# Paper vs Novelist

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Novelist at none against Paper's 6. Novelist also leads on iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15). Paper's advantage is rating (4.7 vs 4.4) and ratings volume (1.8K vs 214). On price, review sentiment, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Paper sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $14.99 per month. Novelist asks for nothing beyond the download.

Paper holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Paper has 1.8K ratings behind it against 214, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 72% of Paper's written reviews are positive against 79% of Novelist's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Paper ships an update monthly, Novelist every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Paper | Novelist |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.7 (1.8K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/paper-writing-app-notes/id1476984841/reviews)** | [4.4 (214 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/novelist-write-novels/id1564737393/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **1.8K** | 214 |
| Positive reviews | 71.6% of reviews | **79.5% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Monthly** | Every 6 weeks |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Free** |
| Size | 85 MB | 54 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15 | **13.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Mihhail Lapushkin](https://appshunter.io/developer/1143513743) | [Alessandro Riperi](https://appshunter.io/developer/1564737395) |

## 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


### Novelist

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/novelist-write-novels/id1564737393)

This app provides a comprehensive suite of tools for authors to write, organize, and plot their novels. It offers features for scene creation, story structuring, goal setting, and manuscript export. The platform is designed to support the entire novel-writing process, from initial ideas to the final draft.

**Highlights:** Plotting with customizable story elements, Scene writing with rich formatting, Story organization into acts and chapters, Word count goals and deadline scheduling, Manuscript export in EPUB, ODT, HTML, Autosave and version history, Companion web app

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

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Amazingly different application
- 🔒 Completely free, with no ads or in-app purchases
- 👍 Well-organized all-in-one app for writing, plotting, outlining, and scheduling
- 👍 Intuitive and easy to use
- 👍 Helps with organizing and keeping things clean

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Confusing menu options and backup/restore process
- 🐛 Glitches when editing text, cursor behaves unexpectedly
- 🐛 Crashes or freezes on some devices
- 🐛 Syncing issues between devices
- 🐛 Lack of font customization options

**Reported bugs**

- Backup/restore process can lead to data loss
- Cursor and text editing issues
- Crashes and freezes on some devices
- Syncing problems between devices

**Requested features**

- Ability to import/export in various formats (PDF, Markdown, etc.)
- Improved syncing and cloud integration
- More font and formatting options
- Ability to add images/illustrations to the book
- Collaboration/co-writing features


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Paper free?

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

### Is Novelist free?

Novelist is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

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

Paper is rated higher. Paper averages 4.7 out of 5 from 1.8K ratings, while Novelist averages 4.4 from 214 ratings.

### Do Paper or Novelist have ads?

Neither Paper nor Novelist shows ads.

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

Paper ships an update monthly, and Novelist every 6 weeks. Most recently, Paper was updated on October 25, 2026 and Novelist on October 24, 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.*