Comparison

TaskScratch vs TagSpaces

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

Head to head
About

TaskScratch

Read full description

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.

About

TagSpaces

Features
Read full description

TagSpaces is a private, offline file organizer and note-taking app. Browse, tag, and find your documents, photos, notes, and PDFs — all kept on your device or in your own iCloud Drive. No account, no sign-up, no cloud lock-in, and no tracking. Most apps push your files into someone else's cloud. TagSpaces does the opposite: your data stays yours, in plain files and folders you fully control, readable with or without the app. Organize with tags • Add tags directly into filenames or store them in sidecar files • Group and color your tags for fast visual sorting • Works across all your folders — no proprietary database Find anything, fast • Search by name or tags with fuzzy matching • Filter and narrow down large folders in seconds Notes & to-dos • Create notes in plain text, Markdown, or HTML • Keep simple task lists with the built-in editor View your media • Open images, PDFs, audio, and video right in the app • Preview and manage documents without extra tools Private and offline by design • 100% offline — no internet connection required • No ads, no analytics, no accounts • Your files live on your device and in your iCloud Drive, and integrate with the iOS Files app Open source you can trust The TagSpaces core is open source (AGPL), so anyone can verify how it handles your data. TagSpaces Pro Unlock advanced features with an in-app purchase, including downloading and clipping web pages and files from a URL, and more power tools for your workflow. Part of a cross-platform suite TagSpaces is also available for Mac, Windows, Linux, and the web — organize the same folders everywhere, your way. Take back control of your files. Download TagSpaces and turn your phone into a private, offline home for everything that matters.

Screenshots

TaskScratch4 screens
TagSpaces4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: TaskScratch at none against TagSpaces's 1. TaskScratch also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs every 3 weeks). TagSpaces's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.6). On price, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

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

CostPrice Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Ads Ā· Monetization

Both are free to download. TagSpaces sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. TaskScratch asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

TaskScratch ships an update every 2 days, TagSpaces every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 18, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences Ā· 3 level
TaskScratch versus TagSpaces: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTaskScratchTagSpaces
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 2 days — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.615.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size2 MB219 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSteve EubanksTagSpaces GmbH

In-app purchases

None

TaskScratch

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

TagSpaces

One-time1
  • TagSpaces Pro$29.99

Questions

Is TaskScratch free?
TaskScratch is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is TagSpaces free?
TagSpaces is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do TaskScratch or TagSpaces have ads?
Neither TaskScratch nor TagSpaces shows ads.
Which is updated more often, TaskScratch or TagSpaces?
TaskScratch ships an update every 2 days, and TagSpaces every 3 weeks. Most recently, TaskScratch was updated on October 18, 2026 and TagSpaces on October 12, 2026.

Other comparisons