Notes by Color vs TaskScratch
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Notes by Color
This app uses color as its primary organizational tool, allowing users to create custom color labels for notes. It offers instant filtering and sorting by color, providing a visual system for quick access and organization. Features include AI-powered summaries, iCloud sync, and full-text search.
- Custom color labels
- Instant color filtering
- AI-powered note summaries
- iCloud sync
- Full-text search
- Pin important notes
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Toono turns color into your most powerful organizational tool. Most note apps make you work harder than you should - folders, tags, nested systems, endless scrolling. Toono is different. You create your own color labels, assign them to notes, and instantly have a visual system that your brain understands at a glance. No complexity. No clutter. Just your colors, your way. Why people love Toono: Color isn't decoration here - it's structure. Scan your note list in seconds, filter by color with one tap, and always know exactly where everything is. Whether you're capturing ideas, tracking tasks, writing, studying, or just keeping life organized, Toono adapts to how you actually think. Everything you need, nothing you don't: - Custom color labels you define yourself - Instant color filtering - Sort notes your way - Adjustable text color - AI-powered note summaries - iCloud sync across all your devices - Pin important notes to the top - Full-text search - Adjustable note preview length - Easy sharing - Light and dark mode Your colors. Your system. Your clarity. Download Toono and find out how much calmer your notes can feel.
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 Notes by Color's 1. TaskScratch also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs every 3 weeks) 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. Notes by Color sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. TaskScratch asks for nothing beyond the download.
Notes by Color ships an update every 3 weeks, TaskScratch every 2 days. Both last shipped on October 25, 2026.
| Parameter | Notes by Color | TaskScratch |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (4 ratings) — better | — |
| Number of ratings | 4 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Every 2 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | 17.6 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 2 MB | 2 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Two Moon Tree | Steve Eubanks |
Customer experience
Notes by Color
TaskScratch
In-app purchases
Notes by Color
- Unlock Premium$6.99
TaskScratch
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Notes by Color free?
Is TaskScratch free?
Do Notes by Color or TaskScratch have ads?
Which is updated more often, Notes by Color or TaskScratch?
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