Outliner vs iWriter 2
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Outliner
Organize your thoughts, tasks, and projects with a powerful outlining tool. Create structured lists, track project progress with visual indicators, and collaborate with others. Sync your work across devices and cloud storage for seamless access.
- Create structured outlines
- Track project progress with pie charts
- Sync with cloud storage (OneDrive, Dropbox)
- Collaborate with other users
- Drag and drop editing
- Search and filter outlines
- Archive old outlines
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CarbonFin Outliner allows you to organize your thoughts, tasks, and projects. Easily create a todo list for today, or track an entire project anywhere you are. Share your outlines, edit them online, and collaborate with other Outliner users. Highlights • Create outlines full of notes, structured lists, tasks, or detailed projects • Sync your outlines automatically to Outliner Online, OneDrive, or Dropbox for web or desktop editing • Get a quick view of project progress - tasks with subtasks show a pie-chart indicating percent completed Organize • Search through all your outlines or an individual outline • Tag your outlines, and filter based on tag • Archive old outlines to hide them from view without deleting Easy-to-use Editor • Drag and drop to move items within an outline • Copy, paste • Undo, redo • Expand all, collapse all • Optional outline numbering • Zoom in to focus on a single subtree Outliner Online • Securely synchronize your outlines with Outliner Online • View and edit your outlines in any web browser • Import and export outlines as plain text or OPML • Keep all your devices synchronized • Share an outline with other Outliner users to collaborate OneDrive and Dropbox • Sync your outlines with OneDrive or Dropbox to allow quick import/export • Seamlessly access and edit across your iOS devices and PCs -= Recent version history =- Version 3.21 • iPhone Duo support • Bug fixes Version 3.20 • iOS 27 support • Updated Dropbox and OneDrive integrations • Bug fixes Version 3.19 • iOS 26 support and adoption of liquid glass Version 3.18 • iOS 18 support • Dark and tinted app icons Version 3.17 • Minor bug fixes Version 3.16 • Minor bug fixes • iOS 17 support Version 3.15 • Fixed Dropbox integration • Show a warning when unlinking Dropbox/OneDrive if there are unsynced outlines • iOS 16 support Version 3.12 • Dark mode • Added confirmation to "Delete Completed" • Changing "Archived" won't update the outline's modification time • iOS 13 support Version 3.11 • OneDrive sync support Version 3.10 • Sync the order of outlines across devices (CarbonFin outlines only) • iOS 12 support Version 3.9 • iPhone X support • iOS 11 support Version 3.8 • Open In... support • Ability to hide the outline list on iPad • Minor UI tweaks
iWriter 2
A minimalist Markdown text editor designed for distraction-free writing. It offers advanced features like MultiMarkdown support, live preview, Wikilinks, and seamless export to various formats. Built with TextKit 2 for enhanced performance and a smooth user experience.
- Distraction-free minimalist writing environment
- MultiMarkdown support with live preview
- Wikilinks and Wiki-Embeds
- Built-in document manager with search
- Export to HTML, PDF, EPUB, DOCX, LaTeX
- LaTeX syntax highlighting and Mermaid diagrams
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iWriter 2 is an elegant and minimalist Markdown text editor designed for distraction-free writing. # iWriter 2 is the next generation of the beloved iWriter text editor. "Simple & beautiful" App Store Review, 2019 "Terrific Writing and Notes App" App Store Review, 2015 "Great simple text editor" App Store Review, 2014 Immerse yourself in a minimalist writing environment designed to enhance focus and productivity. Say hello to structured, professional documents that effortlessly transform your ideas. ## MultiMarkdown Support iWriter 2 is a full-featured Markdown editor built for precision and flexibility. - MultiMarkdown support with live preview and syntax highlighting. - Wikilinks and Wiki-Embeds for connected notes. - Task lists and code blocks made simple. - Keyboard shortcuts for fast inline formatting. ## Built-in Document Manager A built-in document manager that lets you easily organize, browse, and manage all your files in one place — complete with powerful document search to quickly find exactly what you need. ## Rebuilt with TextKit 2 iWriter 2 has been completely rebuilt from the ground up using Apple’s modern TextKit 2 framework, delivering faster performance, smoother scrolling, and a more responsive writing experience. ## Multiple Export Options A refined, user-friendly interface designed for focus and productivity, offering intuitive formatting options and seamless export to multiple formats including HTML, PDF, EPUB, DOCX (Microsoft Word), and LaTeX. ## LaTeX and Mermaid Diagrams iWriter 2 offers LaTeX syntax highlighting, making complex math expressions easy to read and edit as you write. It also supports Mermaid diagrams, letting you create flowcharts, sequence diagrams, and more using simple text-based syntax. Both integrate seamlessly into your Markdown workflow, keeping technical writing and visual documentation in one place. --- Terms of Use: http://www.apple.com/legal/itunes/appstore/dev/stdeula Privacy Policy: https://serpensoft.com/privacy-policy/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Outliner at 87% against iWriter 2's 40%. Outliner also leads on price ($4.99 vs $9.99) and rating (4.8 vs 4.5). iWriter 2's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs every 4 months). On 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
Outliner costs $4.99 and iWriter 2 $9.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Outliner holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Outliner has 89 ratings behind it against 10, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 87% of Outliner's written reviews are positive against 40% of iWriter 2's.
Outliner ships an update every 4 months, iWriter 2 fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Outliner | iWriter 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $4.99 — better | $9.99 |
| Rating | 4.8 (89 ratings) — better | 4.5 (10 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 86.5% of reviews — better | 40.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 89 — better | 10 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 — better | 26 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 17 MB | 20 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | CarbonFin | Serpensoft Group |
Customer experience
Outliner
iWriter 2
Bugs and requests
Outliner
Reported bugs
3 issues- Unexpected error: 500 when saving data
- Pane that lists outlines won't go away or resize
- Keyboard takes up too much screen space
Requested features
5 requests- Add due dates and priority levels for tasks
- Improve export and sharing options (e.g., PDF, Word)
- Implement better organization and search capabilities
- Introduce a desktop companion app for easier editing
- Add support for voice notes and other multimedia
iWriter 2
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Outliner
No in-app purchases
iWriter 2
No in-app purchases









