# Workflowy vs Author

The clearest difference is price: Workflowy at Free against Author's $19.99. Workflowy also leads on rating (4.8 vs 3.0) and update cadence (weekly vs every 2 months). On ads, in-app purchases, monetization model and device support there is nothing between them.

Workflowy is free to download; Author costs $19.99 up front. Workflowy sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $8.99 per month and Author sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Workflowy holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Workflowy has 8.2K ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 88% of Workflowy's written reviews are positive against 72% of Author's.

Workflowy ships an update weekly, Author every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Workflowy | Author |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | **Free** | $19.99 |
| Rating | **[4.8 (8.2K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/workflowy-note-list-outline/id551139514/reviews)** | [3.0 (5 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/author/id951792010/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **8.2K** | 5 |
| Positive reviews | **88.1% of reviews** | 71.5% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Weekly** | Every 2 months |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 147 MB | 4 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.6** | 26.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | **iPhone, iPad, Mac, Vision Pro** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [FunRoutine INC](https://appshunter.io/developer/551139517) | [The Augmented Text Company LTD](https://appshunter.io/developer/459748478) |

## What reviewers say

### Workflowy

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/workflowy-note-list-outline/id551139514)

Capture ideas, manage tasks, and organize your thoughts with an infinitely nestable system. This app offers AI assistance for summarization and brainstorming, along with collaborative features and robust search capabilities. It syncs across devices and works offline, making it a powerful tool for personal and team productivity.

**Highlights:** Infinitely nested lists, AI summarization and brainstorming, Kanban boards for task management, Real-time collaboration and sharing, Global search and filtering, Offline access and cross-device sync, Tagging and mentions

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Workflowy Pro - Monthly | $8.99 | per month |
| Workflowy Pro - Yearly | $79.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Best way to organize thoughts
- 🔒 Secure and reliable
- 👍 Simple and intuitive
- 👍 Excellent for productivity and organization
- 👍 Versatile for various use cases

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Occasional data loss issues
- 🐛 Offline mode not always reliable
- 🔋 Can be slow on mobile devices
- 👎 Limited customization options

**Reported bugs**

- Cursor sometimes gets stuck
- Syncing issues between web and mobile versions
- Inability to delete items consistently

**Requested features**

- Add ability to attach files and documents
- Improve mobile app experience
- Implement better notification and reminder system
- Add more formatting options (e.g., font styles, colors)


### Author

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/author/id951792010)

This app serves as a companion to its macOS counterpart, offering a minimalist and powerful writing experience on iOS devices. It allows users to create and manage their written content seamlessly across platforms.

**Highlights:** Minimalist writing interface, Powerful writing tools, iOS companion app, Syncs with macOS version

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Export & AI | Free | one-time |
| Eng | $1.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- ✨ Clean, minimalist interface design
- 💡 Innovative concept mapping and mind mapping features
- 📚 Excellent citation and reference management
- ⌨️ Useful keyboard shortcuts and productivity features
- 🎯 Powerful outlining and document folding capabilities

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent crashes and data loss issues
- 📱 iOS/iPad app severely broken and non-functional
- 🔄 Syncing problems between devices
- 🎨 Limited formatting and customization options
- 📊 Poor image handling capabilities

**Reported bugs**

- App crashes frequently, causing data loss
- iOS app shows blank screen and won't open documents
- iPad app completely non-functional
- Text disappears or becomes greyed out during iCloud saves
- Vision OS app lacks cursor for text input

**Requested features**

- iPad and iOS app that actually works
- Typewriter scrolling mode
- Variable screen width for large displays
- Complete LaTeX export with full file support
- Markdown support


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Workflowy free?

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

### Is Author free?

Author costs $19.99, and also offers in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Workflowy or Author?

Workflowy is rated higher. Workflowy averages 4.8 out of 5 from 8.2K ratings, while Author averages 3.0 from 5 ratings.

### Do Workflowy or Author have ads?

Neither Workflowy nor Author shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Workflowy or Author?

Workflowy ships an update weekly, and Author every 2 months. Most recently, Workflowy was updated on October 17, 2026 and Author on October 10, 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.*