WriteFreely vs Filen
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
WriteFreely
A minimalist blogging app for seamless web publishing. Write in a distraction-free editor and publish to your blog or any compatible writing community. Supports offline drafting and synchronization with your WriteFreely account.
- Distraction-free editor
- Offline drafting and editing
- Sync posts with WriteFreely account
- Publish to multiple blogs
- Dark mode option
- Open source platform
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WriteFreely for iOS gives you a seamless way to publish your thoughts on the web. Write your thoughts in its clean, distraction-free editor, and then publish to your blog or any writing community powered by the WriteFreely software. WriteFreely for iOS supports Write.as and self-hosted WriteFreely instances. If you're not hosting your own instance, visit https://writefreely.org/instances to find a community to join! # Just Write WriteFreely for iOS includes only what you need to write and publish, so you can focus on your words. It launches straight to the editor, so you can get your thoughts down before they vanish. # Write Offline Draft and edit blog posts offline on your iPhone or iPad, and publish whenever you're ready. If you don't publish a post, it remains safe and private on your device. # Stay Synchronized Log in to any WriteFreely instance you have an account on, and sync posts from your WriteFreely account to your device. # Publish Widely Publish to multiple blogs on your account, and move posts between blogs and Drafts with a few quick taps. # Light Customization Make it your own by choosing a default font for your posts, and whether or not you'd like to write in dark mode. # Freedom The WriteFreely platform is built entirely on open source software, from the server-side to this iOS app. Rest easy knowing you ultimately control your publishing tools, and visit https://writefreely.org/contribute to find out how you can contribute.
Filen
Securely store photos, videos, and documents with military-grade encryption. Access files on any device, share them easily, and enjoy features like offline access and encrypted notes. Offers a free tier with 10 GB storage.
- 10 GB free storage
- Unlimited pro storage
- Secure client-side encryption
- Offline file access
- Cross-device file access
- Encrypted notes and chats
- Automatic camera upload
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Filen is everything you need for storing your photos, videos and documents secure and encrypted in the cloud. Get 10 GB storage for free when you create an account. Features: - Get 10 GB when you create an account - Get unlimited storage with our pro offerings - Easily share files with family, friends and colleagues, even if they are not Filen users - Military grade client sided AES 256 bit encryption, your files truly belong to you - only you - Make files available offline for easy access wherever, whenever - Stream and preview your photos, documents, images and audio files straight from the cloud - Access your files on every device - Encrypted notes - Encrypted chats - Clean, easy to use interface for easy file management - Dark mode available for those who work at night or just love the darker look! - Automatic camera upload - Share target - Files app integration Terms of service: https://filen.io/terms Privacy policy: https://filen.io/privacy
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Filen at Free against WriteFreely's $11.99. Filen also leads on update cadence (fortnightly vs every 2 months) and ratings volume (123 vs 8). WriteFreely's advantage is rating (4.1 vs 3.8) and iOS requirement (14.0 vs 26.0). On review sentiment, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Filen is free to download; WriteFreely costs $11.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
WriteFreely holds the better App Store score, 4.1 against 3.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Filen has 123 ratings behind it against 8, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 44% of WriteFreely's written reviews are positive against 48% of Filen's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
WriteFreely ships an update every 2 months, Filen fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 9, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | WriteFreely | Filen |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $11.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.1 (8 ratings) — better | 3.8 (123 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 44.4% of reviews | 47.7% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 8 | 123 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Freemium — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 3 MB | 103 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Musing Studio LLC | Filen Cloud Dienste UG (haftungsbeschraenkt) |
Customer experience
WriteFreely
Filen
Bugs and requests
WriteFreely
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Filen
Reported bugs
18 issues- App crashes when uploading photos/videos
- Music pauses when app is minimized
- Photo upload stuck at specific file counts (e.g., 42 photos)
- Notes lose data during sync
- Note type conversion deletes text content
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- Video thumbnails not displaying correctly
- Cannot open audio files in app
- App stuck on opening screen
- Login credentials not working on iOS despite working elsewhere
- Upload progress not visible in latest update
- File upload stalls at 'finishing' stage
- Camera upload fails with VPN enabled
- Rich text editor loses data on sync
- Share public link toggle does nothing
- Media not found error when uploading images
- App unable to load albums page
- Password reset link not sending
- Automatic account deletion after inactivity
Requested features
12 requests- Video streaming/playback within app
- Read-only file mode option
- Back-sync feature (delete from phone, delete from cloud)
- Multi-select file upload capability
- iPad split-screen view support
Show 7 moreShow fewer
- Shared folder system like Dropbox/Google Drive
- Album-to-folder mapping for camera uploads
- iOS Files app integration/mounting
- Audio file playback within app
- Dark mode following system settings
- Magnetic link download support
- Better gallery navigation and filtering
In-app purchases
WriteFreely
No in-app purchases
Filen
No in-app purchases
