Substitutes vs Cipher
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Substitutes
Access your school's substitution schedule directly on your iPhone or iPad. Stay updated automatically with timetable changes, even offline. You can also input your personal schedule for a consolidated view of all your classes and substitutions.
- Real-time substitution plan updates
- Offline access to schedule
- Personal timetable input
- Automatic course synchronization
- Supports schools across Germany
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Latest substitution plan directly for your iPhone and iPad. Stay up to date automatically and be aware of your timetable at all times! With your iOS device, you now have your substitution plan directly in your pocket - even offline - and are always up-to-date. You can also enter your own timetable and have everything in one app. Choose your school, enter your courses and that's all you need to be informed about all your substitutions. Your courses are automatically synchronised with the substitutions and displayed to you. No more annoying course matching, because from now on all you need to do is take a quick look at this app and you'll know when you have which substitutions. Substitutes supports schools all over Germany. The complete list can be viewed at https://vertretungen.wittler.app/en#schools. Your school is not supported yet? Send us an email to vertretungen@wittler.app with information about your school and the link to your online substitution plan. We hope to support your school as soon as possible!
Cipher
This app allows users to easily encode and decode messages using various secret codes. It offers offline functionality and printable translation tables for decoding without the app. Ideal for educational puzzles, treasure hunts, and creative communication.
- Encode and decode messages
- 12+ secret codes available
- Offline functionality
- Printable translation tables
- Export encoded messages as images
- Suitable for educational puzzles
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Do you love a treasure hunt? Do you love secret messages? Do you enjoy decoding and encoding messages? With "CIPHER" you can easily encode and decode messages. At the beginning, there are 12 different secret codes (e.g. Morse alphabet, Braille, ...) available, more codes will follow in free updates. All functions and worksheets do not need an internet connection! ENCODING With the keyboard, letters and numbers can be typed in plain text and converted into symbols. The encoded messages can be saved and exported as an image. Various applications: treasure hunts, puzzle tasks for school, children's birthday parties, encoded postcards or just for fun! DECODING WITH THE APP By using the symbol keyboard, the message can be easily decoded in the app. When tapping on the symbols, the corresponding letter or number is displayed. DECODING WITH THE PRINTABLE TRANSLATION TABLE The translation tables can be exported and printed as PDF worksheet. With these worksheets, the encoded messages can be decoded even without an app or the Internet. *** NOTE *** This app contains a part of "CacheToolBox". The printable translation tables will be available only in this app, also in the future! More fonts will follow later, some of them are only available here! "Cipher" is addressed to a different target group like schools, scouts, etc.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Substitutes at Free against Cipher's $2.99. Substitutes also leads on device support (3 vs 1). On review sentiment, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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
Substitutes is free to download; Cipher costs $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Substitutes ships an update every 3 months, Cipher every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on September 19, 2026 and October 5, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Substitutes | Cipher |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $2.99 |
| Rating | — | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 71.4% of reviews — better | 66.7% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | — | 1 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months — better | Every 4 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 18 | 17.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 3 MB | 38 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Jan Wittler | TN-TECHNOLOGY |
Customer experience
Substitutes
Cipher
In-app purchases
Substitutes
No in-app purchases
Cipher
No in-app purchases









