TextMates vs TextDeck
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
TextMates
This app transforms your iPhone into a private AI assistant for your documents. Engage in natural conversations with PDFs and text files, receiving intelligent answers with verifiable citations, all processed locally on your device without an internet connection.
- Chat with documents
- 100% private, on-device processing
- Import PDFs, text files, and scanned documents
- Natural language questions and answers
- Multi-document querying
- Source citations
- Offline capable
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Turn your iPhone into a powerful AI document assistant with TextMates. TextMates brings desktop-class AI capabilities to your iOS device, allowing you to have natural conversations with your documents while keeping everything completely private and on-device. Chat with Your Documents Simply upload PDFs, text files, or documents, and start asking questions. TextMates uses advanced AI to understand your documents and provide intelligent, conversational responses - just like chatting with an expert who has read everything. 100% Private, 100% Local Unlike other AI apps, TextMates runs entirely on your device. Your documents never leave your iPhone, and no internet connection is required after initial setup. Your data stays yours. Key Features: - Smart Document Processing - Import PDFs, text files, and more with advanced OCR for scanned documents - Natural Conversations - Ask questions in plain language and get detailed answers with numbered citations - Multi-Document Intelligence - Query across multiple documents simultaneously - Powerful Search - Combines AI understanding with traditional search for best results - Source Citations - Every answer includes verifiable citations linking back to your documents - Offline Capable - Works without internet after downloading AI models - Background Processing - Documents continue processing even when you switch apps Perfect For: - Students - Quickly find information across textbooks and research papers - Professionals - Analyze reports, contracts, and documentation efficiently - Researchers - Cross-reference sources and extract insights - Anyone who values privacy and wants AI assistance without cloud dependency Advanced Technology: TextMates leverages Apple's latest frameworks including MLX for on-device AI, Vision for OCR, and Metal for GPU acceleration. The app is optimized for Apple Silicon and the Neural Engine, delivering desktop-class performance on your iPhone. Why TextMates? - No subscriptions or hidden fees - No account required - No data collection - No cloud processing - Just powerful, private AI on your device
TextDeck
Streamline your typing with reusable text templates and AI-powered prompt enhancement. Create custom snippets with fill-in blanks that paste directly into any app. All processing happens on-device for maximum privacy and offline functionality.
- Reusable text snippets with fill-in blanks
- On-device AI for prompt improvement and placeholder suggestions
- Global hotkey for instant access
- Frecency sorting for frequently used templates
- Community prompt library with offline access
- iCloud sync across Apple devices
- 100% local processing and privacy
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The text you retype, one shortcut away. TextDeck keeps your snippets, replies and AI prompts as reusable templates with fill-in blanks — hit the shortcut, fill the blanks, and it pastes straight into the app you came from. HOW IT WORKS Create a snippet like: "Write a {{Tone}} email to {{Recipient}} about {{Topic}}" — then just fill in the blanks each time. One tap copies or pastes the finished text. Done. ON-DEVICE AI - Improve any prompt with one tap — Apple Intelligence rewrites, shortens, or sharpens it - Paste raw text and let AI suggest reusable {{placeholders}} — you choose which to keep - Runs entirely on your device. Nothing is sent to any server. No account, no API key - Requires a device with Apple Intelligence (iOS 26 / macOS 26 or later) INSTANT ACCESS - Global hotkey opens TextDeck instantly from any app - Frecency sorting puts your most-used templates at the top - Search across all templates and categories in seconds GLOBAL PROMPT LIBRARY - Browse and install free community prompt packs - Works offline and updates automatically - Open source — anyone can contribute on GitHub - Organize everything into your own categories and collections ALWAYS FREE - No subscription, no in-app purchases, no ads — ever - Free, and it stays free SYNC & PRIVACY - iCloud sync keeps your templates on all your Apple devices - 100% local — no accounts, no tracking, no analytics - AI runs on-device — no third-party AI services - Your data never leaves your device unless you enable iCloud Works on Mac, iPad and iPhone. Build your text library once, use it everywhere you type. Terms of Use (Apple Standard EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is device support: TextDeck at 3 against TextMates's 1. On price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence 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.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for TextMates against 5.0 for TextDeck. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 1 respectively.
TextMates ships an update weekly, TextDeck every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on October 10, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | TextMates | TextDeck |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 1 |
| Update frequency | Weekly — better | Every 9 days |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 18.2 | 17.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 29 MB | 8 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Anchen Li | Jonas Hoettler |
Customer experience
TextMates
TextDeck
In-app purchases
TextMates
No in-app purchases
TextDeck
No in-app purchases









