Comparison

Plain Text Editor vs Text Workflow

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Plain Text Editor

This utility app removes text formatting and images from your clipboard, converting content to plain text. It allows for easy editing and batch processing of clipboard contents, with an auto-processing feature available via in-app purchase.

Highlights
  • Remove text formatting
  • Erase images from clipboard
  • Convert clipboard to plain text
  • Edit text in editor
  • Batch processing
  • Auto batch processing (in-app purchase)
Features
Read full description

Have you ever had trouble with the size and color of text when you copy and paste it? "Plain Text Editor - PlainText" is an app that will solve the problem. "Plain Text Editor - PlainText" is an editor that can erase text styles and photos in the clipboard. You can easily change the contents of the clipboard to plain texts only. And you can also edit the text in the editor. [How to use] ∙Tapping "Clip → Editor" button puts the contents of the clipboard into the plain text editor. ∙Tapping "Editor → Clip" button puts the contents of the editor into the clipboard. ∙With the above operations, the contents of the clipboard can be changed to plain text. ∙Tapping "Batch Processing" button, the above two button processes will be performed continuously and the contents of the clipboard will become plain text. ∙If you turn on Auto Batch Processing, Batch Processing will be performed when this app is brought to the foreground.(*Auto Batch Processing requires an in-app purchase) ∙You can edit text in the editor. ∙On iPhone or iPad, tap editor screen to show the keyboard. ∙The number of characters in the editor is displayed at the top right of the screen. ∙Paste Permission Dialog will not appear if you select "Allow" from "Settings" > "Apps" > "PlainText" > "Paste from Other Apps. ∙Tap "ⓘ" button at the top left of the screen to open the information. The developer assumes no responsibility for any accident, violation, loss or claims by third parties which may arise from the use of this app. Terms of Use: This application is provided under the Apple Standard End User License Agreement (EULA). https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Text Workflow

Automate repetitive text editing tasks with a powerful yet user-friendly tool. Create custom workflows by combining over 45 transformation actions to format, clean, and convert text. All processing is done on-device for enhanced security and privacy.

Highlights
  • Combine transformation actions
  • Save and reuse workflows
  • Over 45 text transformation actions
  • On-device processing
  • JSON, CSV, YAML conversion
  • URL and Base64 encoding/decoding
  • Shortcuts integration
Features
Read full description

Clean up AI and web text in one tap. Copy an answer from ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or any website and it comes with junk: [1] citation tags, 【source】 marks, stray ** and ## symbols, curly quotes, invisible characters, broken line breaks. Text Workflow removes all of it and gives you clean text, ready to paste. Exact, every time, and private. It runs on iPhone, iPad and Mac, and your workflows sync over iCloud. NEW IN 3.0 • Clean AI Text: one action removes citations, hidden characters, extra spaces and Markdown symbols. You choose what goes, and code blocks are never touched. • Remove Citations: strips [1], [7][8], [web:1], 【4:0†source】 and Wikipedia notes. • Markdown tables: tables from AI answers now convert to Rich Text and HTML. Format Markdown Table lines up the columns. • Compare Input with Result: see exactly what changed, by character, word or line. • A new text editor with line numbers, visible spaces and tabs, a monospaced font and Find. • Gemini joins OpenAI and Claude, with the newest models. WHY TEXT WORKFLOW • Exact, every time. The same input always gives the same output. No hallucinations, no "regenerate". • Private. Built-in actions run on your device. Never paste sensitive text into a website just to reformat it. • Built for the whole job. Chain 50+ actions into a workflow, save it and run it with one tap. • On every Apple device. A native app on iPhone, iPad and Mac, with workflows synced over iCloud. CLEAN UP AI AND WEB TEXT • Clean AI Text and Remove Citations • Remove Markdown, or turn it into Rich Text for Pages, Word and Mail • Markdown to HTML, with tables • Convert to plain text, strip HTML tags • Straight and curly quotes, accents and diacritics • Delete invisible and non-printable characters BUILD POWERFUL WORKFLOWS Chain actions together and each step feeds the next. Turn the text job you repeat every week into a single tap. • Reorder steps, switch them on and off, nest workflows inside workflows • Regular Expressions: extract, replace with capture groups, or run a workflow only on matching parts • Sync your workflows across all your devices with iCloud 50+ TEXT ACTIONS, INCLUDING • Editing and lines: find and replace (plain or RegEx), prefix and suffix, insert text, sort, number, break and trim lines, remove empty lines, line breaks, duplicates and extra spaces • Case and style: UPPER, lower, Title, camelCase, spell out numbers, format numbers, Style Text, reverse, shuffle, repeat • Data formats: beautify JSON, XML and HTML; JSON and YAML; JSON and CSV; XML to JSON; CSV to Markdown table • Utilities: Base64, URL encoding, encryption with a password, QR codes, UUIDs, text statistics, reading time, dates, math, short URLs WORKS WITH SHORTCUTS Every action and workflow is a Shortcuts action. Clean your clipboard with one tap, or build text automations that run on their own. Use the Share sheet to send text from any app. AI, ON YOUR TERMS AI is one optional step among 50+, not the whole app. Add a prompt step to any workflow with your own OpenAI, Claude or Gemini key, any OpenAI-compatible service such as OpenRouter or LM Studio, or Apple's on-device model. You choose the model and pay the provider directly. Nothing routes through us. TEXT WORKFLOW PRO Free: every action, with results shown in full. Pro lets you copy and share results of any length, create unlimited workflows and compare Input with Result. Payment will be charged to your Apple ID account at confirmation of purchase. The subscription automatically renews unless it is canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Your account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period. You can manage or cancel your subscription in your App Store account settings after purchase. Privacy Policy: https://www.gtrigonakis.com/privacy Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Plain Text Editor1 screens
Text Workflow4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Text Workflow at 95% against Plain Text Editor's 50%. Text Workflow also leads on rating (4.8 vs 3.0) and ads (none vs shown). Plain Text Editor's advantage is update cadence (every 10 days vs monthly). On price, in-app purchases, monetization model 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Plain Text Editor sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month and Text Workflow sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Text Workflow holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Text Workflow has 176 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 50% of Plain Text Editor's written reviews are positive against 95% of Text Workflow's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Plain Text Editor ships an update every 10 days, Text Workflow monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Plain Text Editor versus Text Workflow: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPlain Text EditorText Workflow
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.0 (2 ratings)4.8 (176 ratings) — better
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews95.2% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2176 — better
Update frequencyEvery 10 days — betterMonthly
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details — not scored
Size9 MB32 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTakao IchimuraGeorgios Trigonakis

Customer experience

Plain Text Editor

All ratings2 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

Text Workflow

All ratings176 ratings
Positive94.3%
Neutral3.4%
Negative2.3%
Written reviews42 reviews
Positive95.2%
Neutral4.8%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Plain Text Editor

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Text Workflow

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Last update broke Shortcuts
  • Shortcuts open the app and stop instead of returning data
  • Error message when selecting a workflow in Shortcuts action
  • Restore purchase doesn't work

Requested features

9 requests
  • Support for family sharing for subscriptions
  • Support for more languages
  • Ability to convert VB code to C#
  • Ability to change AI models (e.g., 16K ChatGPT, 32K GPT-4)
  • Ability to alter AI temperature settings, top-p, top-K, frequency penalties, token limit, stop sequence
Show 4 more
  • Support for API endpoints for local AI models
  • Integration with openrouter.ai
  • Accept share-type of a URL as well as text
  • Convert JSON to YAML and vice versa (already added, but mentioned as a request)

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Plain Text Editor

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Plan$0.991 Month
  • Yearly Plan$3.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime Plan$7.99
3 purchases

Text Workflow

Subscriptions2
  • Text Workflow Full Access$0.991 Month
  • Text Workflow Full Access7 Days trial$6.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime Premium$17.99

Questions

Is Plain Text Editor free?
Plain Text Editor is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Text Workflow free?
Text Workflow is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Plain Text Editor or Text Workflow?
Text Workflow is rated higher. Plain Text Editor averages 3.0 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while Text Workflow averages 4.8 from 176 ratings.
Do Plain Text Editor or Text Workflow have ads?
Plain Text Editor shows ads; Text Workflow does not.
Which is updated more often, Plain Text Editor or Text Workflow?
Plain Text Editor ships an update every 10 days, and Text Workflow monthly. Most recently, Plain Text Editor was updated on October 7, 2026 and Text Workflow on October 10, 2026.

Other comparisons