Comparison

Ulysses vs PDF Text Edit

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 effective document management, seamless sync, and flexible export options for writers of all kinds. Includes a built-in proofreader and editing assistant.

Highlights
  • Distraction-free editor
  • Unified library for all texts
  • Seamless sync across devices
  • Built-in proofreader and editing assistant
  • Flexible export to PDF, DOCX, HTML
  • Publishing to WordPress, Ghost, Substack
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

PDF Text Edit

Features
Read full description

PDF Text Edit-Kun: edit the actual text inside your PDFs, right on your iPhone or iPad. Need to fix a date, an amount, or a typo in a receipt, contract, or form? PDF Text Edit-Kun rewrites the text itself instead of turning the page into an image, so the original layout stays intact. Everything happens on your device. Your files are never uploaded. ■ KEY FEATURES • Edit text in place Rewrite, add, delete, and move text inside your PDFs. Tap a text block, edit it, and see the result right away. • Change color, size, and font Switch between Text, Color, and Size tabs for the text you selected. Choose from preset colors or any custom color, set the size in points, and pick a font (including your own font files). • Sign and fill forms Create a signature from your name and place it anywhere on the page. Fill in form fields, checkboxes, and radio buttons in PDFs that have them. • Organize pages Delete and reorder pages, and merge several PDFs into one. • Passwords and properties Set or remove open and edit passwords. Edit the title, author, subject, and keywords. • Compare before and after Flip between the original and your edited version with one tap. • Save over the original Choose Save and Close to overwrite the PDF you opened, with no file picker. Or export a copy instead. ■ PRIVATE BY DESIGN PDF Text Edit-Kun works fully offline. Your documents never leave your device, so sensitive files are safe to edit. ■ LITE AND PRO • Lite (free): Shows an ad banner. Edit one PDF per day. Viewing is unlimited. • Pro Monthly (auto-renewing subscription): ¥300 per month. No ads and unlimited editing. • Pro Lifetime (one-time purchase): ¥1,500. No ads and unlimited editing. (Prices are shown in your local currency in the App Store.) The monthly subscription is charged to your Apple Account when you confirm the purchase and renews automatically unless you cancel at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can manage or cancel it in Settings > Apple Account > Subscriptions. Terms of Use (EULA): https://donutdrop.me/PDFEditKun/en/eula.html Privacy Policy: https://donutdrop.me/PDFEditKun/en/privacy.html ■ LANGUAGES English and Japanese. The app follows your device's language setting. ■ GOOD TO KNOW Some PDFs, depending on how they were created, contain text that can't be edited. In that case the app tells you and leaves your PDF unchanged. Please do not use this app to forge or falsify documents. We'd love your feedback and bug reports.

Screenshots

Ulysses4 screens
PDF Text Edit4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Ulysses at none against PDF Text Edit's shown. PDF Text Edit's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 3 weeks) and iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). On price, in-app purchases 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 and PDF Text Edit sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Ulysses ships an update every 3 weeks, PDF Text Edit weekly. Both last shipped on November 10, 2026.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Ulysses versus PDF Text Edit: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterUlyssesPDF Text Edit
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (2.2K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews67.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings2.2K — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksWeekly — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationSubscription—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS26.017.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size272 MB13 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperUlysses GmbH & Co. KGSEISHI MURAKAMI

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

PDF Text Edit

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
2 purchases

PDF Text Edit

Subscriptions1
  • Pro 月額$1.991 Month
One-time1
  • Pro 永久ライセンス$9.99

Questions

Is Ulysses free?
Ulysses is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is PDF Text Edit free?
PDF Text Edit is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Ulysses or PDF Text Edit have ads?
PDF Text Edit shows ads; Ulysses does not.
Which is updated more often, Ulysses or PDF Text Edit?
Ulysses ships an update every 3 weeks, and PDF Text Edit weekly. Most recently, Ulysses was updated on November 10, 2026 and PDF Text Edit on November 10, 2026.

Other comparisons