# References vs Inkiostro

The clearest difference is price: Inkiostro at Free against References's $4.99. Inkiostro also leads on update cadence (weekly vs monthly) and iOS requirement (18.0 vs 26.0). References's advantage is rating (4.9 vs 3.0) and in-app purchases (none vs 1). On ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Inkiostro is free to download; References costs $4.99 up front. Inkiostro sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. References asks for nothing beyond the download.

References holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: References has 25 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 89% of References's written reviews are positive against 60% of Inkiostro's.

References ships an update monthly, Inkiostro weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | References | Inkiostro |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $4.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | **[4.9 (25 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/references/id1481843213/reviews)** | [3.0 (4 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/inkiostro-markdown-editor/id6752715912/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **25** | 4 |
| Positive reviews | **88.6% of reviews** | 60.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Monthly | **Weekly** |
| Monetization | Paid | **Free with in-app purchases** |
| Size | 87 MB | 21 MB |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | **18.0** |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, Mac, Vision Pro** | iPhone, iPad, Mac |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Benjamin Burton](https://appshunter.io/developer/687735578) | [Carlo Di Giuseppe](https://appshunter.io/developer/404162454) |

## What reviewers say

### References

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/references/id1481843213)

Browse and interact with your BibTeX libraries on your mobile device. View references, follow links, and access file attachments like PDFs. Supports both classic BibTeX and BibLaTeX formats.

**Highlights:** Browse BibTeX libraries, Search references, Follow links (DOIs, URLs), View file attachments (PDFs), Supports BibLaTeX, Group by keywords

**In-app purchases:** none


### Inkiostro

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/inkiostro-markdown-editor/id6752715912)

A distraction-free Markdown editor for Apple devices. Organize files with color labels and tags, and write efficiently with a comprehensive toolbar and live preview. Syncs automatically via iCloud Drive.

**Highlights:** Color Labels for files and folders, Custom tags for organization, Complete Markdown toolbar, Live preview with multiple themes, Focus and Typewriter modes, Native iCloud Drive sync, External folder support

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Inkiostro Pro | $19.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is References free?

References costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Inkiostro free?

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

### Which has better reviews, References or Inkiostro?

References is rated higher. References averages 4.9 out of 5 from 25 ratings, while Inkiostro averages 3.0 from 4 ratings.

### Do References or Inkiostro have ads?

Neither References nor Inkiostro shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, References or Inkiostro?

References ships an update monthly, and Inkiostro weekly. Most recently, References was updated on October 14, 2026 and Inkiostro on October 13, 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.*