Comparison

ExplainThisDoc vs reetle

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

Head to head
About

ExplainThisDoc

Features
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Keep letters, bills, and PDFs together. Find your documents again and get difficult letters explained whenever you need help understanding them. ExplainThisDoc helps you keep personal paperwork handy on your iPhone and iPad without maintaining a folder system. Explanations, personal notes, and linked documents stay together. Your archive and everyday document tools are free. Only Pro explanations use credits: one credit per analysis. No subscription. COLLECT AND FIND Scan your letters, documents, and paperwork with your camera, or import PDFs, photos, and supported files already saved on your phone, attached to emails, or shared by other apps. You can also add text from the clipboard. Use search and filters to find documents in your archive. Link related documents, such as a contract and its invoice. WORK WITH THE ORIGINAL Open documents in the built-in reader and search their recognized text. Highlight passages, add annotations, and add a signature. Rotate saved PDF and scan pages. CHOOSE HOW TO UNDERSTAND โ€ข Archive only: Save, read, and find documents without using AI. โ€ข On-device analysis: Get categorization, free short summaries, and key information directly on your device. โ€ข Pro analysis: Get more detailed explanations, context, and possible next steps. Depending on the document and the analysis you choose, results may highlight deadlines, amounts, tasks, and important conditions. Add recognized appointments to your calendar and open addresses in Maps. PRO WHEN YOU NEED IT Each Pro analysis uses one credit. Buy additional credits as one-time in-app purchases. Your first installation includes three trial credits, provided once, for three Pro analyses. Your free archive remains usable without credits. YOUR DOCUMENTS, YOUR CONTROL Your archive is stored on your device. Optionally sync it through iCloud across your own devices using the same account. Protect access with Face ID, and use export and import to back up or transfer your collection. No ads or trackers. Text recognition and on-device analysis run on your device. For Pro, recognized document text is sent through our server to your chosen AI provider. Original files, PDFs, photos, and scans are not sent to these AI providers. Start with one document.

About

reetle

Features
Read full description

World's First AI E-Ink Hub for Smartphone. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

ExplainThisDoc4 screens
reetle4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: ExplainThisDoc at every 3 days against reetle's weekly. reetle's advantage is iOS requirement (16.0 vs 26.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Both are free to download. ExplainThisDoc sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and reetle sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ExplainThisDoc ships an update every 3 days, reetle weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences ยท 4 level
ExplainThisDoc versus reetle: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterExplainThisDocreetle
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 3 days โ€” betterWeekly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS26.016.0 โ€” better
Further details โ€” not scored
Size90 MB633 MB
Age rating12+17+
DeveloperJulian HegerReetle (Hong Kong) Technology Co., Limited

In-app purchases

3 purchases

ExplainThisDoc

One-time3
  • 5 Credits$2.99
  • 50 Credits$24.99
  • 200 Credits$69.99
6 purchases

reetle

Subscriptions6
  • Lite month$1.991 Month
  • pro month$9.991 Month
  • Plus month$14.991 Month
Show 3 more
  • Lite Year$19.991 Year
  • Pro yearly$99.991 Year
  • plus yearly$149.991 Year

Questions

Is ExplainThisDoc free?
ExplainThisDoc is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is reetle free?
reetle is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do ExplainThisDoc or reetle have ads?
Neither ExplainThisDoc nor reetle shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ExplainThisDoc or reetle?
ExplainThisDoc ships an update every 3 days, and reetle weekly. Most recently, ExplainThisDoc was updated on October 31, 2026 and reetle on November 5, 2026.

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