Comparison

Writer! vs Storyist 4

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

Head to head
About

Writer!

This application provides a straightforward platform for writing and organizing your thoughts. It allows users to manage entries with tags and folders, search content, and export their work. Customize your writing experience with various themes and accent colors.

Highlights
  • Simple user interface
  • Organize with tags and folders
  • Search entries by content or tags
  • Export entries
  • Light and dark themes
  • Customizable accent colors
Features
Read full description

Features: - Simple and clean user interface - Organize your entries with tags and folders - Search your entries by content or tags - Export one or multiple entries - Light and dark themes with 8 accent colors Icons by Icons8 (https://icons8.com)

About

Storyist 4

This app provides a robust writing environment for authors and screenwriters. It allows for detailed story outlining, manuscript creation with rich text editing, and seamless revision on any device. Organize all your writing projects in one place for easy access and collaboration.

Highlights
  • Rich text editor with comments and images
  • Index card outlining and story sheets
  • Manuscript and screenplay formatting
  • Cloud storage and collaboration support
  • Import/export text and images
  • Support for various file formats
Read full description

Storyist is a powerful writing environment that lets you create, review, and revise your work wherever inspiration strikes. “If I could have only one screenwriting app on my iPad, Storyist would be it.” – Taz Goldstein, Hand Held Hollywood. “I'm currently traveling in Europe and am just now putting the finishing touches on the book that will be published in September. I'm using the Storyist app for my iPad Mini and it's sensational... a real godsend.” – Michael Brandman, Bestselling Author. With Storyist, you can: • Produce submission-ready manuscripts and screenplays. Storyist provides a rich text editor with support for comments, images, headers, footers, and style sheets so you can create properly formatted manuscripts and screenplays. And Storyist comes with manuscript and screenplay templates so you can focus on the writing, not the formatting. • Work with your story at a high level. Storyist lets you sketch out a story using index cards and then refine it with customizable plot, character, and setting sheets. When you're ready to put words on the page, Storyist can even display your index cards next to your manuscript as you write. • Review and revise on the go. Have a few minutes? Open Storyist and jot down a note, rewrite a few paragraphs, or annotate your manuscript with ideas for future changes. • Keep all your writing organized and accessible. Storyist organizes your novel manuscripts, screenplays, notes, and other project-related writing so you can access them with just a few taps. And the Files app support lets you store your projects where you want and edit them in place. Features at a Glance • Rich text editor with support for fonts, colors, comments, images, headers, footers, and style sheets. • Files interface with the ability to collaborate with other writers, browse version history, and sync with your favorite cloud storage service. • Automatic manuscript and screenplay formatting with familiar tab and return key shortcuts. • Color-coded index cards. • Customizable story sheets. • Easy import and export of text and images. • Support for Storyist for Mac, RTF, Plain Text, Fountain, and Final Draft FDX files. • Ability to export text files as PDF. • Wireless printing with AirPrint. • Courier Prime font for screenplays. Try Storyist 4 for free for 14 days. After the trial period ends, you can purchase Storyist 4 to continue using the editing features or use the app in reader mode for free. Upgrade pricing is available for customers who purchased Storyist 3 for iOS. No subscription required.

Screenshots

Writer!4 screens
Storyist 44 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Writer! at every 4 weeks against Storyist 4's every 4 months. Writer! also leads on iOS requirement (12.0 vs 17.0). Storyist 4's advantage is rating (4.3 vs 4.0) and review sentiment (44% vs 34%). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Writer! sells 6 one-off in-app purchases and Storyist 4 sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Storyist 4 holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 118 and 384 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 34% of Writer!'s written reviews are positive against 44% of Storyist 4's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Writer! ships an update every 4 weeks, Storyist 4 every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on July 5, 2026 and September 19, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Writer! versus Storyist 4: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterWriter!Storyist 4
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (118 ratings)4.3 (384 ratings) — better
Positive reviews34.4% of reviews44.3% of reviews — better
Number of ratings118384 — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 weeks — betterEvery 4 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS12.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size10 MB21 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperThe Binary Kitchen, LLCStoryist Software

Customer experience

Writer!

All ratings118 ratings
Positive75.4%
Neutral1.7%
Negative22.9%
Written reviews32 reviews
Positive34.4%
Neutral3.1%
Negative62.5%

Storyist 4

All ratings384 ratings
Positive82.8%
Neutral3.9%
Negative13.3%
Written reviews70 reviews
Positive44.3%
Neutral10.0%
Negative45.7%

Bugs and requests

Writer!

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Storyist 4

Reported bugs

13 issues
  • Files and projects mysteriously disappear
  • App crashes when opening manuscripts
  • Freezing during typing sessions
  • Auto-capitalization in middle of sentences
  • Spell-check suggestions showing duplicate words
Show 8 more
  • Index cards losing color after updates
  • Styles vanishing when edited on iOS
  • Text disappearing from documents while outline remains
  • Dropbox connection failures and blank file displays
  • Split-screen zoom focusing on wrong area
  • Font selection list not loading
  • Restore Purchases prompt appearing repeatedly
  • Export formatting issues with dark theme

Requested features

11 requests
  • Footnotes and endnotes support
  • Word and Pages format export compatibility
  • Better backup system with cloud storage
  • Folder tree navigation on mobile
  • Non-fiction templates with query tracking
Show 6 more
  • Improved dark mode customization
  • Cursor support for iPad
  • Section-level export functionality
  • German language localization
  • Extended keyboard shortcuts preservation
  • Better page number formatting options

In-app purchases

6 purchases

Writer!

One-time6
  • Small Tip$0.99
  • Medium Tip$1.99
  • Large Tip$2.99
Show 3 more
  • Giant Tip$3.99
  • Enormous Tip$4.99
  • Upgrade to Pro$5.99
3 purchases

Storyist 4

One-time3
  • Free TrialFree
  • Storyist 4 Upgrade$9.99
  • Storyist 4$19.99

Questions

Is Writer! free?
Writer! is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Storyist 4 free?
Storyist 4 is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Writer! or Storyist 4?
Storyist 4 is rated higher. Writer! averages 4.0 out of 5 from 118 ratings, while Storyist 4 averages 4.3 from 384 ratings.
Do Writer! or Storyist 4 have ads?
Neither Writer! nor Storyist 4 shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Writer! or Storyist 4?
Writer! ships an update every 4 weeks, and Storyist 4 every 4 months. Most recently, Writer! was updated on July 5, 2026 and Storyist 4 on September 19, 2026.

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