Comparison

Werdsmith vs Transom Note

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

Head to head
About

Werdsmith

This app transforms your devices into a writing studio, helping you overcome writer's block with AI-powered suggestions and build a consistent writing practice. It automatically handles formatting, allowing you to focus on your creative process.

Highlights
  • AI-powered writing suggestions
  • Daily writing practice builder
  • Automatic formatting
  • Project and goal tracking
  • Cross-device sync
Features
Read full description

Writing is hard. Werdsmith makes it easier.  Werdsmith turns your iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Vision Pro and Apple Watch into a powerful writing studio that helps you break through writer's block and motivates you to write. BEAT WRITER’S BLOCK Add your project to Werdsmith and whenever you get stuck, the app can suggest the next line of your story for you, in your own writing style. BUILD YOUR WRITING PRACTICE Tell us when you write best and Werdsmith will help you build a daily writing ritual. You can set daily or per-project writing goals and track them as you write. You’ll be writing more than ever. FOCUS ON WRITING Instead of formatting options that distract you from writing, Werdsmith formats your work as you write – automatically adding fonts, chapter titles and even keeping your chapter numbers in order. Werdsmith can fit into your existing writing process, or you can treat it like a fresh start. It's up to you. We’re writers from 175 countries who’ve written over 4 million projects using Werdsmith. Join us! --- Things you might want to know: You can use all of Werdsmith's features for free, but there are limits, for example in the number of projects you can add, the number of writing prompts you can create, or the amount of time you can spend in Novel Mode or using app themes. You can increase or remove these limits by becoming a Werdsmith member. Sync, backup and sharing features are optional, but require a free Werdsmith account. If you choose to become a member, you’ll be charged through your iTunes account at the end of your one-week free trial period, unless you cancel your membership at least 24 hours before it begins. Your subscription will renew automatically, unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current billing period. You can manage, upgrade, downgrade or cancel your subscription in the app's Settings or by going to your App Store account settings. Keep in mind that any unused portion of your free trial period is forfeited if you purchase a membership before the end of the trial. Please read our Privacy Policy at werdsmith.com/privacy and our Terms of Use at werdsmith.com/terms. Feel free to contact us if you need help! A big thanks to the writers who've supported Werdsmith over the years. We couldn't do it without you.

About

Transom Note

Capture, tag, and organize your writing ideas effortlessly. This app helps writers keep track of every thought, project, and tag, making it easy to retrieve them when inspiration strikes. Export your notes in various formats for seamless integration into your writing workflow.

Highlights
  • Capture and tag ideas
  • Organize thoughts by project
  • Search by tag or project
  • Archive or delete notes
  • Export notes as PDF, CSV, or rich-text
Features
Read full description

Made for writers, by writers, Transom lets you capture and tag every little scrap of an idea so that you can easily find it whenever you're ready to write — without having to fumble through emails-to-self, messy notebooks, and clunky multi-purpose apps. How it works: create a Thought to add it to your Transom notes. Easily add Tags and file it under a Project. When it's time to sit down and write, all those brilliant little gems will be right at your fingertips (and not buried in that old notebook — no, the other one. Or was it in an email?). Search by Tag, Project name, or use simple keyword search. Once you've used a Thought, archive or delete it to declutter your list. And if you want to copy your Thoughts to something long-form, export a custom list of Thoughts as PDF, CSV, rich-text file. Questions or feedback? We'd love to hear from you: help@wearetransom.com.

Screenshots

Werdsmith4 screens
Transom Note4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Werdsmith at fortnightly against Transom Note's every 3 months. Werdsmith also leads on ratings volume (8K vs 82) and review sentiment (82% vs 70%). Transom Note's advantage is iOS requirement (12.1 vs 17.0). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases 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. Werdsmith sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Transom Note sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Werdsmith against 4.6 for Transom Note. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Werdsmith has 8K ratings behind it against 82, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 82% of Werdsmith's written reviews are positive against 70% of Transom Note's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Werdsmith ships an update fortnightly, Transom Note every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and June 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Werdsmith versus Transom Note: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterWerdsmithTransom Note
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (8K ratings) — better4.6 (82 ratings)
Positive reviews82.0% of reviews — better69.8% of reviews
Number of ratings8K — better82
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS17.012.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size18 MB36 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperWerdsmith Pty LtdVoidMedia

Customer experience

Werdsmith

All ratings8,002 ratings
Positive92.8%
Neutral3.3%
Negative3.8%
Written reviews615 reviews
Positive82.0%
Neutral8.0%
Negative10.1%

Transom Note

All ratings82 ratings
Positive93.9%
Neutral0.0%
Negative6.1%
Written reviews53 reviews
Positive69.8%
Neutral1.9%
Negative28.3%

Bugs and requests

Werdsmith

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Losing written work after updates
  • Cursor jumping issues while typing
  • Inconsistent behavior on different devices

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add ability to add images to stories
  • Improve chapter/section organization
  • Implement a dark mode theme
  • Allow more free projects/ideas
  • Integrate with other writing tools

Transom Note

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

6 purchases

Werdsmith

Subscriptions6
  • Membership7 Days trial$4.991 Month
  • Ghostwriter (300 prompts)1 Month trial$14.991 Month
  • Membership7 Days trial$24.996 Months
Show 3 more
  • Membership7 Days trial$49.991 Year
  • Ghostwriter (150 prompts)7 Days trial$99.991 Year
  • Ghostwriter (300 Prompts)7 Days trial$149.991 Year
1 purchases

Transom Note

One-time1
  • Prompt Credit$0.99

Questions

Is Werdsmith free?
Werdsmith is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Transom Note free?
Transom Note is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Werdsmith or Transom Note?
Werdsmith is rated higher. Werdsmith averages 4.7 out of 5 from 8K ratings, while Transom Note averages 4.6 from 82 ratings.
Do Werdsmith or Transom Note have ads?
Neither Werdsmith nor Transom Note shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Werdsmith or Transom Note?
Werdsmith ships an update fortnightly, and Transom Note every 3 months. Most recently, Werdsmith was updated on September 23, 2026 and Transom Note on June 8, 2026.

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