Comparison

Etch vs InkLayer

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

Head to head
About

Etch

Features
Read full description

Etch is a quiet habit tracker. One tap marks the day. Over time, the marks become your rhythm. CHECK IN WITH ONE TAP Every habit is a circle. Tap it and it turns white. Missed a day? Step back and fill it in. SEE YOUR RHYTHM The Log shows the last 7 days or the last 26 weeks as a grid of dots, so streaks and gaps are easy to spot. Open any habit for its streak, best run, total, and a month-by-month calendar. SET YOUR OWN PACE Pick the weekdays each habit is due. Days off show as gray dots and never break a streak, and checking in on a rest day still counts. FITS YOUR DAY Up late? Set your day to end as late as 5 a.m., so a check-in after midnight still counts for the day before. WIDGETS Check in straight from your Home Screen, and see recent days at a glance, in three sizes. PRIVATE BY DESIGN β€’ No account, no ads, no tracking β€’ Your habits sync through your own private iCloud β€’ The developer never sees your data Free and open source: github.com/nvlznn/etch

About

InkLayer

Features
Read full description

InkLayer is a notebook for reading, research and handwritten thinking. Handwriting, PDFs and Markdown notes share one canvas, and everything is saved as files you own. Write notes as real Markdown files. Open PDFs without modifying the original document. Draw with pens, highlighters, shapes and erasers on top of notes or PDF pages. Show, lock, reorder and fade layers so sources, handwritten derivations and your summaries stay separate. Core features: - A library of real Markdown files, kept on your device. - Handwriting and highlights on PDFs, with the original file untouched. - Select PDF text to copy, translate or add to a note, or draw a lasso around a passage to extract it into a note with its page number. - Shape recognition, a precision eraser, a full lasso (move, resize, rotate, recolor, copy and paste) and a laser pointer. - Layers with visibility, lock, opacity and order. - Markdown preview with math, wikilinks, tags, backlinks and a graph view. - Flowcharts: connect cards on a canvas with arrows. - Databases: organize documents in a table, filter and sort it, and export it as a PDF. - Handwrite while recording and replay the ink with the audio; make transcripts on the device and turn on live captions in class. - Search across your library, including text inside PDFs, recording transcripts and handwriting recognized on the device. - Sync through iCloud, Google Drive or your own WebDAV server; conflicts keep both versions. - Present a PDF or a canvas full screen with your handwriting on it: a laser pointer, a pen for writing on the slides, and pages turned from the keyboard or a presentation remote. - Open PDFs and Markdown files in InkLayer straight from Files, Mail, Safari and other apps. - E-ink mode: grayscale, high contrast, no animation. - Export and import your whole library without an account. Translation needs iPadOS 18 or iOS 18 and later; transcripts and live captions need iPadOS 26 or iOS 26 and later. Free to download, with every feature: handwrite in 3 documents for free. InkLayer Lifetime is one purchase that removes the limit, and every future on-device feature update is included. Nothing you write is ever locked. No account is required and there is no tracking or ads. Handwriting recognition, transcripts and translation happen on your device, and your library stays portable.

Screenshots

Etch4 screens
InkLayer4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Etch at none against InkLayer's 1. InkLayer's advantage is device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). On price and ads there is nothing between them.

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

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

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

Scorecard3 real differences Β· 3 level
Etch versus InkLayer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterEtchInkLayer
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyβ€”Every 3 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo β€” betterYes
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, Mac β€” better
Requires iOS26.017.0 β€” better
Further details β€” not scored
Size1 MB61 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperIno ChuehHo Lam Chung

In-app purchases

None

Etch

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

InkLayer

One-time1
  • InkLayer Lifetime$19.99

Questions

Is Etch free?
Etch is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is InkLayer free?
InkLayer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Etch or InkLayer have ads?
Neither Etch nor InkLayer shows ads.

Other comparisons