# Byword vs Metion

The clearest difference is price: Metion at Free against Byword's $5.99. Metion also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 2 months). Byword's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and ratings volume (179 vs 46). On rating, review sentiment, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Metion is free to download; Byword costs $5.99 up front. Metion sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Byword asks for nothing beyond the download.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.4 for Byword against 4.3 for Metion. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 179 and 46 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 60% and 60% positive.

Byword ships an update every 2 months, Metion every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 18, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Byword | Metion |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $5.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | **[4.4 (179 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/byword/id482063361/reviews)** | [4.3 (46 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/metion-markdown-notes/id1530965242/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **179** | 46 |
| Positive reviews | **60.1% of reviews** | 60.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Every 2 weeks** |
| Monetization | Paid | **Free with in-app purchases** |
| Size | 9 MB | 96 MB |
| Requires iOS | **10.3** | 14.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Metaclassy, Lda.](https://appshunter.io/developer/420212500) | [Hangzhou Quanduan Technology Co., Ltd.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1483142209) |

## 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


### Metion

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/metion-markdown-notes/id1530965242)

This notebook tool prioritizes a superior writing experience using Markdown. It allows you to build knowledge bases, connect notes as networks, and offers a distraction-free Zen Mode. Data is stored freely in plain text files with built-in Git support for synchronization and version history.

**Highlights:** Markdown support, Knowledge base creation, Networked notes, Zen Mode writing, Open filesystem storage, Built-in Git sync, History versioning

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 订阅公众号图片上传中转 | $0.99 | per month |
| Subscribe Pro Extensions | $6.99 | per year |
| Standard Edition (iOS+iPadOS) | $17.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- ✨ Seamless integration with Apple ecosystem
- ✍️ Great writing experience
- 💡 Promising features
- 🎨 Minimalist and aesthetic design
- 🚀 Enhances productivity

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent bugs and crashes
- 📱 Not optimized for phones
- 🗂️ Limited free version features
- 🎨 UI issues and design flaws
- ❌ Syncing problems

**Reported bugs**

- Git sync not working
- iCloud folder cannot be specified
- Writing statistics not visible or crashing
- Custom file sorting not working
- New file creation bug (text pushed up)

**Requested features**

- Optimize for phone usage
- Add Windows version
- Improve Git sync functionality
- Allow specifying iCloud folder
- Restore writing statistics feature


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Byword free?

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

### Is Metion free?

Metion is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

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

Byword is rated higher. Byword averages 4.4 out of 5 from 179 ratings, while Metion averages 4.3 from 46 ratings.

### Do Byword or Metion have ads?

Neither Byword nor Metion shows ads.

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

Byword ships an update every 2 months, and Metion every 2 weeks. Most recently, Byword was updated on October 18, 2026 and Metion on October 13, 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.*