Comparison

SoundNote vs ABCDEF Keyboard Custom layout

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

Head to head
About

SoundNote

Record audio while taking notes and drawing. Tap any word or drawing to instantly jump to that moment in the recording. Ideal for students, journalists, and professionals to capture every detail in meetings, lectures, and interviews.

Highlights
  • Synchronized audio recording and note-taking
  • Tap notes to jump to audio playback
  • Integrated drawing tools with editing
  • Zoom and scroll functionality for drawings
  • Share notes and audio via email
  • Transfer notes to Mac or PC
Features
Read full description

SoundNote is the best way to take notes in meetings, lectures, and interviews. It tracks what you type and draw while recording audio, so you'll never worry about missing an important detail. During playback, just tap a word: SoundNote will jump right to the proper time in the audio. • Use SoundNote's powerful drawing tool for quick sketches. It's easy to edit them, too. Tap a drawing to select it, or tap twice to select an individual stroke. From there, you can drag it to wherever you want, or tap "Delete" to get rid of it. Use two fingers to zoom and scroll. • SoundNote is perfect for students. If you ever fall asleep in class, don't worry — SoundNote's got your back. Just tap what you wrote while you were awake, and SoundNote will play the audio to help you fill in the blanks. • SoundNote is also great for journalists. Ever miss an important detail during an interview and have to skim through your entire recording to find out what it was? With SoundNote, just tap a word from that part of the interview — it'll play back what you missed. • When you're done, share your text, drawings, and audio notes via email, or transfer them directly to your Mac or PC. Audio notes are recorded in standard M4A format: One hour of high quality audio is only 25MB.

About

ABCDEF Keyboard Custom layout

This keyboard app offers a redesigned layout based on alphabetical order, making typing intuitive and stress-free. It features word suggestions to speed up messaging and ensures 100% privacy by keeping data on your device.

Highlights
  • Alphabetical key layout
  • Built-in word suggestions
  • 100% private, no full access needed
  • Works in all apps
  • Easy to learn
Features
Read full description

Typing that finally makes sense The keys are in the order you already know. A, B, C, all the way to Z. There is no QWERTY to decode and no hunting for letters. Most people are texting, searching and emailing with confidence minutes after they install it. NEW: THE KEYBOARD FINISHES YOUR SENTENCE On iPhone with Apple Intelligence, ABCDEF now predicts what you are about to write. Not only the next word, but the rest of your sentence, shown right above the keys. Tap it and it is written. • A whole sentence in one tap, not just single words • Four suggestions in the row, so there is always a useful one • The prediction reads the conversation you are in. Answering a friend is not the same as filling in a search box • Type in two languages and it follows you, switching to the language you are actually writing in • Everything runs on your iPhone. Your words are never uploaded and never stored • Prefer it quiet? Turn the sentence row off in the app 100% PRIVATE, AND WE MEAN IT ABCDEF does not require Full Access. That is the iOS switch that lets a keyboard send everything you type to a server. We never ask for it, so we could not read your messages even if we wanted to. The predictions run on Apple's on-device model, so your words never leave your iPhone. BUILT FOR PEOPLE, NOT FOR TYPISTS • Instant familiarity for anyone who never trained on QWERTY • Big, clear keys in a layout that does not move around under your finger • Works well with VoiceOver: it reads each letter, then a sample word starting with it, so you always know which key you are on • Emojis, numbers and accented letters on a long press • Works in every app, from Messages and Mail to your banking app Whether you are setting up an iPad for a parent, helping a friend stay in touch, or you simply never got on with QWERTY, this keyboard turns a daunting screen back into a conversation. Sentence predictions need an iPhone or iPad with Apple Intelligence on iOS 26 or later. On older devices the keyboard keeps its dictionary suggestions and works exactly as before. Download it and find the letters where you expect them.

Screenshots

ABCDEF Keyboard Custom layout4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: SoundNote at every 6 weeks against ABCDEF Keyboard Custom layout's every 4 months. SoundNote also leads on review sentiment (70% vs 60%) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.0). ABCDEF Keyboard Custom layout's advantage is device support (3 vs 1) and price ($3.99 vs $4.99). On rating, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

SoundNote costs $4.99 and ABCDEF Keyboard Custom layout $3.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

SoundNote holds the better App Store score, 3.8 against 3.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 13 and 29 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 70% of SoundNote's written reviews are positive against 60% of ABCDEF Keyboard Custom layout's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SoundNote ships an update every 6 weeks, ABCDEF Keyboard Custom layout every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on September 20, 2026 and September 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
SoundNote versus ABCDEF Keyboard Custom layout: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSoundNoteABCDEF Keyboard Custom layout
Price$4.99$3.99 — better
Rating3.8 (13 ratings) — better3.6 (29 ratings)
Positive reviews69.7% of reviews — better60.0% of reviews
Number of ratings1329 — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeks — betterEvery 4 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterPaid
DevicesiPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS12.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size9 MB4 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDavid EstesPhilipp Baldauf

Customer experience

SoundNote

All ratings13 ratings
Positive69.2%
Neutral0.0%
Negative30.8%
Written reviews320 reviews
Positive69.7%
Neutral11.9%
Negative18.4%

ABCDEF Keyboard Custom layout

All ratings29 ratings
Positive65.5%
Neutral3.4%
Negative31.0%
Written reviews10 reviews
Positive60.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative40.0%

Bugs and requests

SoundNote

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Typing issues, such as duplicate characters or unresponsive keyboard
  • Audio recording cutting out or becoming distorted
  • Syncing issues between notes and audio

Requested features

5 requests
  • Folders or notebooks to organize notes
  • Text formatting options (bold, italic, underline, etc.)
  • Pause/rewind/fast-forward controls for audio playback
  • Integration with cloud storage (Dropbox, Google Drive, etc.)
  • Ability to insert images or diagrams into notes

ABCDEF Keyboard Custom layout

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

SoundNote

No in-app purchases

None

ABCDEF Keyboard Custom layout

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is SoundNote free?
SoundNote costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is ABCDEF Keyboard Custom layout free?
ABCDEF Keyboard Custom layout costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, SoundNote or ABCDEF Keyboard Custom layout?
SoundNote is rated higher. SoundNote averages 3.8 out of 5 from 13 ratings, while ABCDEF Keyboard Custom layout averages 3.6 from 29 ratings.
Do SoundNote or ABCDEF Keyboard Custom layout have ads?
Neither SoundNote nor ABCDEF Keyboard Custom layout shows ads.
Which is updated more often, SoundNote or ABCDEF Keyboard Custom layout?
SoundNote ships an update every 6 weeks, and ABCDEF Keyboard Custom layout every 4 months. Most recently, SoundNote was updated on September 20, 2026 and ABCDEF Keyboard Custom layout on September 12, 2026.

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