Ulysses vs HelpTech+
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Distraction-free editor
- Unified document library
- Cross-device sync
- Built-in proofreader
- Flexible export options (PDF, DOCX, eBook, HTML)
- Direct publishing to blogs
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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
HelpTech+
Enhance your Braille display experience with advanced features. Follow Braille output on your iPhone screen, dictate text using your voice, and have texts read aloud. Manage files and send text directly to your Braille device.
- Braille monitor for sighted users
- Dictation function for text input
- Voice output for reading texts aloud
- File manager for Activator and iPhone
- Send text from iPhone clipboard
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The perfect complement to the Activator: HelpTech+. HelpTech+ adds many new features to the Activator, Help Tech's latest braille display innovation, making it a next-generation Braille experience once and for all. Braille monitor The integrated Braille monitor allows a sighted person to follow the information output on the Braille display directly on the iPhone screen. Including the indication of the reading position, marked text and the cursor position. Dictation function With the speech input you can easily dictate texts instead of typing them yourself. The recognized text is then either saved in a new file on the Activator or inserted into an existing file at the desired position. Voice output The speech output function allows you to have texts on the Activator read aloud through the iPhone's speakers. File manager With "HelpTech+" you can copy files back and forth between the Activator and your iPhone. Send texts Send texts from the iPhone clipboard directly to the Activator. The connection with the iPhone expands the internal functions of the Activator by SmartServices. The first feature is a news feed service, optimized for the use with Braille displays, which you can put together according to your personal interests. Furthermore we are continuously developing "HelpTech+". Additional new functions will be provided regularly. As a result, we will continue to offer you a first-class experience in the future.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: HelpTech+ at none against Ulysses's 7. HelpTech+ also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.6) and iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). Ulysses's advantage is ratings volume (2.2K vs 2) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 3 months). On price, 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
Both are free to download. Ulysses sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month. HelpTech+ asks for nothing beyond the download.
HelpTech+ holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Ulysses has 2.2K ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Ulysses ships an update every 3 weeks, HelpTech+ every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 28, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Ulysses | HelpTech+ |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (2.2K ratings) | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 67.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 2.2K — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks — better | Every 3 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Subscription | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | 17.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 272 MB | 10 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Ulysses GmbH & Co. KG | Help Tech GmbH |
Customer experience
Ulysses
HelpTech+
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
HelpTech+
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Ulysses
- Monthly Plan7 Days trial$5.991 Month
- Yearly Plan$29.991 Year
- Yearly Plan7 Days trial2 variants$39.991 Year
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- Yearly Plan1 Year trial$39.991 Year
- Student Offer$10.99
- Perpetual License$199.99
HelpTech+
No in-app purchases









