Comparison

zWrite vs Compo

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

Head to head
About

zWrite

A straightforward word processor that handles rich text and plain text files. It allows for multiple documents to be open simultaneously, supports various text formatting options, and includes printing capabilities.

Highlights
  • Import/export RTF files
  • Import plain text files
  • Import plain HTML files
  • Multiple documents open
  • Supports printing
  • Font and size selection
  • Text formatting (bold, italic, underline, strikethrough)
Features
Read full description

zWrite is a simple word processor. It can import and export RTF (rich text) files. It can import plain text files. It can import plain HTML files. You can have multiple documents open at once. It supports printing. Many fonts and font sizes are supported. Text can be bold, italic, underlined, and/or struck-through.

About

Compo

A minimalist writing application designed for composing and saving various types of written content. It offers a distraction-free environment, automatic iCloud syncing across devices, and easy sharing options. The app prioritizes an intuitive and user-friendly experience for effortless writing.

Highlights
  • Distraction-free writing environment
  • Automatic iCloud syncing
  • Universal app for iPhone and iPad
  • Share to various services
  • Customizable fonts and sizes
  • Word count and reading time
  • Spell check and dictionary
Read full description

Compo is the simplest way to write on iPhone or iPad. Compo gives you a single, beautiful place to compose and save all of your writings, whether they be short stories, articles, blog posts, poems, essays... whatever inspires you. It's designed around simplicity, eliminating the endless distractions of most word processors and letting you simply write. Everything is automatically saved and synced to iCloud, making it available on all your devices, from iPhone to iPad to Mac or PC. From there you can share your writings to countless other apps and services. Everything about Compo is intuitive and user friendly. Writing can be hard, but using your tools should be effortless. Features: - Universal app that works on both iPhone and iPad - Automatically syncs and backs up all documents to iCloud Drive - Share your writing with large variety of services including Facebook, Tumblr, WordPress, Notes, Dropbox, Slack - Change writing environment with beautiful fonts and sizes - Check word count, page count, and estimated reading time at a glance - Spell check and dictionary functions included - Uses "plain text" format compatible with TextEdit, Pages, Microsoft Word, Google Docs

Screenshots

zWrite1 screens
Compo4 screens

Verdict

The call

zWrite and Compo both sit at 3.0 stars, but that hides the real split: 50% of zWrite's written reviews are positive against 35% of Compo's. Compo's advantage is ratings volume (56 vs 4) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 15.6). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 3.0 for zWrite against 2.9 for Compo. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Compo has 56 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 50% of zWrite's written reviews are positive against 35% of Compo's.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
zWrite versus Compo: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterzWriteCompo
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.0 (4 ratings) — better2.9 (56 ratings)
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews — better35.4% of reviews
Number of ratings456 — better
Update frequencyMonthly—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.611.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size1 MB7 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperZack SmithMotileware

Customer experience

zWrite

All ratings4 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

Compo

All ratings56 ratings
Positive41.1%
Neutral10.7%
Negative48.2%
Written reviews65 reviews
Positive35.4%
Neutral12.3%
Negative52.3%

Bugs and requests

zWrite

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Compo

Reported bugs

14 issues
  • App crashes on launch
  • App closes automatically
  • Work disappears/is deleted
  • App shuts down immediately
  • Kicked off at random points
Show 9 more
  • Dark mode toggle broken
  • Notes disappearing
  • Files erased from app and iCloud
  • Cannot sync to phone
  • App overwrites new version
  • Random untitled notes created
  • Developer needs to update for new iOS
  • Pages didn't work
  • Help page site not secure

Requested features

6 requests
  • Add printing availability
  • Add dark mode
  • Add different fonts and styles
  • Add folders for organization
  • Allow reordering of writings
Show 1 more
  • Ability to upload pictures

In-app purchases

None

zWrite

No in-app purchases

None

Compo

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is zWrite free?
zWrite is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Compo free?
Compo is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, zWrite or Compo?
zWrite is rated higher. zWrite averages 3.0 out of 5 from 4 ratings, while Compo averages 2.9 from 56 ratings.
Do zWrite or Compo have ads?
Neither zWrite nor Compo shows ads.

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