uFocus vs Zavala
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
uFocus
A distraction-free writing app designed for creative expression. It supports plain text files, offers advanced Markdown and Fountain syntax for various writing needs, and provides tools to enhance focus and productivity.
- Unobtrusive interface
- Text statistics
- MultiMarkdown support
- Fountain screenplay support
- Highlighting options
- Typewriter scrolling
- Customizable themes
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uFocus is a distraction-free writing environment that supports plain text files and allows you to keep them organized inside libraries. It allows everyone to express their creativity in the most simple way. • Unobtrusive interface: the navigation bar disappears while writing. • Swipe to show the sidebar. Here you can link your favorite libraries and quickly access your documents. • Show text statistics including character and word count and reading time. • MultiMarkdown: easily add headings, quotes, ordered and unordered lists, links, images, italics, bold, footnotes, citations, glossaries and acronyms. You can then export your documents to HTML or PDF. With CriticMarkup and Live Edit Mode you can easily mark removals, additions and substitutions, add highlghts and comments, and accept or reject them. • Fountain: create screenplays with the Markdown-inspired markup syntax and print or export them as PDF with industry-standard formatting. • Highlighting: you can stay even more focused by fading out all the text but the current sentence or paragraph. • Typewriter scrolling: automatically scrolls the text when you get on a new line. • Sound mode: experience the ultimate feeling of a typewriter. • No deletions mode: disable deletions and replacements if your greatest temptation is always to edit your text instead of writing. • Fullscreen: focus on your words and hide everything else. • Choose between three different editor widths, four font sizes and a light, dark, sepia or amber theme, or create your own theme. • Print single files or entire directory hierarchies. If you have any requests, suggestions or bug reports, you're welcome to visit the website through the Support link.
Zavala
This app offers a modern approach to outlining, providing a full suite of features. It supports gestures, keyboard shortcuts, and multiple windows for efficient organization and content creation. Easily import and export in various formats, sync across devices, and customize your outlining experience.
- OPML Import & Export
- Markdown Export
- iCloud Syncing & Sharing
- Nested Tags
- Image Embedding
- Keyboard Shortcuts
- Drag and Drop
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Zavala is a modern take on a traditional outliner. It is a full featured app. It takes full advantage of your device by leveraging gestures, keyboard shortcuts, and multiple windows. Other features: * OPML import & export * Markdown import & export * HTML import & export * iCloud syncing * iCloud sharing with other iCloud users * Encrypted outlines and encrypted iCloud sync * Nested Tags for organizing Outlines * Support for embedding images * Print support * Drag and drop * Text formatting * Links * Completed items * Notes * Customizable fonts and sizes * Backlinks * Shortcuts support * Web clipper share extension * Typewriter scrolling * Automatic row numbering including Decimal and Legal numbering
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is monetization model: Zavala at free against uFocus's paid. uFocus's advantage is device support (5 vs 3) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 26.0). On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for uFocus against 4.8 for Zavala. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 36 and 70 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 91% of uFocus's written reviews are positive against 88% of Zavala's.
uFocus ships an update monthly, Zavala every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | uFocus | Zavala |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (36 ratings) | 4.8 (70 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 91.0% of reviews — better | 87.7% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 36 | 70 — better |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac, Vision Pro — better | iPhone, iPad, Mac |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 7 MB | 19 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Nicolas Kick | Vincode, Inc |
Customer experience
uFocus
Zavala
Bugs and requests
uFocus
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Zavala
Reported bugs
9 issues- Broken sync between iPhone and Mac
- iCloud database incompatibility
- Unable to format using toolbar
- Lost outline after update
- Sidebar not available
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- Cannot open outlines from Document Provider
- App crashes on M1
- IME input ignored in body text (Japanese)
- Abstürze beim Anlegen des ersten Dokuments (M1)
Requested features
15 requests- Continue releasing macOS builds for older versions
- Legacy database option for iOS apps
- Cross-platform support
- Ability to change tag and outline list order manually
- Support for hiding notes
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- Typewriter scroll mode
- Due dates on the right of the note
- Font color change
- Multi-select for dragging
- Copy and paste lines
- Option to use system fonts
- Full screen document view with swipe gesture
- Adjust line spacing
- Improve drag and drop behavior on Mac
- Sync via Nextcloud
In-app purchases
uFocus
No in-app purchases
Zavala
No in-app purchases









