Comparison

Ulysses vs Paragraph

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

Paragraph

A modern writing application offering powerful features for creating and organizing documents. It supports real-time collaboration, password protection, and iCloud syncing across iOS devices. Enhance your writing with Smart Markdown, attachments, and customizable themes.

Highlights
  • Smart Markdown formatting
  • Real-time collaboration
  • Password-protected documents
  • iCloud syncing
  • File attachments and photos
  • Text sorting and tags
Features
Read full description

Paragraph is a notes app for people who write more than a line. Type Markdown and it becomes styled text as you go: headings, lists, tasks, quotes and links. Add tables, charts, formulas, code and images where you need them. Your notes are the same on every iPhone, iPad and Mac signed in to your Apple Account. WRITE • Three levels of headings, bold, italic, underline, strikethrough and inline code • Bullet, numbered and task lists, nested with a tab • Quotes and dividers • A buttons bar above the keyboard for everything you would type by hand MORE THAN TEXT • Tables: tap a cell to edit it, or paste a Markdown table • Charts: a few lines of CSV become a bar or line chart you can edit later • Math: formulas written in TeX, drawn in the note • Code blocks that keep their spacing and colour the syntax • Images and files that travel with the note • Notes inside notes: a card you tap to open ORGANISE • Tags: write #work or #ideas anywhere and the tag appears in the sidebar • Colours and stars to mark what matters • Search across all notes, and Find inside a note • Sort by date, title or stars • Deleted notes wait in the Trash SHARE AND SYNC • Share a note as Markdown, PDF, text, HTML or RTF • Share with People: invite others to write a note with you through iCloud • iCloud sync, with Sync Now when you cannot wait • Nothing is lost when a note changes on two devices at once: both versions are kept FITS ANY SCREEN • iPhone and iPad, portrait and landscape, Split View and Stage Manager • The layout follows the window as it changes size Paragraph for Mac is available separately on the Mac App Store.

Screenshots

Ulysses4 screens
Paragraph4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Ulysses at 4.6 against Paragraph's 4.0. Ulysses also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 5 months) and ratings volume (2.1K vs 12). Paragraph's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 7) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 26.0). On price, review sentiment, ads 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. Ulysses sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month. Paragraph asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Ulysses holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Ulysses has 2.1K ratings behind it against 12, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 67% and 67% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Ulysses ships an update every 3 weeks, Paragraph every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on October 27, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Ulysses versus Paragraph: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterUlyssesParagraph
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (2.1K ratings) — better4.0 (12 ratings)
Positive reviews67.0% of reviews — better66.7% of reviews
Number of ratings2.1K — better12
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 5 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationSubscriptionFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, MaciPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS26.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size272 MB15 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperUlysses GmbH & Co. KGHurryApp LTD

Customer experience

Ulysses

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

Paragraph

All ratings12 ratings
Positive75.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative25.0%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%

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

Paragraph

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
None

Paragraph

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Ulysses free?
Ulysses is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Paragraph free?
Paragraph is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Ulysses or Paragraph?
Ulysses is rated higher. Ulysses averages 4.6 out of 5 from 2.1K ratings, while Paragraph averages 4.0 from 12 ratings.
Do Ulysses or Paragraph have ads?
Neither Ulysses nor Paragraph shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Ulysses or Paragraph?
Ulysses ships an update every 3 weeks, and Paragraph every 5 months. Most recently, Ulysses was updated on October 27, 2026 and Paragraph on October 24, 2026.

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