Plain Text Paste vs Sparkle
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Plain Text Paste
Effortlessly remove text formatting when copying and pasting. This utility allows you to convert rich text to plain text, ensuring consistent formatting across all your applications. You can also view and edit the clipboard content.
- Copy as plain text
- Remove formatting from clipboard
- View and edit clipboard text
- Automatic formatting removal
- Split view support
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Copy as plain text right within your favourite apps!* Are you tired of pasting text into an app such as Mail, only to find that the text is too large or the wrong color? Using Plain Text Paste, you can now copy as plain text*, or remove formatting from the current clipboard content. All formatting (colors, fonts, and sizes) is automatically removed from the text in the clipboard. You can even view and edit the plain text currently in the clipboard with simple customizations such as removing newlines and uppercasing! How it works (easy way): 1. Highlight text 2. Tap "Share..." if available (if not, use steps below) 3. Tap "Copy Plain Text" 4. Paste the unformatted text into any app you wish Or (classic way): 1. Copy text from any app 2. Open Plain Text app 3. The text in the clipboard is automatically converted to plain text 4. Paste the unformatted text into any app you wish Take control of your clipboard by viewing and editing text, and clearing all formatting using Plain Text Paste. Notes: * The "copy within app" feature is not available in all apps. Please use "classic way" instead (see above). Disclaimer: App does not show original rich text. For illustrative purposes only. Second screenshot is showing the "Smart Copy" app to illustrate the "copy within app" feature.
Sparkle
This dictation keyboard allows you to speak your thoughts and have them transcribed directly into any app. It works offline, supports long pauses, and ensures your privacy by processing everything on your device.
- Offline dictation
- Works with VoiceOver
- Pause and think
- Background recording
- No time limits
- Private by design
- Integrated letter keyboard
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Sparkle is a voice-to-text keyboard that runs entirely on your phone. WORKS WITH VOICEOVER Audio coming out of your speaker gets filtered out of the recording. Only your words get written. Every control is labeled and tested with VoiceOver. When VoiceOver is on, there's a new Echo Cancellation setting in the app. PAUSE TO THINK Most dictation cuts you off after a second of silence. Sparkle keeps listening while you think, so you can pause for as long as you like. BUILT FOR LONG THOUGHTS Notes, emails, journal entries, a long prompt. Whatever it is, say the whole thing instead of typing it. ONE BUTTON TO TALK Tap to record, tap again to stop. That's the whole idea. Swipe left to delete words, swipe right for Enter. NOW IT TYPES, TOO There's a simple letters keyboard for the quick stuff, like typing an app name or a search term. It's English only for now, and it doesn't autocorrect. WORKS EVERYWHERE If it has a keyboard, Sparkle works there. Messages, mail, notes, browsers, chat apps. PICK YOUR MODEL Two ways to turn speech into text. On iOS 26 there's Apple's built-in speech recognition (Instant): nothing big to download, it just starts. And there's Whisper (Global): 99 languages, one 632MB download, then it works offline forever. KEEPS YOUR HEADPHONES QUIET Other apps pipe ambient noise through your AirPods while you dictate. Sparkle uses your iPhone's mic directly. Your noise cancellation stays on, no weird echo. WORKS IN BACKGROUND Most dictation stops recording the moment you switch apps. Sparkle keeps going: check a reference, copy a link, come back. The mic stays on the whole time. NO TIME LIMITS Speak for as long as you need. Sparkle transcribes in chunks as you go, saving each piece to disk immediately. No "recording limit reached" nonsense. NEVER LOSE A WORD Phone call interrupts? Saved. Siri pops up? Saved. App crashes? Saved. Your words are written to disk as you speak, and your last 20 transcriptions are backed up to History. Because losing a 20-minute voice memo is unacceptable. PRIVATE BY DESIGN No accounts. No analytics. No tracking. Everything happens on your phone. We literally cannot see your transcriptions.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Sparkle at Free against Plain Text Paste's $2.99. Sparkle also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 5 months) and review sentiment (100% vs 83%). Plain Text Paste's advantage is rating (4.3 vs 3.0) and ratings volume (26 vs 2). On ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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
Sparkle is free to download; Plain Text Paste costs $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Plain Text Paste holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Plain Text Paste has 26 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 83% of Plain Text Paste's written reviews are positive against 100% of Sparkle's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Plain Text Paste ships an update every 5 months, Sparkle every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Plain Text Paste | Sparkle |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $2.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.3 (26 ratings) — better | 3.0 (2 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 82.6% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 26 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 — better | 17.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 1 MB | 4 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Lukas Rossi | EIRINI PAPAKONSTANTINOU |
Customer experience
Plain Text Paste
Sparkle
In-app purchases
Plain Text Paste
No in-app purchases
Sparkle
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Plain Text Paste free?
Is Sparkle free?
Which has better reviews, Plain Text Paste or Sparkle?
Do Plain Text Paste or Sparkle have ads?
Which is updated more often, Plain Text Paste or Sparkle?
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