# Storyist 4 vs Paper

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Paper at 72% against Storyist 4's 44%. Paper also leads on rating (4.7 vs 4.3) and update cadence (monthly vs every 4 months). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Storyist 4 sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and Paper sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $14.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Paper holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 395 and 1.8K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 44% of Storyist 4's written reviews are positive against 72% of Paper's.

Storyist 4 ships an update every 4 months, Paper monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Storyist 4 | Paper |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.3 (395 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/storyist-4/id1423912340/reviews) | **[4.7 (1.8K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/paper-writing-app-notes/id1476984841/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 395 | **1.8K** |
| Positive reviews | 44.3% of reviews | **71.6% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | **Monthly** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 21 MB | 85 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | **15** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Storyist Software](https://appshunter.io/developer/438008297) | [Mihhail Lapushkin](https://appshunter.io/developer/1143513743) |

## What reviewers say

### Storyist 4

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/storyist-4/id1423912340)

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

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Free Trial | Free | one-time |
| Storyist 4 Upgrade | $9.99 | one-time |
| Storyist 4 | $19.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Clean, intuitive user interface
- 🚀 Fast iCloud synchronization across devices
- 💰 One-time purchase with no subscription fees
- 📝 Excellent for organizing long-form writing projects
- 🔄 Seamless Mac-iPad-iPhone sync

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Data loss and file deletion issues
- 💔 Upgrade from v3 to v4 requires full repurchase
- 😤 Misleading free trial presentation
- 🔧 Clunky navigation requiring multiple taps
- ⚠️ Significant bugs in version 4 compared to v3

**Reported bugs**

- 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

**Requested features**

- 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


### Paper

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/paper-writing-app-notes/id1476984841)

This app offers a clean and configurable writing environment for various creative projects. It supports Markdown and plain text, syncs with iCloud, and integrates with other tools. Users can publish drafts to popular blogging platforms and export documents in multiple formats.

**Highlights:** Gorgeous writing space, Silky-smooth typing, Deep personalization (Pro), Markdown or Plain Text support, iCloud sync, Publish to Medium, WordPress, Ghost, Export to PDF, HTML, DOCX, ePub

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Family Sharing, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (6)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Pro Features — Discounted | $14.99 | per month |
| Pro Features | $29.99 | per month |
| Pro Features — Discounted | $49.99 | per year |
| Pro Features | $99.99 | per year |
| Pro Features — Discounted | $99.99 | one-time |
| Pro Features | $199.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 💗 Fantastic app
- 🎀 Great tool for writers
- 👍 Clean writing app
- 🤩 Awesome app
- 👍 Cute animations

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Glitchy and unreliable
- 💰 Paywalled features
- 🐛 Lost files and documents
- 🐛 Cursor issues
- 🐛 Buggy and unstable

**Reported bugs**

- Files randomly disappearing
- Cursor issues causing freezes
- Syncing and iCloud integration problems

**Requested features**

- Add image support
- Improve file management and recovery
- Expand font and customization options
- Implement team/collaborative writing features
- Add text formatting options like italics and bold


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Storyist 4 free?

Storyist 4 is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Paper free?

Paper is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Storyist 4 or Paper?

Paper is rated higher. Storyist 4 averages 4.3 out of 5 from 395 ratings, while Paper averages 4.7 from 1.8K ratings.

### Do Storyist 4 or Paper have ads?

Neither Storyist 4 nor Paper shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Storyist 4 or Paper?

Storyist 4 ships an update every 4 months, and Paper monthly. Most recently, Storyist 4 was updated on November 2, 2026 and Paper on November 3, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*