Byword vs iWriter Pro
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Byword
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.
- 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
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Byword makes writing easier on your iPhone and iPad. # Key features of Byword - Designed to make writing with Markdown easier - Sync text documents across all your Mac, iPhone, iPad devices - Take all documents offline to access them anytime - Filter documents by searching all text (Find & Replace inside documents coming soon) - Alternate dark theme for extra comfort in low-light situations - The most complete Markdown support including footnotes, tables and cross-references - Export Markdown documents to PDF and HTML documents - Publish to Medium, WordPress, Tumblr, Blogger and Evernote # Optimized for iOS 13 - Dark mode support to match iOS preference; - Search documents directly from iOS Spotlight; - Multitasking and split screen on iPad; - Shortcuts to create new document and access most recent documents right from application icon. # Blog publishing Publish to Medium, WordPress, Tumblr, Blogger and Evernote from Byword. Publishing your story with Byword is as simple as: 1. Write in Byword 2. Open Tools and select Publish 3. Confirm metadata 4. Publish # More features - List continuations - TextExpander snippet expansion - Word and character counters with live update - Extensive VoiceOver support for visual impaired users - Spell and Grammar checking and Dictionary lookup - Keyboard shortcuts for formatting and navigating between screens Here are some ways to use Byword in your life: - For posting to your blog without using clunky web interfaces and risking losing your work - For research, meeting and class notes - To write that important email without being distracted - To capture ideas and notes and have them available in all devices # Rich text warning Byword for iOS only works with plain text formats. Supported file extensions are: txt, text, md, mmd, rmd, markdown, markdn, mdown, mkdn, markd and fountain. # Support We are proud to provide a super friendly customer support. If you need help and/or have suggestions, please contact us using the mediums below. Twitter: http://twitter.com/bywordapp Email: byword@metaclassy.com Web: http://bywordapp.com
iWriter Pro
A minimalist text editor with robust Markdown support and distraction-free writing. It offers iCloud sync, live syntax highlighting, and various export options for documents.
- Clean and minimal interface
- iCloud sync
- Live Markdown syntax highlighting
- HTML Preview
- Typewriter mode
- Document Browser with tags
- Export to HTML, PDF, EPUB, DOCX, and more
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# iWriter Pro is elegant and minimalist text editor with built-in Markdown support. Distraction-free and subscription-free. ## Features: - Clean and minimal interface. - iCloud sync across iPad, iPhone, and Mac¹ devices. - Text editing with live Markdown syntax highlighting. - HTML Preview for Markdown and MultiMarkdown documents. - Typewriter mode² with focusing on line, sentence, or paragraph. - Powerful Document Browser³ with tags support. - Integrated counters for words, symbols, sentences, and paragraphs. - Fast and responsive editing even for large files. ## iWriter Pro supports: - Highlighting and rendering of LaTeX equations. - Flowchart and Mermaid diagrams. - Source code highlight in HTML preview. - Exporting documents as HTML, PDF, RTF, EPUB, LaTeX, and DOCX. - Keyboard shortcuts⁴ for text formatting and quick navigation. - Search and Replace in your documents. - Light and dark layouts (auto-switching included). - Automatic number/bullet/task list formatting. ¹ - iWriter Pro for Mac is available as a separate purchase on the Mac App Store. ² - Typewriter and Focus modes are available only on iPad. ³ - Editing files in Dropbox, Google Drive, and other 3d-party storage providers is not guaranteed. ⁴ - External keyboard is required.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is monetization model: iWriter Pro at free against Byword's paid. iWriter Pro also leads on rating (4.7 vs 4.4) and review sentiment (68% vs 60%). Byword's advantage is iOS requirement (10.3 vs 26). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and ads 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
Byword costs $5.99 and iWriter Pro $5.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
iWriter Pro holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 184 and 132 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 60% of Byword's written reviews are positive against 68% of iWriter Pro's.
Byword ships an update every 2 months, iWriter Pro every 3 months. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.
| Parameter | Byword | iWriter Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $5.99 | $5.99 |
| Rating | 4.4 (184 ratings) | 4.7 (132 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 60.1% of reviews | 68.5% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 184 — better | 132 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months — better | Every 3 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 10.3 — better | 26 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 9 MB | 20 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Metaclassy, Lda. | Serpensoft Group |
Customer experience
Byword
iWriter Pro
User reviews
Byword
From 184 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Highly recommended, just works
- 🚀 Reliable, efficient, and aesthetically appealing
- 🚀 Excellent Markdown support
- 👍 Clean, simple, and distraction-free writing experience
- 👍 Seamless sync between devices
Room to improve
- 🐛 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
iWriter Pro
From 132 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- ✨ Simple and clean interface
- 🚀 Fast and efficient performance
- ✍️ Distraction-free writing experience
- 💡 Good value for money
- 🔄 Seamless iCloud sync
Room to improve
- 🐛 Occasional crashes and freezes
- 🔋 High battery consumption (iCloud sync)
- 🐛 Data loss or corruption issues
- 🐛 Syncing problems (iCloud, Dropbox)
- 🐛 Exported DOCX files have restrictions
Bugs and requests
Byword
Reported bugs
3 issues- 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
5 requests- 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
iWriter Pro
Reported bugs
31 issues- App crashes and freezes frequently
- Data loss or corruption during editing/syncing
- iCloud and Dropbox sync issues
- Exported DOCX files are not fully compatible
- Autocorrect option is confusingly named
Show 26 moreShow fewer
- Cannot rename documents outside of iWriter folder
- List indentation can be problematic
- Markdown menus on keyboard have delayed response
- Automatic dark mode not working after update
- Mermaid plugin not working with iOS 18
- Preview barely works
- App not being updated to fix bugs
- Developer does not respond
- Multiline LaTeX not supported
- App crashes on iPad Pro 2020 after update
- Conversion to DOCX has restrictions
- No preview section in settings for plugins
- Photos cannot be inserted (folder access permission issue)
- Cannot read images from hidden folders
- Line breaks in exported documents turn into spaces
- Formulae not working
- Occasional rendering bug where text doesn't fill screen
- App crashes immediately upon opening
- Google Drive sync issues and inability to open/save files
- iCloud synchronization consumes too much battery
- App deletes work for no reason
- Dropbox connection is poor and leads to conflicts/data loss
- Font compatibility issues in document names
- App is very basic and doesn't work well with other Markdown editors
- Impolite developers
- App is unstable
Requested features
22 requests- Add table support (Markdown)
- Allow reordering of shortcuts
- Cycle visibility on headings using Tab
- Add Mark Set and cut region
- Wordpress export
Show 17 moreShow fewer
- Syntax highlighting
- File tree or explorer in sidebar
- Regex search
- Auto dark mode
- Select and open a folder
- Obsidian support (hyperlink function)
- Chinese support
- Add math input
- Passcode lock feature
- Change font color
- Hybrid/mixed editor/preview mode
- Automatic backup to Dropbox/other cloud storage
- Add file opening options in preview mode
- Enter title edit mode immediately after creating a new file
- Change shortcut keys from moving cursor to indent
- Customizable paste symbols
- Full-text search
In-app purchases
Byword
No in-app purchases
iWriter Pro
No in-app purchases







