Comparison

TextEdit vs Watasu

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

TextEdit

A fast and versatile text editor for mobile devices, offering compatibility with various file formats and editors. It provides a distraction-free writing experience with advanced formatting, organization, and sharing features.

Highlights
  • Supports TXT, RTF, Markdown, TeX, and PDF formats
  • Cross-device and computer syncing via iCloud/Files
  • Distraction-free writing interface
  • Customizable keyboard extension for faster typing
  • Visual rich text formatting and one-tap options
  • Syntax highlighting for Markdown and TeX
  • Instant statistics and counters
Features
Read full description

TextEdit+ is the text editor your iPhone and iPad were missing. Like TextEdit on the Mac, it opens to a clean page and stays out of your way. Unlike it, it also speaks Markdown and LaTeX, marks up PDFs and puts an AI assistant right inside your document. Jot down a quick TXT, format a rich-text letter, write a README in Markdown or compile a LaTeX paper. One lightweight app, no clutter. ONE EDITOR, EVERY TEXT FORMAT • Create and edit TXT, RTF, RTFD, Markdown and LaTeX files • Open RTF files from macOS TextEdit, WordPad, Word and Scrivener, and keep working on them on your Mac or PC • Open PDFs and mark them up with highlights, notes and text • Work on files right where they live: Files, iCloud Drive or your cloud storage • Organize your documents in folders and subfolders A CLEAN PLACE TO WRITE • Distraction-free editor with Full Screen and Typewriter modes • Keep several documents open in tabs and switch with a tap • Extended keyboard row for cursor moves, selection and the characters you use most • Keyboard shortcuts for hardware keyboards • Read Aloud with your choice of voice and speed • Light and dark appearance, plus custom document colors RICH TEXT WITHOUT THE BLOAT • Fonts, sizes, colors, highlights, bold, italic, underline and strikethrough • Alignment, indents, lists, line and paragraph spacing, superscript and subscript • Insert images, tables and inline equations • Install your own fonts and use them in any document MARKDOWN AND LATEX, DONE PROPERLY • Syntax highlighting for Markdown and TeX • Live Markdown preview: edit, preview or split view side by side • Compile LaTeX right on your device and preview the PDF next to your source • Article, report, book and letter templates, command completion, error diagnostics and a document outline • Multi-file projects with included files and bibliographies AI THAT WORKS IN YOUR DOCUMENT • Turn a prompt into a first draft • Rewrite, shorten, expand, summarize or translate the selected text • Fix grammar, spelling and punctuation, or switch the tone between casual, concise, friendly and professional • Ask the assistant about your own documents and get answers with sources • Prefer to write without AI? Hide every AI feature with one switch TOOLS FOR EDITING • Find and replace across the whole document • Word, character, sentence, paragraph, line and page counts with reading time • Readability scores: Flesch Reading Ease, Flesch–Kincaid Grade, SMOG and Automated Readability Index • Automatic backups, so an edit is never lost • Scan paper documents with the camera EXPORT AND SHARE • Export to PDF, Word (DOCX), RTF, RTFD, Markdown, TXT, TeX and PNG • Print, email or send your work to any app • Send text, links and files to TextEdit+ from other apps with the share sheet • Shortcuts actions to create, open, search and rename documents Built for iPhone, iPad and iPhone Duo, and localized in more than 70 languages. Privacy Policy https://www.noteswriter.com/Kairoos_Privacy_Policy.html Terms of Use https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Watasu

Features
Read full description

Text you type on your Mac keyboard lands directly in your iPhone memo. No copy-paste, no AirDrop — just direct keystrokes reaching the other side. ■ Key Features ◎ Instant Transfer from Mac Launch the floating panel from the macOS menu bar, type, and your text instantly appears on your iPhone. Zero-setup peer-to-peer connection via Multipeer Connectivity — no pairing required. ◎ iCloud Sync for Remote Access Even on different networks, your notes stay in sync via iCloud. Type on your Mac at work and find it on your iPhone at home. ◎ Organize with Projects Create separate projects for classes, work, or hobbies. Long-press cards to pin, delete, or change colors. ◎ Rich Block Types ・Text: Plain notes ・Task: With due dates (time optional) ・Bullet: • or ①②③, tap to strikethrough ・Callout: Highlighted notes ・Counter: Tap to count up, daily reset or cumulative ・Image: Photos with captions ◎ Widget Support See active tasks at a glance on your home screen. ◎ Search Find any block or task across a project instantly. ◎ 4 Languages Japanese, English, Hindi, Spanish. ■ About the Mac App Requires the free macOS companion app (distributed separately). Lives in your menu bar and opens with ⌘⌥K. ■ Perfect For ・Students taking notes while researching on Mac ・Professionals capturing meeting notes on Mac to iPhone ・Anyone tired of AirDrop friction ■ Privacy All user data is stored only in your own iCloud. Nothing is sent to developers. Download for free. Privacy Policy: https://kazusa703.github.io/privacy.html Terms of Use: https://kazusa703.github.io/terms.html Support: https://kazusa703.github.io/support.html

Screenshots

TextEdit4 screens
Watasu4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Watasu at none against TextEdit's 4. Watasu also leads on update cadence (daily vs weekly) and iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). TextEdit's advantage is ads (none vs shown). On price and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. TextEdit sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per 7 days. Watasu asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

TextEdit ships an update weekly, Watasu daily. Both last shipped on November 9, 2026.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
TextEdit versus Watasu: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTextEditWatasu
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.7 (380 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews17.1% of reviews—
Number of ratings380 — better—
Update frequencyWeeklyDaily — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS26.017.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size461 MB5 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperKairoos Solutions SLatsuko imai

Bugs and requests

TextEdit

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Crashes when opening certain file types
  • Formatting issues when copying/pasting text
  • Inconsistent behavior across devices

Requested features

3 requests
  • Allow users to choose iCloud directory
  • Offer one-time purchase option instead of subscription
  • Restore previous paid versions without AI

Watasu

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

4 purchases

TextEdit

Subscriptions3
  • Weekly$1.997 Days
  • TextEdit+ Monthly3 Days trial$3.991 Month
  • TextEdit+ Annual3 Days trial$14.991 Year
One-time1
  • TextEdit+ Full Unlock$14.99
None

Watasu

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is TextEdit free?
TextEdit is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Watasu free?
Watasu is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do TextEdit or Watasu have ads?
Watasu shows ads; TextEdit does not.
Which is updated more often, TextEdit or Watasu?
TextEdit ships an update weekly, and Watasu daily. Most recently, TextEdit was updated on November 9, 2026 and Watasu on November 9, 2026.

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