How ScribeHold compares
ScribeHold measured against TextExhibit, iMazing, Decipher and CustodyComms on the questions that decide which tool you need: what it takes to get the messages off the phone, whether you can remove what should not be produced, whether it keeps itself up to date, what the export looks like, and what it costs.
Where the differences really are
Most of the table is close. Two rows are not. ScribeHold reads the iPhone itself on Windows, so there is no backup you have to make somewhere else first. And ScribeHold lets you black out anything from a single phone number to an entire conversation before you hand the file over, with the export noting that something was withheld rather than quietly removing it. Those two rows are where the products genuinely part company; the rest is detail.
How ScribeHold compares
| Your question | ScribeHold | TextExhibit | iMazing | Decipher |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Will my export hold up if opposing counsel objects? | Yes. Bates-numbered PDF/A, separate SHA-256 manifest, affidavit cover, and per-message metadata CSV — all matter-bound to your case caption and case number | Partial. Bates numbering and a SHA-256 and MD5 verification report over the source and every output PDF — but no affidavit, no PDF/A and no case caption * | Partial. Signed PDF and a SHA-256 backup checksum — but Business subscription only, and the checksum requires an encrypted backup. No Bates numbering, no affidavit cover, no redaction, no PDF/A in any tier * | No. Exports PDF, CSV, HTML and TXT; no hash manifest, no signature, no affidavit cover * |
| Can I redact what should not be produced? | Yes. Redact privileged, irrelevant, or third-party content before export. Redactions are applied at render time and disclosed in the bundle rather than applied silently | No. The only redacting it does is to its own trial output, as copy protection * | No. No redaction capability * | No. No redaction capability * |
| Can it get my messages off the phone by itself on Windows? | Yes. ScribeHold reads the device directly on Windows — no Mac, no iTunes, and nothing you had to create beforehand [1] | No. Reads a folder Apple Devices or Finder wrote earlier; making that copy is documented as step 1 of 3 * | Yes. Creates its own device backup on Windows * | Partial. Requires iTunes installed to obtain the backup * |
| Does it sync automatically in the background? | Yes. Windows Service — plug in + tap your passcode once; ScribeHold detects the device, copies the new messages, and indexes them automatically. No app to open. [1] | Not established. No publicly documented capability found as of the review date [3] | Partial. iMazing Mini provides background backups on Windows * [2] | No. Manual; requires iTunes installed and the app open * |
| What does it cost? | $4.99/month or $49/year ScribeHold Complete ($39/year on renewal) · $149/year Legal Export Pack ($119/year on renewal, includes everything in Complete) · Free searches everything, opens the last 90 days, exports the last 30 days | $19.99 once for one iPhone on up to three computers, or $14.99/month or $99.99/year for each computer seat * | Annual subscription only since June 2025 — no monthly tier. One personal tier; the evidence tooling needs the separate Business subscription. We could not verify a current price from a published page * | $29.99 one-time, two device activations — no subscription, updates included * |
| Can I find any message in seconds? | Yes. Full-text search (SQLite FTS5) across iMessage, SMS, MMS, RCS | Not established. No publicly documented capability found as of the review date [3] | Not established. No publicly documented capability found as of the review date [3] | Yes. Search within the app, across one or all conversations * |
[1] USB connection and a passcode tap on the device are required each time ScribeHold reads the phone (Apple requires this on iOS 16.1+). [2] iMazing Mini's background-sync behaviour on Windows has not been independently verified by ScribeHold. Claim sourced from imazing.com/mini. [3] “No publicly documented capability found as of the review date” does not mean the competitor was technically audited — only that we found nothing published either way, and would rather say so than mark the row against them. Each claim carries its own source and verification date in its footnote marker; competitors change their products, so we re-check and re-date rather than asserting one blanket date. Where we could not verify a fact from a published page, we say so instead of estimating. A fuller side-by-side against TextExhibit, including the rows it wins, is on ScribeHold vs. TextExhibit. Sources: textexhibit.com, imazing.com, deciphertools.com.
Looking at CustodyComms?
CustodyComms lists at $149 per month. ScribeHold's Legal Export Pack is $149 for a year. We have not tested their product, so that is the only comparison we will draw until we have.
Came from Windows Phone Link?
If you connected your iPhone to Windows and found that only new texts show up, that is a different comparison — Phone Link is free, built in, and does live messaging, but it cannot show history at all. See ScribeHold vs. Phone Link.
Weighing up TextExhibit?
TextExhibit is the closest product to ScribeHold on the export itself, and it is cheaper for a single production — but it reads a copy of the phone you have to make first, with Apple Devices or Finder. See ScribeHold vs. TextExhibit.