Essayist vs dcs task
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Essayist
This app simplifies academic writing by automatically formatting essays in various styles like APA, MLA, and Chicago. It includes a universal reference manager, citation tools, and equation support, allowing for distraction-free writing and easy export to PDF or Word.
- Automatic essay formatting
- Universal reference manager
- In-text citation and footnote insertion
- LaTeX equation support
- Export to PDF and Word
- Minimalist interface
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Try Essayist for free today! "Mac App of the Year 2025" — Apple "App of the Day" — Apple "Editors' Choice" — Apple "A-Plus Apps for Students" — Apple "Mac Essentials" — Apple No more fighting margins, hanging indents, or citation formatting. Essayist streamlines academic writing so you can concentrate on your ideas while it takes care of formatting, citations, references, footnotes, page setup, and more. AUTOMATIC FORMATTING Essayist automatically formats margins, fonts, spacing, headings, page numbers, references, citations, footnotes, figures, tables, and other essential elements. UNIVERSAL REFERENCE MANAGER Store and organize references with iCloud, then use them across multiple essays. Add sources through built-in search, Google Scholar, URLs, BibTeX, or manual entry. Essayist formats each source and adds it to your references or works cited list automatically. ZOTERO IMPORT Import your Zotero references and start using them in Essayist. CITATIONS Quickly insert in-text citations, footnotes, and endnotes with the click of a button. CITATION STYLES Choose from APA, MLA, Chicago/Turabian, Harvard, IEEE, AMA, Vancouver, and more than 10,000 other styles. EQUATIONS Add equations using LaTeX. FIGURES & TABLES Insert fully formatted figures and tables with captions, numbering, titles, and notes. Cross-reference them throughout your essay. ABSTRACT, APPENDICES & TABLE OF CONTENTS Easily add an abstract, appendices, and an automatically generated table of contents. WRITE ANYWHERE, STAY IN SYNC Your essays and references sync across iPhone, iPad, and Mac with iCloud, so you can start on one device and finish on another — even offline. YOUR WORK IS YOURS No ads, no selling your data, no lock-in — export anytime as PDF or Word. EXPORT Export your essays as PDF or Word documents. MINIMAL INTERFACE Write in a clean, distraction-free workspace with customizable themes, backgrounds, and dark mode. MORE • Available on iPhone, iPad, and Mac with universal purchase • US Letter and A4 paper sizes • Times New Roman and Arial fonts • Word and page counts • Spell check, auto-completion, and auto-capitalization • Accessibility support REGULAR UPDATES Have a feature request or found an issue? Contact us at contact@essayist.app. PRICING Essayist is free to download and includes a free trial of Essayist Pro. Pro is available as a monthly or yearly subscription. Terms of Use: https://www.iubenda.com/terms-and-conditions/82031685 Privacy Policy: https://www.iubenda.com/privacy-policy/82031685
dcs task
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a simple and eloguant way for managing your task with simplicity and performance
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: dcs task at none against Essayist's 4. dcs task also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs fortnightly) and iOS requirement (15.1 vs 18.0). On price, ads 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
Both are free to download. Essayist sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month. dcs task asks for nothing beyond the download.
Essayist ships an update fortnightly, dcs task every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Essayist | dcs task |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (430 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 60.5% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 430 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | Every 2 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Subscription | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 15.1 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 82 MB | 20 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Essayist Software Inc. | Dcs Sarl |
Bugs and requests
Essayist
Reported bugs
5 issues- App crashes when trying to add references
- Formatting issues when copying and pasting
- Inability to edit title pages and section headings
- Inconsistent behavior across devices (iPad vs. Mac)
- Issues with in-text citations and reference lists
Requested features
6 requests- Add more citation styles (e.g. MHRA, Vancouver)
- Improve table and image handling
- Integrate with reference managers like Zotero
- Add grammar and spell check tools
- Allow more customization of templates and formatting
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- Improve export functionality to preserve formatting
dcs task
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Essayist
- Monthly Subscription3 Days trial$5.991 Month
- Monthly Subscription3 Days trial$9.991 Month
- Yearly Subscription7 Days trial$39.991 Year
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- Yearly Subscription7 Days trial$79.991 Year
dcs task
No in-app purchases









