TaskWarden vs TaskScratch
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
TaskWarden
This app helps you stay on track with high-stakes reminders and focus timers. It offers features like repeat alerts, photo proof for tasks, and optional app blocking to combat procrastination and distractions.
- High-stakes reminders
- Focus timers
- Optional app blocking
- Photo proof for tasks
- Widgets and Live Activities
- Reusable task templates
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TaskWarden is a high-stakes reminder and focus app for people who need more than another notification. Create reminders, choose what happens when they go overdue, and let TaskWarden keep the pressure on with repeat alerts, focus timers, widgets, Live Activities, photo proof, and optional app blocking through Apple Screen Time controls. Use TaskWarden to: Create one-time or repeating reminders Block distracting apps when important tasks are overdue Start focus timers that can keep selected apps out of reach Snooze reminders without leaving stale alerts behind Require photo proof for tasks that need real follow-through Save reusable templates for routines, chores, study sessions, and habits See urgent reminders on widgets and Live Activities TaskWarden is built for moments when ordinary reminders are too easy to ignore: finishing chores, starting deep work, getting out the door, stopping procrastination, or protecting a focus session from distracting apps. Your reminder content stays local on your device. App blocking selections are handled through Apple's Screen Time and Family Controls interfaces. A subscription is required to use TaskWarden after onboarding. Subscription options and trial availability are shown in the app before purchase. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
TaskScratch
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TaskScratch is a task manager built on a simple promise: you pay once, you own it forever. No subscription. No "Pro" upgrade that changes the deal. No bait-and-switch. The price you see is the price you pay, and it never expires. YOUR TASKS, YOUR DEVICES, YOUR DATA TaskScratch syncs across iPhone, iPad, and Mac through your personal iCloud account. Your tasks never touch our servers, because we don't have any. No account to create, no third-party cloud service, no data harvesting. Just your Apple ID and end-to-end encryption courtesy of iCloud. ORGANIZE YOUR WAY Create collections for every part of your life: Personal, Work, Family, Travel. Each collection holds multiple lists, and each list holds tasks with priorities, due dates, subtasks, and tags. Sort by priority, due date, name, newest, oldest, or drag to reorder manually. MARKDOWN NOTES ON EVERY TASK Add rich notes to any task with a formatting toolbar: bold, italic, headings, bullet lists, numbered lists, checklists, code blocks, and links. Preview your notes as beautifully rendered text, or expand to a full-screen editor for longer writing. Lists auto-continue as you type. EXPORT AND SHARE IN OPEN FORMATS Share any list or entire collection as plain text or Markdown. Send via iMessage, Mail, AirDrop, or any app on your device. Your data is never locked in. Export a grocery list to a friend or back up your entire project plan in a format any text editor can read. SCRATCHPAD: PRIVATE BY DESIGN A local-only notepad built for sensitive content. Passwords, credentials, private notes, code snippets, anything you need to jot down but never want in the cloud. Your scratchpad is stored only on your device. It does not sync to iCloud. It does not appear in backups. It does not leave your hands. BUILT FOR APPLE TaskScratch is a native SwiftUI app, not a web wrapper, not a cross-platform port. On Mac, it lives in your menu bar with quick access to today's tasks, hides to the background when you close the window, and comes back when you need it. On iPhone, it feels like it belongs. WHAT YOU GET - Collections, lists, tasks, subtasks, and tags - Markdown notes with toolbar and live preview - Seven sort options including priority, due date, and manual reorder - Show or hide completed tasks - Today view with overdue, due today, and this week - Search across everything: titles, notes, subtasks, and tags - iCloud sync across all your Apple devices - Share lists and collections as plain text or Markdown - Scratchpad that is local-only, never synced, never backed up - macOS menu bar app with today's tasks at a glance - Dark mode and Dynamic Type support - No ads, no analytics, no tracking NO SUBSCRIPTION. NO TRICKS. NO ASTERISKS. We believe software should be something you buy, not something you rent. TaskScratch will never move to a subscription model. Future updates are included. The app you buy today is the app you keep forever.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: TaskScratch at none against TaskWarden's 2. TaskScratch also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs fortnightly) and iOS requirement (17.6 vs 26.0). On price, ads 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. TaskWarden sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. TaskScratch asks for nothing beyond the download.
TaskWarden ships an update fortnightly, TaskScratch every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | TaskWarden | TaskScratch |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (4 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 4 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | Every 2 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Subscription | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | 17.6 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 11 MB | 2 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Andrew Carter | Steve Eubanks |
Customer experience
TaskWarden
TaskScratch
In-app purchases
TaskWarden
- TaskWarden Monthly7 Days trial$3.991 Month
- TaskWarden Yearly7 Days trial$29.991 Year
TaskScratch
No in-app purchases









