Comparison

PILE vs CRTX

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

Head to head
About

PILE

Organize notes, photos, links, and files privately and securely using your iCloud Drive. Access your organized content across Mac, iPhone, and iPad with seamless syncing. Enjoy a distraction-free experience with no ads and customizable features.

Highlights
  • Private & Secure iCloud storage
  • Organized content retrieval
  • Flexible storage for various file types
  • Customizable tags and pinning
  • Seamless cross-device syncing
  • Distraction-free, ad-free experience
Read full description

The only private, beautiful way to organize everything. Seamlessly synced across Mac, iPhone, and iPad. Keep your notes, bookmarks, files, images, inspiration, memories, articles, and documents safe and accessible with PILE. Key Features: - Private & Secure: All data is stored in your iCloud Drive—no third-party servers, no tracking, no AI. - Organized & Ready: Retrieve deleted items for up to 30 days with our bin system. - Flexible Storage: Save notes, links, photos, videos, and more from any device. - Customization: Unlock tags, pinned items, and visual customization with one simple subscription. Why PILE? - Your data stays yours—secure, private, and always in your control. - Maintain a distraction-free environment with no ads. - Effortless synchronization through iCloud ensures your content is available anytime, anywhere. Subscription: - One subscription unlocks all features, with discounts for students and yearly plans. Join PILE for a transparent, secure, and beautifully organized digital life. Subscription auto-renews until cancelled, more info in https://pile.ie/#terms

About

CRTX

This app acts as a shared digital memory for your household, allowing you to save voice notes, photos, links, and documents. You can then ask questions in plain English to retrieve information saved by anyone in your group.

Highlights
  • Capture voice notes, photos, links, and PDFs
  • Search contents using natural language
  • Create private or shared memory pools
  • Assign and track tasks within shared pools
  • Automatic recognition of people in saved items
  • Apple Watch and share extension support
Features
Read full description

Your family's memory, one question away. CRTX is the memory you share with the people you live with. Save voice notes, photos, links, PDFs, and audio files. Then ask a question in plain English and get the answer back across everything anyone in your pool has saved. WHAT YOU CAN DO • Capture anything. Type a thought, paste a link, hold to record a voice note, drop a PDF, snap a photo of a flyer or receipt. CRTX reads what's inside, so you can search the contents — not just the filename. • Ask anything. "What did the doctor say?" "Where's the school calendar?" "What did Sarah send about Friday?" CRTX finds it in seconds and shows you the source. • Pool with the people you share a life with. Your personal pool stays private. Shared pools are for the people you're in this with — partner, kids, siblings, your closest friends. • Tasks, on their own or tied to something you saved. Assignable in shared pools. Recurring. Reminders before, at, and after the deadline. • People show up automatically. CRTX recognizes names in what you save and ties items to the right person. Your People tab becomes a living memory of who said what, organized around the people in your life. • Apple Watch + share extension. Record voice notes from your wrist. Save anything from any iPhone app with the share button. WHO IT'S FOR Built first for families. Couples managing the everyday — kids, school, the dentist, the babysitter, the grocery list that lives in three places at once. Parents who keep losing the things their kids told them. Households tired of the same conversation: "I know we wrote that down somewhere." Just as good for any group that shares a life or a project. Friend groups planning a trip across a hundred photos and links. Founders catching customer feedback fragments. Roommates juggling bills and repairs. Or just you on your own — your personal pool is yours alone. CORA Cora is your help assistant inside CRTX. Ask her how a feature works, where to find a setting, or what an option does. She knows the app inside and out — so you don't have to. SUBSCRIPTION Choose Personal for just yourself, or Family for up to 6 people. Both start with a 7-day free trial. Cancel anytime in Settings ▸ Subscription ▸ Manage Subscription inside the app. Either plan includes unlimited capture, AI question-answering, shared pools, Apple Watch, and the share extension. LANGUAGES English, German, French. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://crtx.live/privacy

Screenshots

PILE4 screens
CRTX4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: CRTX at 5.0 against PILE's 1.6. PILE's advantage is update cadence (every 3 days vs every 5 months) and ratings volume (24 vs 1). On price, 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

Both are free to download. PILE sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and CRTX sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

CRTX holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 1.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: PILE has 24 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PILE ships an update every 3 days, CRTX every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on November 4, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
PILE versus CRTX: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPILECRTX
PriceFreeFree
Rating1.6 (24 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews7.4% of reviews—
Number of ratings24 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 3 days — betterEvery 5 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac — betteriPhone, Apple Watch
Requires iOS17.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size48 MB25 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperAwesome Apps Company Ltd.Lars Janssen

Customer experience

PILE

All ratings20 ratings
Positive10.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative90.0%
Written reviews27 reviews
Positive7.4%
Neutral7.4%
Negative85.2%

CRTX

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

5 purchases

PILE

Subscriptions5
  • Monthly for Students$2.991 Month
  • Monthly for Professionals$3.991 Month
  • Yearly Offer$12.991 Year
Show 2 more
  • Yearly - Offer$12.991 Year
  • Yearly for Everyone$22.991 Year
4 purchases

CRTX

Subscriptions4
  • CRTX Personal Monthly7 Days trial$7.991 Month
  • CRTX Family Monthly7 Days trial$12.991 Month
  • CRTX Personal Annual7 Days trial$69.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • CRTX Family Annual7 Days trial$119.991 Year

Questions

Is PILE free?
PILE is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is CRTX free?
CRTX is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, PILE or CRTX?
CRTX is rated higher. PILE averages 1.6 out of 5 from 24 ratings, while CRTX averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do PILE or CRTX have ads?
Neither PILE nor CRTX shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PILE or CRTX?
PILE ships an update every 3 days, and CRTX every 5 months. Most recently, PILE was updated on November 4, 2026 and CRTX on October 31, 2026.

Other comparisons