Comparison

Brainwave vs VisualRecord

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

Head to head
About

Brainwave

Capture and organize your thoughts with this note-taking application. Create calendar events, reminders, and export notes in various formats. Protect sensitive information with password protection and manage your data with backup and restore options.

Highlights
  • Organize notes with tags
  • Password protect sensitive notes
  • Create calendar events and reminders
  • Export notes to PDF or text
  • Supports various links (web, phone, maps)
  • Backup and restore notes
Read full description

Transfer your ideas from brain wave to Brainwave. • Organize on the fly by tagging notes with any number of tags • Flag important notes; password protect sensitive notes • Create calendar events and reminders based on your notes • Change the size and font of the text • Export notes directly from Brainwave to a variety of destinations, in formats including: ◦ Email as PDF ◦ Send to Dropbox or almost any app as PDF ◦ Email as text • Create restore points, backing up all notes to a single file • Supports links (web, phone numbers, map addresses - that can even be opened in Google Maps, calendar dates) • Numerous configuration options • Length of a note is limited only by device memory • Supports all device orientations Sometimes an idea can circle around and around in your mind - like a whirlpool swirling, or a tidal wave growing, it confuses, it overwhelms, and it isn't until you write it down that it becomes clear. Write it down. Get it out. Record it before it’s washed away. Free your mind to work on other thoughts. Store your brain waves in Brainwave.

About

VisualRecord

This app offers a visual database for recording information about objects, including photos. It allows for powerful searching using SQL or a simpler fetch interface. Ideal for cataloging valuables for insurance or personal inventory.

Highlights
  • Visual record keeping
  • Attach multiple photos per record
  • Store textual descriptions
  • SQLite database storage
  • SQL query language support
  • Intuitive 'fetch' interface for filtering
  • Use iPad camera or Photo Library
Features
Read full description

VisualRecord for iPad provides an easy to use, visual record keeping database. With its intuitive interface, VisualRecord allows you to record information about a particular object, including one or more pictures of the object itself. The information you supply about the object, including photos, is stored in the form of a record in a SQLite database table. This allows you to use the powerful SQL query language to search over the records you've created and filter the data to suit your needs. In addition, VisualRecord provides a "fetch" interface which requires no prior knowledge of SQL that also allows you to filter your data based on simple criteria. When you add a new record for a particular object to your database table, VisualRecord makes it easy to insert a picture of the object into the record itself using your iPad's Photo Library or Camera. The records in your database table can include textual fields of arbitrary length. This allows you to include descriptive text in the record associated with the object in question. VisualRecord is ideal for record keeping of your valuables for insurance purposes.

Screenshots

Brainwave4 screens
VisualRecord4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: VisualRecord at 100% against Brainwave's 20%. VisualRecord also leads on price (Free vs $0.99) and rating (5.0 vs 2.0). Brainwave's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and update cadence (every 3 months vs every 10 months). On ratings volume, 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

VisualRecord is free to download; Brainwave costs $0.99 up front. VisualRecord sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Brainwave asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

VisualRecord holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 2.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 2 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 20% of Brainwave's written reviews are positive against 100% of VisualRecord's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Brainwave ships an update every 3 months, VisualRecord every 10 months. The most recent releases landed on October 1, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Brainwave versus VisualRecord: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBrainwaveVisualRecord
Price$0.99Free — better
Rating2.0 (1 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews20.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings12 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 months — betterEvery 10 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS11.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size9 MB4 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperZymbiotic TechnologiesKal-El Software

Customer experience

Brainwave

All ratings1 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%
Written reviews10 reviews
Positive20.0%
Neutral30.0%
Negative50.0%

VisualRecord

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Brainwave

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

VisualRecord

One-time1
  • Remove App Restrictions$2.99

Questions

Is Brainwave free?
Brainwave costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is VisualRecord free?
VisualRecord is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Brainwave or VisualRecord?
VisualRecord is rated higher. Brainwave averages 2.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while VisualRecord averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do Brainwave or VisualRecord have ads?
Neither Brainwave nor VisualRecord shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Brainwave or VisualRecord?
Brainwave ships an update every 3 months, and VisualRecord every 10 months. Most recently, Brainwave was updated on October 1, 2026 and VisualRecord on October 8, 2026.

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