# Paper vs Fortelling

The clearest difference is ads: Paper at none against Fortelling's shown. Fortelling's advantage is update cadence (every 8 days vs monthly). On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Paper sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $14.99 per month and Fortelling sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $7.39 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Paper holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1.8K and 1K respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 72% of Paper's written reviews are positive against 73% of Fortelling's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Paper ships an update monthly, Fortelling every 8 days. Both last shipped on November 7, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | Paper | Fortelling |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.6 (1.8K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/paper-writing-app-notes/id1476984841/reviews)** | [4.5 (1K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/fortelling-story-writing/id1503524513/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **1.8K** | 1K |
| Positive reviews | 71.6% of reviews | **72.6% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | Monthly | **Every 8 days** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 85 MB | 117 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15** | 15.6 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [Mihhail Lapushkin](https://appshunter.io/developer/1143513743) | [AJP Digital Tools B.V.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1503524512) |

## What reviewers say

### 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


### Fortelling

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/fortelling-story-writing/id1503524513)

This app helps novelists plot and write their books by organizing story elements like characters, locations, and items. It offers tools for world-building, real-time collaboration, and writing statistics, along with weekly challenges to inspire creativity.

**Highlights:** Advanced plotting tools, World-building for fictional universes, Story element organization, Real-time collaboration, In-app novel writing, Writing statistics, Weekly writing challenges

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

**In-app purchases (7)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Fortelling Pro - Monthly | $7.39 | per month |
| Fortelling Pro - Monthly | $7.49 | per month |
| Fortelling Pro - Monthly | $7.49 | per month |
| Fortelling Pro - Annually | $74.99 | per year |
| Fortelling Pro - Annually | $74.99 | per year |
| Fortelling Pro - Annually | $74.99 | per year |
| Fortelling Pro Lifetime | $199.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Amazing tools
- 🚀 Interesting prompts
- 👍 Helpful for planning stories
- 👍 Detailed character and world-building
- 👍 Organized and easy to use

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Crashes and freezes
- 🐛 Unresponsive save feature
- 🐛 Difficulty deleting or rearranging content
- 🔒 Concerns about intellectual property rights
- 💰 Paid features for desktop version

**Reported bugs**

- Blank screen when trying to delete characters
- Inability to rearrange timeline events
- Inconsistent behavior when adding images
- Disappearing projects and lost progress

**Requested features**

- Ability to import/export data
- More customization options
- Better organization and navigation
- Offline mode or autosave functionality
- Collaborative features and social sharing


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Paper free?

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

### Is Fortelling free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Paper or Fortelling?

Paper is rated higher. Paper averages 4.6 out of 5 from 1.8K ratings, while Fortelling averages 4.5 from 1K ratings.

### Do Paper or Fortelling have ads?

Fortelling shows ads; Paper does not.

### Which is updated more often, Paper or Fortelling?

Paper ships an update monthly, and Fortelling every 8 days. Most recently, Paper was updated on November 7, 2026 and Fortelling on November 7, 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.*