# Byword vs Inkdrop

The clearest difference is price: Inkdrop at Free against Byword's $5.99. Byword's advantage is rating (4.4 vs 3.9) and ratings volume (179 vs 44). On review sentiment, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Inkdrop is free to download; Byword costs $5.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Byword holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 3.9. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 179 and 44 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 60% of Byword's written reviews are positive against 63% of Inkdrop's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Byword ships an update every 2 months, Inkdrop every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Byword | Inkdrop |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $5.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | **[4.4 (179 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/byword/id482063361/reviews)** | [3.9 (44 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/inkdrop-markdown-notes/id1211583988/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **179** | 44 |
| Positive reviews | 60.1% of reviews | **62.7% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Every 6 weeks** |
| Monetization | Paid | **Free** |
| Size | 9 MB | 51 MB |
| Requires iOS | **10.3** | 15.6 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Metaclassy, Lda.](https://appshunter.io/developer/420212500) | [Takuya Matsuyama](https://appshunter.io/developer/371994023) |

## What reviewers say

### Byword

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/byword/id482063361)

This app simplifies writing on mobile devices with robust Markdown support. It offers cross-device syncing, offline access, and seamless publishing to popular blogging platforms. Enjoy features like dark mode, word counts, and accessibility options.

**Highlights:** Markdown writing and editing, Cross-device syncing, Offline document access, Publish to blogs (Medium, WordPress, etc.), Dark mode support, Word and character counters, Export to PDF and HTML

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Highly recommended, just works
- 🚀 Reliable, efficient, and aesthetically appealing
- 🚀 Excellent Markdown support
- 👍 Clean, simple, and distraction-free writing experience
- 👍 Seamless sync between devices

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Dropbox sync issues, including lost files and sync conflicts
- 🐛 Crashes and performance issues, especially on newer iOS versions
- 🐛 Limited font and theme options
- 🐛 Lack of advanced features like search, word count, and dark mode
- 🐛 Unintuitive organization and file management

**Reported bugs**

- Dropbox sync not working, files not syncing or disappearing
- Crashes on launch or when opening certain files
- Issues with file organization, renaming, and folder management

**Requested features**

- Add support for rich text formatting (bold, italic, underline)
- Improve Markdown preview and rendering
- Implement more keyboard shortcuts and customization options
- Integrate with more cloud storage services beyond Dropbox and iCloud
- Add search and replace functionality


### Inkdrop

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/inkdrop-markdown-notes/id1211583988)

This app allows you to write and organize notes using GitHub-flavored Markdown with syntax highlighting. It offers a streamlined workflow for boosting productivity and ensures your notes are accessible across devices with end-to-end encryption, even offline.

**Highlights:** GitHub-flavored Markdown support, Inline code syntax highlighting, Seamless note-taking workflow, Cross-device synchronization, End-to-end encryption, Offline access

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Byword free?

Byword costs $5.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Inkdrop free?

Inkdrop is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Byword or Inkdrop?

Byword is rated higher. Byword averages 4.4 out of 5 from 179 ratings, while Inkdrop averages 3.9 from 44 ratings.

### Do Byword or Inkdrop have ads?

Neither Byword nor Inkdrop shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Byword or Inkdrop?

Byword ships an update every 2 months, and Inkdrop every 6 weeks. Most recently, Byword was updated on October 13, 2026 and Inkdrop on October 12, 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.*