Sandbook vs PlanScale
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Sandbook
This app converts text from various file formats, web pages, and images into natural-sounding speech. It offers offline listening, customizable playback speed, and pronunciation adjustments, making it ideal for hands-free consumption of written content.
- Offline text-to-speech
- Supports EPUB, PDF, Word, web pages, and images
- Natural Kokoro voices run locally
- Customizable playback speed and pronunciation
- CarPlay and lock screen controls
- Export text and audiobooks
- Accessibility features for dyslexia
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Free, offline text to speech for iPhone and iPad: Sandbook reads aloud your EPUB books, PDFs (scanned ones too), Word documents and web pages in natural Kokoro voices that run on your device. No subscription, no account, no ads, no listening limits, and no internet needed to listen. Nothing you read is uploaded. Press play, lock your screen and keep listening, or carry on in the car with CarPlay. LISTEN TO WHAT YOU READ - EPUB, PDF, Word (.docx), TXT, RTF, Markdown and HTML files, from the Files app or any app's share sheet - Scanned PDFs: pages with no text are recognized on your device and read aloud - Web pages: paste a link, or tap Save to Sandbook in Safari, Chrome and other apps, and they wait in Listen Later - Screenshots and images: share a screenshot, a photo or a post's image to Sandbook and it reads the text - Printed pages: scan them with the camera or pick a photo - Your own text: type or paste it - A shelf of public-domain classics in English, Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese and Hindi, with a short sample before you download NATURAL VOICES, ON YOUR DEVICE - 41 voices in American and British English, Spanish, French, Italian, Brazilian Portuguese and Hindi, all included in the app - Plus beta voices in French, Spanish, Italian, Brazilian Portuguese, Hindi and British English - A book in Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese or Hindi opens with a voice in its language - Powered by the open-source Kokoro-82M model, running locally - Each spoken word is highlighted, so you can follow along - Speed from 0.5x to 2.5x; each book remembers its voice and speed - Pronunciations: tell Sandbook how to say a name or word, in every book or just one, and import or export your list as a CSV or Markdown file MADE FOR LONG LISTENING - Opens at the paragraph where you stopped - Lock screen controls with the chapter's progress and 15-second skips - CarPlay: continue your book, or pick one from your library or Listen Later - Widgets for the Home Screen and Lock Screen, and a Play Sandbook control for Control Center and the Action button - Sleep timer: stop after a set time or at the end of the chapter - Continue Reading with Siri or the Shortcuts app READ CLOSELY, KEEP WHAT MATTERS - Select any text to look up a word or translate it - Bookmark passages and export them as a text or Markdown file - Search inside a book; in a PDF, the sentence being read is highlighted on the page, and you can tap any sentence to read from there - Turn a book into an audiobook: export a chapter or the whole book as one M4A file with chapter markers, or any text you type - Light, sepia and dark themes, fonts, text size and line spacing ACCESSIBILITY - For readers with dyslexia: follow each highlighted word as it is read, at the speed that suits you - VoiceOver, Voice Control, Switch Control, larger text and contrast improvements - The app is available in English, Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese (Brazil) and Hindi PRIVATE BY DESIGN Your books, text and voices stay on your device. Sandbook never sends what you read to a server. GOOD TO KNOW - Requires iOS 18.2 or later. Voices run on iPhone XS, iPhone XR and later, and on iPads with an A12 chip or later. - Also on the Mac (Apple silicon). Questions or ideas: support@sandbook.app
PlanScale
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PlanScale is the ultimate paperless field companion for contractors, builders, and project managers. Leave the clipboards, blueprints, and tape measures behind. PlanScale digitizes your entire site documentation workflow directly from your iPhone or iPad. Key Features: • 100% Paperless Workflow: Digitize your job site. Say goodbye to lost notes and smudged blueprints. • Smart Photo Capture: Snap and organize site photos instantly without manually sorting them later. • AR Measurements: Measure spaces and objects on the fly using built-in Augmented Reality—no tape measure needed. • Floor Plan Pinning: Upload your digital blueprints and pin your photos/notes exactly where you took them for perfect context. • Fast Cost Estimates: Generate immediate, accurate cost estimates right from the job site. • Professional Reports: Export clean, branded PDF and CSV reports to share with clients and your team in seconds without ever touching a printer. Build faster, track smarter, and document everything effortlessly with PlanScale. License Agreement (EULA) https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: PlanScale at daily against Sandbook's every 5 days. PlanScale also leads on iOS requirement (15.1 vs 18.2). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Sandbook ships an update every 5 days, PlanScale daily. The most recent releases landed on November 11, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Sandbook | PlanScale |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (202 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 85.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 202 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 5 days | Daily — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 18.2 | 15.1 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 144 MB | 63 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | SmashMelon LLC | Aries Paul Zeta |
In-app purchases
Sandbook
No in-app purchases
PlanScale
No in-app purchases









