Comparison

ScanOnce vs Thought Relay

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

Head to head
About

ScanOnce

This app scans documents directly on your device without using the cloud or requiring an account. It offers automatic edge detection, page straightening, and text recognition for easy searching. Export scans as PDFs or JPEGs, and secure your documents with Face ID.

Highlights
  • Automatic edge detection and page straightening
  • On-device text recognition for search
  • Export as PDF or JPEG
  • Multi-page document capture
  • Document organization with folders
  • Face ID security
Features
Read full description

Scan a page, sign it and send a clean PDF. Your documents stay on your device, never on a server. No account. No ads. Point the camera and ScanOnce does the rest. Available in English, Spanish, French, German, Arabic, Russian, Hindi, Ukrainian, Korean, Portuguese, Simplified and Traditional Chinese, Japanese and Indonesian. WHAT IT DOES Sharp, automatic captures Point the camera at a page. Edges are detected, the page is straightened, and multi-page documents are captured in one go. Search inside every scan Text is recognized directly on your device, so you can search for a word you remember and land on the right page. Read, titled and filed for you ScanOnce reads each document on the device, gives it a clear title and files it with others of the same kind. Export the way you need Share as PDF, export pages as JPEG, or send straight to a printer. Tidy it up Switch between colour, greyscale, black and white and photo filters. Reorder pages, rename documents and keep them in folders. Business cards to Contacts Scan a card and save the details straight to Contacts. Locked if you want it locked Turn on Face ID and your documents stay sealed behind it. PRO The free library holds 3 documents. Pro adds: Sign and fill Draw your signature with your finger, place it on any page and write in dates and details by hand. It all goes into the PDF. Unlimited documents Keep every scan, however many there are. Receipts to a spreadsheet Turn your receipts and invoices into a CSV spreadsheet for expenses. Clean exports Free exports from 4.2 carry a small “Scanned with ScanOnce” line at the foot of each page. Pro removes it. If you had ScanOnce before 4.2, your exports stay clean and nothing changes for you. PRIVACY, PLAINLY Your documents, their text and your PDFs never leave this device unless you share them yourself. There is no account, no advertising and no tracking. ScanOnce goes online for two things only: purchases, which Apple handles, and, on installs from 4.2, sending anonymous usage counts such as “a scan was saved”. Those counts carry no identifier and nothing from your pages. If you delete the app, your documents go with it. PLANS AND TERMS Pro comes as an auto-renewing monthly or yearly subscription, each with a 7-day free trial, or as a one-time payment. Payment is charged to your Apple Account. A subscription renews automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel it anytime in your Apple Account settings. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://legal.unreel.ae/privacy/scanonce.html

About

Thought Relay

Features
Read full description

Catch the thought before it disappears. Thought Relay is a fast, focused notebook for ideas that arrive in the middle of everything else. FREE CORE, UNCHANGED • Capture, edit, search, pin, share, and delete notes • Organize with Inbox, Next, Ideas, Words, and Life channels • See live word count • Work without an account OPTIONAL iPHONE FEATURES A separate one-time purchase adds voice capture, the original audio kept with the note, on-device transcription when the device supports it, per-note locking with Face ID, Touch ID, or passcode, and live character count. If on-device transcription is unavailable, Thought Relay still saves the recording and note. OPTIONAL APPLE WATCH FEATURES A separate one-time purchase adds spoken capture from your wrist, Quick Checklists that stay in step with the paired iPhone, recent-note glance, and a Speak a thought complication. Buy the Watch features from Thought Relay on the paired iPhone, then open the Watch app. A Watch recording stays queued until the iPhone confirms the note was saved. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Thought Relay has no account, ads, analytics, or tracking. Notes, recordings, transcripts, checklists, and the local purchase-funnel event log are not uploaded to Myworkingmemory. Watch content travels only between the paired Apple devices using WatchConnectivity. Locked note contents never go to Watch. Thought Relay is a general-purpose notes app. It is not a medical product and does not diagnose, treat, or manage ADHD or any other condition. Terms | https://www.myworkingmemory.ai/thought-relay-terms.html Privacy | https://www.myworkingmemory.ai/thought-relay-privacy.html

Screenshots

ScanOnce4 screens
Thought Relay4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Thought Relay at none against ScanOnce's 3. Thought Relay also leads on device support (5 vs 2). ScanOnce's advantage is update cadence (every 4 days vs monthly). On price, ads 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. ScanOnce sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Thought Relay asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ScanOnce ships an update every 4 days, Thought Relay monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 11, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
ScanOnce versus Thought Relay: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterScanOnceThought Relay
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Vision Pro — better
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size4 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAndrii ZakharovMyworkingmemory LLC

In-app purchases

3 purchases

ScanOnce

Subscriptions2
  • ScanOnce Pro Monthly14 Days trial$3.991 Month
  • ScanOnce Pro Yearly14 Days trial$19.991 Year
One-time1
  • ScanOnce Pro$49.99
None

Thought Relay

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is ScanOnce free?
ScanOnce is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Thought Relay free?
Thought Relay is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do ScanOnce or Thought Relay have ads?
Neither ScanOnce nor Thought Relay shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ScanOnce or Thought Relay?
ScanOnce ships an update every 4 days, and Thought Relay monthly. Most recently, ScanOnce was updated on October 11, 2026 and Thought Relay on October 7, 2026.

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