# Paper vs Pelago

Paper and Pelago both sit at 4.6 stars, but that hides the real split: 72% of Paper's written reviews are positive against 33% of Pelago's. Paper also leads on ratings volume (1.8K vs 8). Pelago's advantage is iOS requirement (9.0 vs 15). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Paper sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $14.99 per month and Pelago sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Paper against 4.5 for Pelago. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Paper has 1.8K ratings behind it against 8, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 72% of Paper's written reviews are positive against 33% of Pelago's.

## The numbers

| Metric | Paper | Pelago |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.6 (1.8K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/paper-writing-app-notes/id1476984841/reviews)** | [4.5 (8 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pelago-notecard-system/id1517230347/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **1.8K** | 8 |
| Positive reviews | **71.6% of reviews** | 33.3% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Monthly | — |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Size | 85 MB | 28 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15 | **9.0** |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Mihhail Lapushkin](https://appshunter.io/developer/1143513743) | [Lucida Labs, LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/559836635) |

## 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


### Pelago

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pelago-notecard-system/id1517230347)

This app helps you collect, organize, and connect ideas using a digital notecard system. It allows for easy searching, tagging, and even printing cards in a standard index card size. Unlock advanced features and unlimited cards with a premium subscription.

**Highlights:** Digital notecard system, Search and tag functionality, Printable 3x5 index card export, Card annotations and metadata, Smart and static groupings, Idea connection and randomization, Review system with notifications

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Pelago Premium (Monthly) | $4.99 | per month |
| Pelago Premium (Annual) | $47.99 | per year |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Paper free?

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

### Is Pelago free?

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

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

Paper is rated higher. Paper averages 4.6 out of 5 from 1.8K ratings, while Pelago averages 4.5 from 8 ratings.

### Do Paper or Pelago have ads?

Neither Paper nor Pelago shows ads.

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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.*