Comparison

Deckset vs Scratchpad

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

Head to head
About

Deckset

Create professional presentations quickly by writing in Markdown. This app automatically converts your text into visually appealing slides with various design themes and advanced features for technical content. It offers presenter tools and flexible export options.

Highlights
  • Markdown-based presentation creation
  • Professional presentation themes
  • Automatic slide layout and typography
  • Syntax-highlighted code blocks
  • Math formula rendering
  • Rich media support
  • Presenter tools
  • Export to PDF, PNG, JPG
Features
Read full description

# Deckset — Create Powerful Markdown Presentations Fast Deckset is a presentation app that lets you create professional slides directly from plain text. Write your presentation in Markdown and Deckset automatically turns it into a full slide deck. It's built for anyone who wants to create presentations faster, design slides easily, and focus entirely on the message. Deckset is ideal for developers, teachers, founders, designers, researchers, students, and anyone who needs a simple but powerful slide creator. # Key Features - Markdown-based presentation creation: Write your slides in Markdown using our built-in text editor. Deckset converts your content into a complete presentation automatically. - Professional presentation themes: More than 25 design themes for lectures, conferences, startup pitches, classroom teaching, and business presentations. - Automatic slide layout and typography: Deckset handles formatting, slide design, spacing, fonts, and structure so you can create clean, consistent slides without manual editing. - Advanced support for technical presentations: - Syntax-highlighted code blocks for developers - Math formula rendering - Table support - Diagram and chart support using Mermaid.js - Rich media support: Insert images, videos, GIFs, and SVG files. Deckset automatically scales and optimizes them for your slides. - Presenter tools: Use presenter view, speaker notes, and rehearsal mode to deliver clear and confident presentations. - Flexible export options: Export your presentation to PDF, PNG, or JPG for printing, sharing, uploading, or distributing online. # Why Deckset Stands Out Deckset offers a faster, more efficient workflow than traditional slide design apps. Instead of manually arranging elements, you focus on writing your content. Deckset’s Markdown-based system gives you a clean, version-controlled, future-proof presentation workflow. This makes Deckset especially effective for: - Technical presentations - Startup pitch decks - Classroom lectures - Conference talks - Code-heavy presentations - Research presentations - Markdown-first workflows Users choose Deckset because it combines the simplicity of a text-based workflow with the power of high-quality slide design. You write the content once, and Deckset handles the presentation design automatically. Deckset is the modern, efficient way to create, design, and present ideas. TALK TO US If you have any questions or feedback, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. Visit https://www.deckset.com/support for support and feedback. Privacy policy: https://www.deckset.com/privacy/ Terms and Conditions: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Scratchpad

Capture fleeting thoughts and ideas instantly with a clean, distraction-free interface. This lightweight app offers quick drafting, word counts, and iCloud sync for seamless access across devices. It's designed for simplicity and speed, making note-taking effortless.

Highlights
  • Distraction-free interface
  • Lightning-fast and lightweight
  • iCloud sync
  • Word and character count
  • Linkifies URLs
  • Shortcuts and share sheet support
Features
Read full description

Capture your thoughts instantly in a single, always-accessible note. Perfect for brain dumps, quick drafts, one-off jots, and fleeting ideas. Your thoughts are just a tap away. • Clean, distraction-free interface • Lightning-fast and lightweight • Sync with iCloud, or not • Word and character count • Font settings • Linkifies URLs • Support for Shortcuts and share sheet Plain text only. Simple by design.

Screenshots

Deckset4 screens
Scratchpad2 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Scratchpad at 96% against Deckset's 50%. Scratchpad also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.1) and in-app purchases (none vs 3). Deckset's advantage is price (Free vs $10.00) and iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). On ratings volume, update cadence and ads 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

Deckset is free to download; Scratchpad costs $10.00 up front. Deckset sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Scratchpad asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Scratchpad holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.1. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 11 and 25 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 50% of Deckset's written reviews are positive against 96% of Scratchpad's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Deckset ships an update fortnightly, Scratchpad every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 9, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Deckset versus Scratchpad: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDecksetScratchpad
PriceFree — better$10.00
Rating4.1 (11 ratings)4.8 (25 ratings) — better
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews96.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1125 — better
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemium — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS17.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size112 MB14 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPawel DudekSindre Sorhus

Customer experience

Deckset

All ratings8 ratings
Positive62.5%
Neutral12.5%
Negative25.0%
Written reviews10 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

Scratchpad

All ratings25 ratings
Positive96.0%
Neutral4.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews25 reviews
Positive96.0%
Neutral4.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Deckset

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly7 Days trial$2.991 Month
  • Yearly7 Days trial$19.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime$44.99
None

Scratchpad

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Deckset free?
Deckset is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Scratchpad free?
Scratchpad costs $10.00, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Deckset or Scratchpad?
Scratchpad is rated higher. Deckset averages 4.1 out of 5 from 11 ratings, while Scratchpad averages 4.8 from 25 ratings.
Do Deckset or Scratchpad have ads?
Neither Deckset nor Scratchpad shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Deckset or Scratchpad?
Deckset ships an update fortnightly, and Scratchpad every 2 weeks. Most recently, Deckset was updated on September 9, 2026 and Scratchpad on September 21, 2026.

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