Comparison

Strayfiles vs Dictantor

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

Head to head
About

Strayfiles

Read full description

Strayfiles brings all your Markdown files together in one place without moving them. Point to any folder on your device and Strayfiles indexes your notes, docs, and files instantly. ORGANIZE WITHOUT MIGRATING Your files stay exactly where they are. No vault, no restructuring. Strayfiles reads from any folder you choose and builds a unified note tree across all your directories. WRITE IN MARKDOWN Full Markdown editor with syntax highlighting and keyboard shortcuts. Switch to a rendered preview to see your formatting, tables, code blocks, and more come to life. SEARCH EVERYTHING Full-text search across all your Markdown files by title, content, or tags. Find any note instantly no matter where it lives on your filesystem. SMART WORKSPACES Create virtual folders that group notes by project or topic without touching your filesystem. Filter by workspace to focus on what matters. TAG AND FILTER Add color-coded tags to organize notes your way. Filter by tag to find exactly what you need in seconds. SYNC ACROSS DEVICES Keep your notes in sync across iPhone, iPad, and Mac with Stray Cloud. End-to-end encrypted so your data stays private. BUILT FOR DEVELOPERS Mirror files like CLAUDE.md across multiple projects. Get pinged when AI coding agents finish tasks. Give AI assistants direct access to your notes via MCP. TEAMS (PRO) Collaborate on shared workspaces with your team in real time. Everyone sees the same notes, always up to date. KEY FEATURES - Aggregate notes from any folder - Raw Markdown and WYSIWYG editing - Full-text search across all files - Smart workspaces and color-coded tags - Cross-device sync with end-to-end encryption - File mirrors for developer workflows - AI agent notifications (Pings) - Team collaboration (Pro) Terms of Use: https://strayfiles.com/terms

About

Dictantor

Capture ideas, meetings, and conversations as searchable text. Record on iPhone or Apple Watch, transcribe on-device, organize notes into folders, and export audio or text. Optional on-device insights can summarize your recordings.

Highlights
  • On-device transcription
  • Folder organization
  • Full-text search
  • Audio and text export
  • Apple Watch recording
  • Optional iCloud sync
Features
Read full description

Dictantor is a private voice notes app for capturing ideas, conversations, and meetings as searchable text. Record on iPhone or Apple Watch, transcribe directly on your iPhone, organize notes into folders, search what was said, and export audio or text. RECORD ON IPHONE OR APPLE WATCH Capture thoughts, meetings, 1:1s, interviews, lectures, brainstorms, study notes, personal reflections, and musical ideas. Start a recording from the Dictantor Apple Watch app or directly from your watch face. Recordings transfer to your paired iPhone, where they can be transcribed, organized, searched, played back, and exported. TRANSCRIBE ON YOUR IPHONE Create transcripts directly on your iPhone in supported languages. Transcription is processed on device—Dictantor does not send your audio to an external transcription service. ORGANIZE YOUR VOICE NOTES Create folders for different projects, clients, meetings, or ideas. Pin important folders for quick access and move recordings whenever your organization changes. Deleting a folder does not delete the recordings inside it, they return to All Recordings. SEARCH YOUR ENTIRE LIBRARY Search across all your recordings and transcripts, no matter which folder you start from. Filter results by folder and open a recording directly at the matching passage. LISTEN AND FOLLOW ALONG Play recordings, move through the timeline, skip forward or back, and tap a transcript section to return to the corresponding moment in the audio. EXPORT AUDIO OR TEXT Export audio or transcript files using the iOS share sheet. Export options appear whenever the corresponding content is available. CONTINUE ON YOUR MAC If you also use Dictantor for Mac, recordings, transcripts, folders, and organization can sync through your personal iCloud account, letting you continue on either device. PRIVATE BY DESIGN - No Dictantor account required - No subscription required - Transcription is processed on device - Audio is not sent to third-party transcription services - iCloud synchronization is optional - Core recording, transcription, playback, search, organization, and export features work offline OPTIONAL ON-DEVICE INSIGHTS On compatible devices, when Apple Intelligence is available and enabled, Dictantor can generate a summary, key takeaways, and action items from supported transcripts. When Insights is unavailable, recording, transcription, playback, search, organization, and export remain available. Use Dictantor to capture a quick thought, record a conversation, save a meeting, or keep a spoken note you can return to later. Transcription, synchronization, and Insights availability may vary depending on the device, system settings, iCloud availability, transcript language, speech clarity, and audio quality. Dictantor for Apple Watch requires a paired iPhone with Dictantor installed.

Screenshots

Dictantor4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is device support: Dictantor at 3 against Strayfiles's —. On price, in-app purchases and iOS requirement 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Scorecard1 real difference · 8 level
Strayfiles versus Dictantor: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStrayfilesDictantor
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequency—Every 11 days
Ads—No
In-app purchasesNoNo
Monetization—Free
Devices—iPhone, Mac, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS26.026.0
Further details — not scored
Size13 MB475 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRoberto FebusAlexander Kremenskoy

In-app purchases

None

Strayfiles

No in-app purchases

None

Dictantor

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Strayfiles free?
Strayfiles is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Dictantor free?
Dictantor is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

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