How Scratchd compares
Obsidian · Bear · Apple Notes · Drafts · iA Writer
Most of these are good apps, and for a lot of people they are the better choice. This page says which people, because a comparison that only lists wins is not worth reading.
The short version
Scratchd is for notes that are half prose and half config. If your notes are all
prose, several apps below do that better. If you regularly paste a JSON payload
or open a .proto schema next to your writing, that is the gap this
fills.
| Scratchd | Obsidian | Bear | Apple Notes | Drafts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Notes stored as plain files | Yes | Yes | No, database | No, database | No, database |
| Folder you choose | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| JSON and YAML as a tree | Yes | Plugin | No | No | No |
| .proto viewer, go to definition | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| Diff two files, apply hunks | Yes | Plugin | No | No | No |
| Works without setup | Yes | Plugins | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Plugins and community | No | Large | No | No | Actions |
| Backlinks and graph | No | Yes | Links | Links | No |
| Windows and Linux | No | Yes | No | No | No |
| Price | $4.99 once | Free, personal | Subscription | Free | Free tier |
Where Scratchd is the wrong choice
You want plugins. Obsidian's plugin ecosystem is the real product for a lot of its users, and there is nothing here that competes with it. Scratchd does a fixed set of things and you cannot extend it.
You think in links. There are no backlinks, no graph view and no transclusion. If your notes are a wiki, Obsidian is built for that and this is not.
You are not on a Mac. There is no Windows, Linux, Android or web version, and there are no plans for one. Obsidian runs everywhere.
You want to try before paying. The App Store has no trial for a one‑time purchase unless the app adds in‑app purchases, which Scratchd does not. Apple Notes and Obsidian are free to start.
You want a long track record. Bear and Obsidian have years of releases and thousands of users behind them. Scratchd is new and made by one person, and that is a real risk to weigh.
Where Scratchd is different
Structured formats get real viewers, not syntax highlighting.
JSON and YAML render as browsable trees. A .proto schema gets a viewer
where you can jump from a field type to its definition. Obsidian can approach some
of this with plugins; nothing else here does it at all.
A diff view in the notes app. Put two files side by side, apply changes hunk by hunk, and save, on any two files you can reach rather than only notes in the library.
Files without the setup. Obsidian also keeps plain files in a folder you choose, so this is not a difference between the two. It is a difference from Bear, Apple Notes and Drafts, all of which keep your notes in a database only they can read.
Bought once. $4.99, no subscription, no in‑app purchases and no paid tier holding features back.
Built in rather than assembled
Obsidian can be made to do most of this, and for some people assembling it is the point. The difference is what arrives working, and that all of it lands in the same library as ordinary files.
Tasks with due dates, recurrence, a Today view and checklists live in
tasks/. Obsidian has no built‑in tasks feature; the popular one is a
community plugin.
Saved links land in links/ with the page title fetched for
you. Obsidian's Bookmarks is a core plugin, but it bookmarks notes, headings and
searches inside the vault rather than pages on the web; saving a web page is a
separate browser extension.
Meeting notes can attach to what is actually in your calendar, so the note knows which meeting it belongs to. Obsidian has nothing equivalent.
Voice notes are transcribed on the machine, using Apple's on‑device models, and the app declines rather than uploading audio if it cannot do the work locally. Obsidian ships an Audio recorder as a core plugin, but it records only; there is no transcription.
The journal is not a differentiator, and it would be easy to pretend otherwise. Daily notes is a core Obsidian plugin and has been for years. Scratchd's journal adds prompts and a mood picker, which you may or may not want, but the underlying idea is not something Obsidian lacks.
App by app
Obsidian
The closest thing to a direct comparison, and the one where Scratchd wins least. Both keep plain files in a folder you pick. Obsidian is free for personal use, runs on every platform, and has an enormous plugin ecosystem. Choose Scratchd over it only if you want the structured viewers, the diff, tasks, saved links and meeting notes without assembling them from plugins, and if Mac and iPhone are the only places you take notes.
The real gap is setup and upkeep, not ability. Obsidian on first launch is an editor, a file tree and a graph. Tasks, web clipping and most of the workflows people show off come from plugins you have to find, install, configure, and then keep working when they update or stop being maintained. A lot of people enjoy exactly that, and for them it is a feature. If you do not, the cost is not one afternoon, it is a standing one.
Scratchd has no plugins to choose from, which is a genuine limitation and also why there is nothing to assemble. Pick a folder on first launch and everything described on this page is already working.
Bear
Better looking, and better at long prose. It stores notes in its own database and exports on request, which is a different bargain from files on disk. It is a subscription.
Apple Notes
Free, already installed, and syncs without you thinking about it. If your notes are prose, lists and the occasional photo, it is genuinely hard to beat and this app is not trying to. It has no answer for structured formats and your notes live in its database.
Drafts
The best capture experience of the group, and the closest in spirit to the capture‑first idea. Its strength is what happens after capture: actions that route text elsewhere. Scratchd keeps the note instead of routing it, and stores it as a file.
iA Writer
A writing app rather than a notes app, and excellent at that. Plain files, strong typography, focused editing. If you are drafting rather than collecting, it is a better tool.
The honest summary
If your notes are prose, use Apple Notes or Bear. If they are a linked knowledge base, use Obsidian. If they are half prose and half config, and you are tired of your JSON looking like a wall of grey text in every app you have tried, that is the case for this one.
Written by the developer, so read it with that in mind. Corrections are welcome at hello@innovatory.xyz and this page will be changed if something here is wrong.