# Essayist: Academic Writing App — APA, MLA, Chicago & More > Academic writing app for APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, and more with automatic formatting. (iPhone/iPad app by Essayist Software Inc..) - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/essayist-academic-writing-app/id1537845384 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`) - Developer: [Essayist Software Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1537845386) - Category: Productivity, Education - Price: Free with in-app purchases - Rating: 4.50/5 from 398 App Store ratings · 174 written reviews indexed - Age rating: 4+ - Requires: iOS 17.0 · 74 MB - Languages: American English, French (France), German (Germany), Italian, European Portuguese, European Spanish - Released: 2021-01-11 - Data updated: 2026-08-28 - Monetization: subscription - User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/essayist-academic-writing-app/id1537845384/reviews.md ## What is Essayist? Try Essayist for free today! "Mac App of the Year 2025" — Apple "App of the Day" — Apple "Editors' Choice" — Apple "A-Plus Apps for Students" — Apple "Mac Essentials" — Apple No more fighting margins, hanging indents, or citation formatting. Essayist streamlines academic writing so you can concentrate on your ideas while it takes care of formatting, citations, references, footnotes, page setup, and more. AUTOMATIC FORMATTING Essayist automatically formats margins, fonts, spacing, headings, page numbers, references, citations, footnotes, figures, tables, and other essential elements. UNIVERSAL REFERENCE MANAGER Store and organize references with iCloud, then use them across multiple essays. Add sources through built-in search, Google Scholar, URLs, BibTeX, or manual entry. Essayist formats each source and adds it to your references or works cited list automatically. ZOTERO IMPORT Import your Zotero references and start using them in Essayist. CITATIONS Quickly insert in-text citations, footnotes, and endnotes with the click of a button. CITATION STYLES Choose from APA, MLA, Chicago/Turabian, Harvard, IEEE, AMA, Vancouver, and more than 10,000 other styles. EQUATIONS Add equations using LaTeX. FIGURES & TABLES Insert fully formatted figures and tables with captions, numbering, titles, and notes. Cross-reference them throughout your essay. ABSTRACT, APPENDICES & TABLE OF CONTENTS Easily add an abstract, appendices, and an automatically generated table of contents. WRITE ANYWHERE, STAY IN SYNC Your essays and references sync across iPhone, iPad, and Mac with iCloud, so you can start on one device and finish on another — even offline. YOUR WORK IS YOURS No ads, no selling your data, no lock-in — export anytime as PDF or Word. EXPORT Export your essays as PDF or Word documents. MINIMAL INTERFACE Write in a clean, distraction-free workspace with customizable themes, backgrounds, and dark mode. MORE • Available on iPhone, iPad, and Mac with universal purchase • US Letter and A4 paper sizes • Times New Roman and Arial fonts • Word and page counts • Spell check, auto-completion, and auto-capitalization • Accessibility support REGULAR UPDATES Have a feature request or found an issue? Contact us at contact@essayist.app. PRICING Essayist is free to download and includes a free trial of Essayist Pro. Pro is available as a monthly or yearly subscription. Terms of Use: https://www.iubenda.com/terms-and-conditions/82031685 Privacy Policy: https://www.iubenda.com/privacy-policy/82031685 ## Key features - Automatic essay formatting - Universal reference manager - In-text citation and footnote insertion - LaTeX equation support - Export to PDF and Word - Minimalist interface ## Pricing and in-app purchases Base price: Free. **Subscriptions** | Subscription | Price | Period | | --- | --- | --- | | Monthly Subscription | $5.99 | per month | | Yearly Subscription | $39.99 | per year | | Yearly Subscription | $79.99 | per year | | Monthly Subscription | $9.99 | per month | ## What do users think of Essayist? Overall sentiment: neutral **Pros** - 🚀 Easy to use - 👍 Helpful for academic writing - 🚀 Saves time on formatting - 👍 Accurate citations - 👍 Intuitive interface - 👍 Useful for college students **Cons** - 🐛 Bugs and crashes - 💰 Expensive subscription - 🔒 Privacy concerns - 🔒 Locked features behind paywall - 🔧 Limited functionality - 🔧 Formatting issues **Commonly reported bugs** - App crashes when trying to add references - Formatting issues when copying and pasting - Inability to edit title pages and section headings - Inconsistent behavior across devices (iPad vs. Mac) - Issues with in-text citations and reference lists **Most requested features** - Add more citation styles (e.g. MHRA, Vancouver) - Improve table and image handling - Integrate with reference managers like Zotero - Add grammar and spell check tools - Allow more customization of templates and formatting - Improve export functionality to preserve formatting ## Recent user reviews (10 of 174) All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/essayist-academic-writing-app/id1537845384/reviews.md ### 5/5 — Perfect for my needs! *2026-08-19* 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. **Developer response:** 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 ### 5/5 — Perfect for my needs! *2026-08-13* 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. ### 5/5 — Test 12 June 2026 *2026-06-12, version 1.17.10* Jim ### 1/5 — Unable to action *2026-04-23, version 1.17.8* Can you help? I’m paying for this app and unable to load content. ### 1/5 — Terrible app Expensive & doesn’t work with college website *2026-04-17, version 1.17.10* Learn from my mistake and Save your money ### 5/5 — Amazing for University Essay Writing *2026-03-27, version 1.17.10* I am a student with AuDHD. I have loved using this piece of software. It has helped me create and maintain a pool of references I can use when the need arises. It sets out every thing perfectly, although it does lack a lot of common Australian referencing styles which I strongly suggest the makers add. Also the subscription is wildly to expensive for students. For paid academics I can see the price as being reasonable, but for students who do not work and are on social security payments this amount seriously affects their budgets. Not cool. ### 3/5 — How do you delete the title pages?? *2026-02-06, version 1.17.7* I do not need a title page for many assignments but need to use this formatting and program. There seems to be no way to delete the title page. Frustrating. ### 5/5 — A lifesaver for college classes *2026-01-31, version 1.17.9* It seems like every professor wants a different writing style for every course, and this program has saved me many a time! (MLA will always be the superior writing style IMO) ### 4/5 — great for academic writing! *2026-01-18* i got essayist not too long ago with the hope that i would be able to use it for AP lang essay practice formatting and time-control wise — and i was not disappointed! though, obviously, i will not be able to use this for the test itself, its extremely convenient for control of the little, irrelevant details that i would not need for the essay itself. however, i would love if i could change the template itself or add another as the "works cited" section title on the MLA template is bolded and therefore does not fulfill my requirements. also, i would love if there was a completion log in order to prove against AI as it becomes a leading cause of suspicion especially among those of my age. all in all though, i greatly appreciate this app (i use an ipad pro with bluetooth keyboard) and believe that with these features, it would elevate the app to significantly more worth the money :) ### 1/5 — Export equations to word is unusable *2026-01-07, version 1.17.8* If your work is highly equation based, the convert to Word is basically unusable because you have to manually copy and paste all your equations to Word. ## Frequently asked questions about Essayist ### 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. ## Version history (last 5 releases) ### 2.0.1 — 2026-08-20 Essay writing just got easier! This update fixes a crash. Also, Essayist's OS 27 update is shaping up nicely! Of course, we have to wait until Apple releases the new operating system. From version 2.0.0: Essayist 2.0 is here—our biggest update yet. Write, format, and manage academic papers more easily with powerful new tools: • Choose from more than 10,000 citation styles, including IEEE • Change the language used for citations and bibliographies/references • Enjoy even more control with expanded customization settings • Import references directly from Zotero • Add figures and tables with redesigned, easier-to-use forms • Create cross-references for figures, tables, and equations • Organize your work with bulleted and numbered lists • Automatically number headings • Personalize your workspace with new backgrounds and themes • Interface localization for English, German, Spanish, French, Portuguese, or Italian Have feedback or found an issue? Email us. We usually respond quickly, and your feedback helps us make Essayist even better. ### 2.0.0 — 2026-08-18 Essay writing just got easier! Essayist 2.0 is here—our biggest update yet. Write, format, and manage academic papers more easily with powerful new tools: • Choose from more than 10,000 citation styles, including IEEE • Change the language used for citations and bibliographies/references • Enjoy even more control with expanded customization settings • Import references directly from Zotero • Add figures and tables with redesigned, easier-to-use forms • Create cross-references for figures, tables, and equations • Organize your work with bulleted and numbered lists • Automatically number headings • Personalize your workspace with new backgrounds and themes • Interface localization for English, German, Spanish, French, Portuguese, or Italian Have feedback or found an issue? Email us. We usually respond quickly, and your feedback helps us make Essayist even better. ### 1.17.8 — 2026-02-16 Essay Writing Just Got Easier: This update addresses a reported issue with PDF export. Thank you for emailing us! If you have feature requests or experience an issue, please email us. We usually respond very quickly and it really helps us improve Essayist. ### 1.17.7 — 2026-01-15 Essay Writing Just Got Easier: This update addresses a reported crash related to BibTeX import and contains other minor improvements. Thank you for emailing us! If you have feature requests or experience an issue, please email us. We usually respond very quickly and it really helps us improve Essayist. ### 1.17.6 — 2025-12-18 Essay Writing Just Got Easier: This update addresses a reported crash related to endnotes. Thank you for emailing us! If you have feature requests or experience an issue, please email us. 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User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-28.*