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Essayist: Academic Writing App

Essayist: Academic Writing App

APA, MLA, Chicago & More

407 ratings
174 reviews
📚 Education
📊 Productivity
Free
In-App Purchases

Details

  • Released
  • Updated
  • January 11, 2021
  • September 11, 2026

Features

Developer

Essayist Software Inc.
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Essayist: Academic Writing App screenshot #1 for iPhone
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About

This app simplifies academic writing by automatically formatting essays in various styles like APA, MLA, and Chicago. It includes a universal reference manager, citation tools, and equation support, allowing for distraction-free writing and easy export to PDF or Word.

✓Automatic essay formatting
✓Universal reference manager
✓In-text citation and footnote insertion
✓LaTeX equation support
✓Export to PDF and Word
✓Minimalist interface
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What users say

Summarized from real user reviews of Essayist. Based on 407 reviews and a 4.5/5 average, it highlights the 6 positives and 6 negatives reviewers mention most about this Productivity app.

Positive things

  • 🚀Easy to use
  • 👍Helpful for academic writing
  • 🚀Saves time on formatting
  • 👍Accurate citations
  • 👍Intuitive interface
  • 👍Useful for college students

Negative things

  • 🐛Bugs and crashes
  • 💰Expensive subscription
  • 🔒Privacy concerns
  • 🔒Locked features behind paywall
  • 🔧Limited functionality
  • 🔧Formatting issues
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+1

What's New in Essayist

2.1.0

September 11, 2026

Essayist is ready for the latest OS version! Discover a beautifully refined interface, Smart Citations powered by on-device intelligence, and a deep connection to Researchist — our new companion app for academic reading. RESEARCHIST Researchist is our all-new companion app for reading academic PDFs — and it transforms your Essayist workflow by connecting every paper you read to the one you're writing. SMART CITATIONS Essayist suggests which of your references to cite based on the sentence you're writing. NEW INSPECTOR Your essay and your research, together — outline, notes, highlights, figures, and tables in one place. ONE-CLICK FIGURES & TABLES Insert figures and tables straight from your source PDFs — Essayist even suggests a caption for you. NEW PROOFREAD Catch mistakes as you type with the all-new inline proofreading, right in the editor. SIRI Just ask Siri for a reference — Essayist opens your library and takes you straight there. REFINED LIQUID GLASS DESIGN A cleaner, lighter look tuned for the refined Liquid Glass. Have feedback or found an issue? Email us. We usually respond quickly, and your feedback helps us make Essayist even better.

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Subscription plans

Yearly Subscription

Essayist Pro Access

$79.991 Year
1 Year trial
How to cancel Essayist subscription ⁉️

Events

Read more about Essayist 2.0
Event EndedMajor Update

Essayist 2.0

Our biggest update yet!

Aug 18, 2026 — Sep 18, 2026

Read More

Read more about Back to School with Essayist
Event EndedMajor Update

Back to School with Essayist

New School Year. New Features.

Aug 20, 2025 — Sep 20, 2025

Read More

Read more about Back to School with Essayist
Event EndedMajor Update

Back to School with Essayist

New School Year. New Features.

Aug 7, 2024 — Sep 7, 2024

Read More

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User reviews

Most RecentHighest RatedLowest Rated

Perfect for my needs!

I am a new graduate school student so I am getting back into the mode of school work. One thing that I love about this app is the simplicity. It’s an interface that has very little distractions. The reference search within the app is wonderful. No, it’s not a one stop shop, but it cuts down on time creating references from scratch. Also, the auto paper formatting is a plus. That is what I primarily use the app for and everything else is secondary. I don’t want to spend time formatting papers from scratch. I can just open the app and start typing. It is 80 bucks a year, but MS Word is more. Yes, Mose schools offer MS Word for free, but MS Word is overkill and I don’t care to use it. I can export to PDF and keep moving. I will update during the second year of grad school.
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monobe4rmonobe4r

Response from developer

Hi! Thank you very much for your kind words and we're so happy to hear you like Essayist! Please don't hesitate to email us (contact@essayist.app) should you have any feedback or suggestions. Kind regards, Till

Perfect for my needs!

I am a new graduate school student so I am getting back into the mode of school work. One thing that I love about this app is the simplicity. It’s an interface that has very little distractions. The reference search within the app is wonderful. No, it’s not a one stop shop, but it cuts down on time creating references from scratch. Also, the auto paper formatting is a plus. That is what I primarily use the app for and everything else is secondary. I don’t want to spend time formatting papers from scratch. I can just open the app and start typing. It is 80 bucks a year, but MS Word is more. Yes, Mose schools offer MS Word for free, but MS Word is overkill and I don’t care to use it. I can export to PDF and keep moving. I will update during the second year of grad school.
Show more
monobe4rmonobe4r

Test 12 June 2026

Jim
Lambros11Lambros11

Unable to action

Can you help? I’m paying for this app and unable to load content.
MarkCutisMarkCutis

Terrible app Expensive & doesn’t work with college website

Learn from my mistake and Save your money
BeautyandDude2000BeautyandDude2000
See 169 more reviews

User experience

🐞

Reported Bugs

5 issues

App crashes when trying to add references

Bug

Formatting issues when copying and pasting

Bug

Inability to edit title pages and section headings

Bug

Inconsistent behavior across devices (iPad vs. Mac)

Bug

Issues with in-text citations and reference lists

Bug
✨

Requested Features

6 requests

Add more citation styles (e.g. MHRA, Vancouver)

Feature

Improve table and image handling

Feature

Integrate with reference managers like Zotero

Feature

Add grammar and spell check tools

Feature

Allow more customization of templates and formatting

Feature

Improve export functionality to preserve formatting

Feature

FAQ

What does Essayist do?

Essayist is an academic writing application designed to simplify the process of creating essays. It automatically handles formatting for various citation styles, manages references, and allows for easy insertion of citations and footnotes.

What citation styles does Essayist support?

Essayist supports a wide range of citation styles including AMA, APA, Chicago/Turabian, Harvard, MLA, and Vancouver. It also handles in-text citations, footnotes, endnotes, and the final references or works cited list.

How does the reference manager work?

The app features a universal reference manager backed by iCloud, allowing you to store, search, and manage all your references in one place. You can organize them into collections and easily use them across multiple essays. References can be added via Google Scholar, built-in search, URL pasting, or manual entry.

What are the pricing options for Essayist?

Essayist Pro requires a subscription, with options for either a monthly or a yearly subscription plan. The app is available for both iOS and macOS devices with a universal purchase.

What are the common use cases for Essayist?

This app is ideal for students writing research papers, theses, dissertations, or any academic assignment requiring specific citation formats. It's also useful for academics and researchers who need to maintain consistent and accurate referencing across their work.