Me Touch versus PaperTrail: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTypeIt4Me TouchPaperTrail
Price$4.99 — better$19.99
Rating3.5 (11 ratings)4.2 (15 ratings) — better
Positive reviews38.8% of reviews75.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1115 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 10 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS11.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size61 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperEttore Software Ltd.gingerbeardman

Customer experience

TypeIt4Me Touch

All ratings11 ratings
Positive54.5%
Neutral9.1%
Negative36.4%
Written reviews67 reviews
Positive38.8%
Neutral9.0%
Negative52.2%

PaperTrail

All ratings15 ratings
Positive80.0%
Neutral6.7%
Negative13.3%
Written reviews12 reviews
Positive75.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative25.0%

In-app purchases

None

TypeIt4Me Touch

No in-app purchases

None

PaperTrail

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is TypeIt4Me Touch free?
TypeIt4Me Touch costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is PaperTrail free?
PaperTrail costs $19.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, TypeIt4Me Touch or PaperTrail?
PaperTrail is rated higher. TypeIt4Me Touch averages 3.5 out of 5 from 11 ratings, while PaperTrail averages 4.2 from 15 ratings.
Do TypeIt4Me Touch or PaperTrail have ads?
Neither TypeIt4Me Touch nor PaperTrail shows ads.
Which is updated more often, TypeIt4Me Touch or PaperTrail?
TypeIt4Me Touch ships an update every 3 months, and PaperTrail every 10 days. Most recently, TypeIt4Me Touch was updated on September 10, 2026 and PaperTrail on September 10, 2026.

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