# Ikiru vs iWriter 2

The clearest difference is rating: iWriter 2 at 4.5 against Ikiru's 3.9. iWriter 2 also leads on chart position (#200 vs unranked). Ikiru's advantage is price ($4.99 vs $9.99) and review sentiment (54% vs 40%). On update cadence, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Ikiru costs $4.99 and iWriter 2 $9.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

iWriter 2 holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Ikiru has 101 ratings behind it against 10, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 54% of Ikiru's written reviews are positive against 40% of iWriter 2's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Ikiru ships an update every 3 weeks, iWriter 2 fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Ikiru | iWriter 2 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | **$4.99** | $9.99 |
| Rating | [3.9 (101 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ikiru/id1111565046/reviews) | **[4.5 (10 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/iwriter-2/id1467417914/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **101** | 10 |
| Positive reviews | **54.2% of reviews** | 40.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | **Fortnightly** |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Best chart rank | — | **#200** |
| Size | 62 MB | 20 MB |
| Requires iOS | **11.1** | 26 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [James Rhoades](https://appshunter.io/developer/359564371) | [Serpensoft Group](https://appshunter.io/developer/321979768) |

## What reviewers say

### Ikiru

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ikiru/id1111565046)

Organize your life with this versatile app for creating lists, taking notes, and setting reminders. It helps you focus on what's important with a beautiful, user-friendly design and powerful features like nested lists and due dates.

**Highlights:** Create nested lists, Set due dates and reminders, Add photos to list items, Sort list items dynamically, Sync data via iCloud, Protect data with Touch ID/passcode, View items on Apple Watch

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Apple Watch app, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Stable and reliable
- 👍 Useful for organizing lists and notes
- 👍 Intuitive and easy to use
- 👍 Syncs well across devices
- 👍 Handy for tracking tasks and reminders

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Sync issues and data loss
- 🐛 Crashes and bugs after updates
- 🔍 Limited search functionality
- 💡 Lack of formatting options
- 💡 Monochrome icons not as visually appealing

**Reported bugs**

- Reminders not working properly
- Syncing issues causing data loss
- Crashes after iOS updates
- Inability to disable Face ID lock

**Requested features**

- Add more formatting options (bold, italic, etc.)
- Improve search to allow searching within sublists
- Provide more customization options for themes and icons
- Add location-based reminders
- Implement better backup and restore functionality


### iWriter 2

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/iwriter-2/id1467417914)

**Currently charting:** #200 Top Paid · Productivity (US App Store)

A minimalist Markdown text editor designed for distraction-free writing. It offers advanced features like MultiMarkdown support, live preview, Wikilinks, and seamless export to various formats. Built with TextKit 2 for enhanced performance and a smooth user experience.

**Highlights:** Distraction-free minimalist writing environment, MultiMarkdown support with live preview, Wikilinks and Wiki-Embeds, Built-in document manager with search, Export to HTML, PDF, EPUB, DOCX, LaTeX, LaTeX syntax highlighting and Mermaid diagrams

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Ikiru free?

Ikiru costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Is iWriter 2 free?

iWriter 2 costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Ikiru or iWriter 2?

iWriter 2 is rated higher. Ikiru averages 3.9 out of 5 from 101 ratings, while iWriter 2 averages 4.5 from 10 ratings.

### Do Ikiru or iWriter 2 have ads?

Neither Ikiru nor iWriter 2 shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Ikiru or iWriter 2?

Ikiru ships an update every 3 weeks, and iWriter 2 fortnightly. Most recently, Ikiru was updated on November 2, 2026 and iWriter 2 on November 3, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*