Comparison

Ulysses vs Word Tracker

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

Head to head
About

Ulysses

A distraction-free writing environment for Mac, iPhone, and iPad. It offers robust document management, seamless syncing, and flexible export options for writers of all kinds. Includes a proofreader and editing assistant.

Highlights
  • Distraction-free editor
  • Unified document library
  • Cross-device sync
  • Built-in proofreader
  • Flexible export options (PDF, DOCX, eBook, HTML)
  • Direct publishing to blogs
Features
Read full description

Ulysses is your one-stop writing environment for Mac, iPhone and iPad. Its pleasant, focused writing experience, combined with effective document management, seamless sync, and flexible export, make Ulysses the first choice for writers of all kinds. ++ Apple Design Award Winner ++ “The app is amazing. An absolute delight to use. Well done.” – David Hewson, Bestselling Author (The Killing) ### A Text Production Powerhouse Ulysses’ markup-based, distraction-free editor lets you focus on your most important task: Write, edit, and write some more. Formatting is kept for later, so you can completely immerse yourself in the text. Ulysses’ uniquely streamlined toolset covers the entire writing process, and its clean and simple interface will boost your productivity. From first to final draft, from prologue to closing chapter – Ulysses keeps you in the flow, so you can get stuff done. ### All Your Texts, All the Time Everything you’ll ever write is stored in Ulysses’ unified library. You can manage projects of all kinds and sizes, be it novels, diaries or study notes – they are always saved, and automatically in sync. And since Ulysses offers feature parity across macOS and iOS, it doesn’t matter where you are or when inspiration hits: All its tools, and all your texts, are always at your fingertips. ### Built-In Proofreader and Editing Assistant Write with confidence, thanks to Ulysses’ integrated grammar and style check. Available for over 20 languages, it analyzes your text and offers informed suggestions for capitalization, punctuation, semantics, redundancy, style and more. ### Create eBooks, DOCX, PDFs and HTML Ulysses’ export is flexible enough to cover any writer’s needs: Transform your text into beautiful PDFs, Word documents or eBooks. Or export HTML code, ready to be used anywhere on the web. You can even choose between a variety of pre-made formatting styles for all kinds of purposes, or create your own and share it with other users. ### Publish to WordPress, Ghost, Substack & More Do you blog? Ulysses’ offers best-in-class publishing to WordPress, Ghost, and Micro.blog. You can post to WordPress, Ghost and Micro.blog from right within the app – complete with images, tags, categories etc. All offer a built-in preview to proofread before submission. Ulysses also supports copy paste publishing to Substack and Basecamp. ### Pricing Ulysses requires a subscription. We offer monthly and yearly subscription plans. They include a fully functional trial, so you can test Ulysses (including export and sync). There’s also a special discount for students. All plans unlock the app on Mac, iPhone and iPad, and feature full synchronization. ### Questions Please visit ulysses.app for more information. You can also reach us via help@ulysses.app or on Twitter @ulyssesapp – we’re happily awaiting your feedback! Terms of Use: https://ulysses.app/app-terms-of-service Privacy Policy: https://ulysses.app/app-privacy-policy

About

Word Tracker

Monitor your writing journey with this app. Set goals and deadlines to receive daily word count targets, ensuring you stay on track to complete your projects.

Highlights
  • Track writing progress
  • Set target word counts
  • Set project deadlines
  • Daily word count targets
  • View project statistics
Read full description

Word Tracker helps you keep track of your writing progress, right on the main screen, so you always know how close you are to reaching your goal. Set a target word count and a deadline for your writing project, and the app works out exactly how many words you need to write each day to hit your deadline. Track as many projects as you like, and switch between them whenever you want. Dive into the statistics screen to see a chart of your progress against your target, your outstanding word count, and how many days you have left until your deadline. Your projects sync automatically across all your devices via iCloud, so your progress is always up to date wherever you write. No account or sign-in required — just open the app and start tracking.

Screenshots

Ulysses4 screens
Word Tracker4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: Word Tracker at free with in-app purchases against Ulysses's subscription. Word Tracker also leads on review sentiment (81% vs 67%) and iOS requirement (18.0 vs 26.0). Ulysses's advantage is ratings volume (2.1K vs 270). On price, rating, update cadence and ads 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. Ulysses sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month and Word Tracker sells 6 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Word Tracker holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Ulysses has 2.1K ratings behind it against 270, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 67% of Ulysses's written reviews are positive against 81% of Word Tracker's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Ulysses ships an update every 3 weeks, Word Tracker every 2 weeks. Both last shipped on October 27, 2026.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Ulysses versus Word Tracker: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterUlyssesWord Tracker
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (2.1K ratings)4.8 (270 ratings) — better
Positive reviews67.0% of reviews81.3% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2.1K — better270
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationSubscriptionFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS26.018.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size272 MB16 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperUlysses GmbH & Co. KGMarek Loose

Customer experience

Ulysses

All ratings2,145 ratings
Positive89.7%
Neutral2.3%
Negative8.1%
Written reviews1,283 reviews
Positive67.0%
Neutral7.0%
Negative26.0%

Word Tracker

All ratings268 ratings
Positive95.5%
Neutral1.5%
Negative3.0%
Written reviews32 reviews
Positive81.3%
Neutral6.3%
Negative12.5%

Bugs and requests

Ulysses

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Unexpected data loss or file corruption
  • Slow performance on older devices
  • Unreliable iCloud sync
  • Formatting issues when exporting to other formats

Requested features

5 requests
  • Improved collaboration and sharing features
  • Better integration with reference managers and citation tools
  • More flexible export options and compatibility
  • Customizable keyboard shortcuts
  • Ability to hide Markdown syntax

Word Tracker

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

6 purchases

Ulysses

Subscriptions4
  • Monthly Plan7 Days trial$5.991 Month
  • Yearly Plan$29.991 Year
  • Yearly Plan7 Days trial2 variants$39.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Yearly Plan1 Year trial$39.991 Year
One-time2
  • Student Offer$10.99
  • Perpetual License$199.99
6 purchases

Word Tracker

One-time6
  • The First Word$0.99
  • The First Chapter$2.99
  • Cloud sync$4.99
Show 3 more
  • Halfway Through the Manuscript$4.99
  • The Bestseller$9.99
  • The Published Masterpiece$19.99

Questions

Is Ulysses free?
Ulysses is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Word Tracker free?
Word Tracker is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Ulysses or Word Tracker?
Word Tracker is rated higher. Ulysses averages 4.6 out of 5 from 2.1K ratings, while Word Tracker averages 4.8 from 270 ratings.
Do Ulysses or Word Tracker have ads?
Neither Ulysses nor Word Tracker shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Ulysses or Word Tracker?
Ulysses ships an update every 3 weeks, and Word Tracker every 2 weeks. Most recently, Ulysses was updated on October 27, 2026 and Word Tracker on October 27, 2026.

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