# Simpletext — Plain Text Editor

> A simple, distraction-free plain text editor for Apple devices. (iPhone/iPad app by Yeow Jin Gan.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/simpletext/id1319340670 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Yeow Jin Gan](https://appshunter.io/developer/1241352692)
- Category: Productivity, Utilities
- Price: $14.99
- Rating: 4.10/5 from 23 App Store ratings · 30 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 17.0 · 4 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2018-06-11
- Data updated: 2026-09-07
- Monetization: free
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/simpletext/id1319340670/reviews.md

## What is Simpletext?

The Simplest Writing App for Mac, iPad and iPhone

There are many writing apps for you to choose from today, so why bother with yet another one? Because Simpletext is simpler. Its single-minded commitment to simplicity means you’ll get a no-frills writing app that works well and looks great, forever.

Simpletext started as a passion project because I couldn’t find what I was looking for. Most apps were trying to do too much and ended up bloated with features I never needed. So I built Simpletext based on a simple premise — what if there’s an app that refuses to do more, choosing instead to do just one thing, and do it well? For Simpletext, that one thing is writing.

Why Simpletext?

Most people would say Simpletext is lacking in features, and they’re right. In fact, Simpletext began the opposite way — by listing down everything I didn’t want in a writing app. The goal is to create a dumbed-down writing app that inspires you to do nothing else but write. In order to achieve this, I designed Simpletext around four cornerstone principles:

1. Zero Clutter
Simpletext is unobtrusive. It provides a blank canvas to write with absolutely nothing to distract you from writing. There’s no visual clutter — the intent is to create a quiet space that helps you connect with your voice, get into the flow, and simply write. With zero clutter, Simpletext lets your words take centre stage.

2. Beautiful Typography
Simpletext comes with three professional fonts for you to choose from, handpicked to provide the finest writing experience. They are: (1) Akkurat Mono by Lineto (Monospaced); (2) Graphik by Commercial Type (Sans Serif); and (3) Tiempos Text by Klim Type Foundry (Serif). And if you have a personal favourite font, you can use it in Simpletext too.

3. Plain Text Only
Simpletext supports only plain text, which is fast, lightweight and platform-independent. It will never have formatting options, so your files will never be filled with unnecessary attributes. Plain text also ensures your files are always accessible on any device, now and in the future.

4. Fully Native
Simpletext is a fully native app developed in Swift and runs natively on Apple silicon. It uses only Apple’s framework and UI components, just as they were intended to be used without any custom workarounds. This approach results in less code, less bugs and better overall performance.

Here's What Others Have to Say

“I just wanted to thank you for developing Simpletext. It’s perfect. I’ve enjoyed its simplicity and smoothness for quite some time, but now that I can use my favourite font in it (Sina Nova, free on Fontspring) it has truly become not just the best app to write in, but my favourite app period. Thank you for creating and maintaining it.”
- Bart

“This app does everything it says on the tin. It is not meant to do a lot, but what it does it does very well. It is well designed and suits well those who want to focus on writing and avoid dealing with formatting, proprietary file types and hidden saving locations. It produces and edits .txt files, which will probably be around for as long as there are computers, and saves them in plain sight. Five stars.”
- Fernando

“I’ve tried all sorts of writing apps but Simpletext is definitely the best of all. So grateful for your dedication and those productivity tips in the blog post are so good. Simpletext is such a joy to use.”
- LWL Art Studio

“A writing app that is as simple as stated, beautiful to write with and opens and closes wherever you want. Simple tweaks are easily accessible, if required, and only add to the minimalistic perfection. Good job.”
- Tuntle

Get Back to Basics

In a world full of feature-rich, subscription-based apps, I wanted to create something that goes back to basics. Simpletext is intentionally simple, yet it has everything you need. It’s an app I use every single day. I hope you will too.

Best wishes,
Yeow Jin

P.S. Simpletext comes with a promise — find out more at simpletext.app/promise

## Key features

- Zero clutter interface
- Beautiful typography with professional fonts
- Plain text only support
- Fully native Apple app
- Supports custom fonts

## Recent user reviews (10 of 30)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/simpletext/id1319340670/reviews.md

### 5/5 — An elegant weapon

*2025-12-04, version 5.2*

for a more civilised age.  The inheritor of WriteRoom's mantle for me, at least.

### 5/5 — Great app!

*2025-02-23*

I really like this simple text editor! Works like a charm! It would be cool if you could add markdown syntax to it (headers, bold/italics, etc) but even as plain text it’s pretty sick! Also allowing the user to input a number for the line width setting (instead of the dropdown) would be pretty cool.

**Developer response:** Happy to hear that you’re enjoying Simpletext! Thanks for your feedback — I’ll look into making it more flexible in a future update. Thank you for your support!

### 5/5 — Does exactly what it says on the box!

*2025-02-11, version 5.0*

<3

### 3/5 — Almost perfect

*2025-01-06*

This app is so promising. Sadly it had 2 dealbreaking bugs: When I open a file in the normal IOS files app, it doesn’t open in Simpletext if another file is already open.

**Developer response:** Updated Response:
Hi, the issue has been resolved in version 5.0.2. I apologize for the inconvenience this caused and appreciate your patience. Happy writing!

Original Response:
Apologies for the inconvenience. I’ll look into this. In the meantime, do consider using the file browser within Simpletext instead of the iOS Files app. Thank you for your patience 🙏🏻

### 1/5 — Perfect until 5.0 update - no custom font support

*2024-10-25*

This was a great app that I used daily with a custom font (installed as a device profile via iFont) which is easier for me to read. The new version does not recognize custom fonts installed as profiles via font managment apps. This seems like a minor thing but it's a dealbreaker for me.

**Developer response:** Sincere apologies for the issue you encountered. I’ve fixed it in the latest update (V5.0.1), so you should be able to use custom fonts again without any problems. Thank you 🙏🏻

### 5/5 — The best immersive text editor

*2024-09-11, version 4.5.2*

After many months of searching for the perfect text editor fit for my needs, I took a chance on SimpleText and I’m so glad that I did. It matches every one of my needs as a writer for drafting long form content without distractions; aesthetically pleasing and highly immersive, it’s my perfect workspace.

The “pay once, use forever” ethos is refreshingly old-school and increasingly rare in todays market of tying users into subscription models. The developer’s blog is worth a visit too!

### 5/5 — The (almost) Perfect Text Editor

*2024-05-12*

Simple, clean, distraction-free.  Extactly what I want in a text editor.  The only thing I would like to see is the addition of tabs to be able to cyle through all open documents.

Great app!

**Developer response:** Updated Response:
Hi, I’m pleased to share that Simpletext V5 was released today, featuring support for multiple tabs. Happy writing!

Original Response:
Thank you for your kind review. I take note of your feedback and will consider it for future releases!

### 1/5 — It’s simple all right, simply awful

*2024-04-18*

If you just want to write something and save a digital copy, this is your app. The developer does admit that you should not expect to care what it looks like. If you want to do anything else with it, forget it. I got the app because I wanted to paste some text and print it from my iPad. Lo and behold there is no print function. I wanted something simple, but not something that looks like a homework project in an introductory app development project, especially for 10 bucks.

**Developer response:** Sorry to hear that Simpletext doesn’t fit your use case. You may request for a refund by following the steps here: https://support.apple.com/118223 or contact me at yeowjin@simpletext.app. Thanks!

### 5/5 — Simple and good

*2024-04-07*

Thank you for this gorgeous app. It's really hard to find a minimal plain text editor for iOS that has native integration with the file system, beautiful design, and user experience. And this editor checks all the boxes.

**Developer response:** Thank you for your kind words! Glad to hear that you’re enjoying Simpletext :)

### 5/5 — Clean, relaxed, focused

*2023-09-06*

I have been using Byword since 2017 for my day-to-day stuff on my iPhone, but recently noticed that it had not been updated for three years, which helped explain why it looked kinda wonky on my phone. So after spending way too long looking for an alternative, I finally found Simpletext, and I am very much in love with it. I even put it on my Mac, even tho I usually use Nisus on my Mac for text because of GREP. On my Mac, iPhone & iPad, the simpletext interface is clean with lovely typefaces. The responsiveness on screen on my new M2 macbook and my iPhone has that lovely relaxed, somehow cushioned, pace you have always seen on Macs vs Windows machines. I do miss in-line markdown formatting in simpletext, but I can live with that and it’s hardly fatal to my use case.

**Developer response:** Many thanks for your kind review. Happy that Simpletext adds value to your workflow :)

## Frequently asked questions about Simpletext

### What is this app?

This app is a minimalist writing application designed for Mac, iPad, and iPhone. It focuses exclusively on plain text to provide a distraction-free writing experience. The app prioritizes simplicity, beautiful typography, and native performance.

### What are the key features of this app?

Key features include a zero-clutter interface for maximum focus, beautiful typography with professional font choices, and support for plain text only. It is a fully native app built for optimal performance on Apple devices and allows users to use their personal favorite fonts.

### Is this app free to use?

Yes, this app is available for free. There are no in-app purchases or advertisements mentioned, indicating a completely free user experience.

### What devices is this app compatible with?

This app is designed for Apple devices, specifically Mac, iPad, and iPhone. It is a fully native application built using Swift and Apple's frameworks, ensuring seamless integration and performance across these platforms.

### Who would benefit from using this app?

This app is ideal for individuals who want to focus solely on writing without any distractions from formatting options or complex features. Writers, students, and anyone who values a clean, simple, and efficient writing environment on their Apple devices will find this app beneficial.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 5.4.1 — 2026-06-20

Improved performance when writing large text files.

### 5.4 — 2026-02-22

This update introduces a new setting for text justification. When enabled, your text will be evenly aligned along both the left and right edges for a cleaner look.

### 5.3 — 2026-01-25

This update provides a more granular setting for line length to create the perfect writing space.

### 5.2.1 — 2026-01-16

Minor fixes and performance improvements.

### 5.2 — 2025-09-16

Updated to support Liquid Glass design in iOS 26.

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## More apps by Yeow Jin Gan

- [TimePod](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/timepod/id1537053670)

All apps by Yeow Jin Gan: https://appshunter.io/developer/1241352692

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-09-07.*