Deckset vs Scratchpad
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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
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Turn notes into polished presentations—without arranging text boxes or tweaking layouts. Write in Deckset’s focused editor, choose a theme, and let Deckset handle the design. Present with speaker notes, then share as PDF or images. Deckset is made for teachers, students, developers, founders, designers, researchers, and anyone who wants to focus on the message. For people who prefer a plain-text workflow, Deckset also supports Markdown, code highlighting, equations, tables, diagrams, and rich media. KEY FEATURES - Create presentations in Deckset’s built-in text editor - Choose from more than 25 professional themes for lectures, conferences, startup pitches, classrooms, and business presentations - Let Deckset handle slide layout, typography, spacing, and consistency - Customize themes to fit your presentation - Present code with syntax highlighting and scale-to-fit - Include equations, tables, and diagrams powered by Mermaid.js - Add images, videos, GIFs, and SVG files - Present with speaker notes and rehearsal mode - Export to PDF, PNG, or JPEG, with options for presenter notes and accessible PDFs WHY DECKSET Traditional presentation tools make you arrange every element manually. Deckset keeps you focused on the story. Write and revise your ideas as text, then let Deckset turn them into clear, consistently designed slides. It works especially well for classroom lectures, conference talks, technical presentations, startup pitches, research, and any presentation where the message matters more than tweaking the layout. Deckset is not intended to replace every feature in Keynote or PowerPoint. It is a simpler, faster way to write, design, present, and share your ideas. TALK TO US If you have any questions or feedback, visit https://www.deckset.com/support. Privacy policy: https://www.deckset.com/privacy/ Terms and Conditions: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
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.
- Distraction-free interface
- Lightning-fast and lightweight
- iCloud sync
- Word and character count
- Linkifies URLs
- Shortcuts and share sheet support
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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
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Scratchpad at 96% against Deckset's 50%. Scratchpad also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.2) and in-app purchases (none vs 3). Deckset's advantage is price (Free vs $12.00) 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
Deckset is free to download; Scratchpad costs $12.00 up front. Deckset sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Scratchpad asks for nothing beyond the download.
Scratchpad holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 12 and 25 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 50% of Deckset's written reviews are positive against 96% of Scratchpad's.
Deckset ships an update fortnightly, Scratchpad every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 26, 2026 and October 9, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Deckset | Scratchpad |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $12.00 |
| Rating | 4.2 (12 ratings) | 4.8 (25 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 50.0% of reviews | 96.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 12 | 25 — better |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Freemium — better | Paid |
| Best chart rank | — | #155 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 130 MB | 14 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Pawel Dudek | Sindre Sorhus |
Customer experience
Deckset
Scratchpad
In-app purchases
Deckset
- Monthly7 Days trial$2.991 Month
- Yearly7 Days trial$19.991 Year
- Lifetime$44.99
Scratchpad
No in-app purchases








