Comparison

uFocus vs Inkiostro

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • Unobtrusive interface
  • Text statistics
  • MultiMarkdown support
  • Fountain screenplay support
  • Highlighting options
  • Typewriter scrolling
  • Customizable themes
Read full description

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.

About

Inkiostro

A distraction-free Markdown editor for Apple devices. Organize files with color labels and tags, and write efficiently with a comprehensive toolbar and live preview. Syncs automatically via iCloud Drive.

Highlights
  • Color Labels for files and folders
  • Custom tags for organization
  • Complete Markdown toolbar
  • Live preview with multiple themes
  • Focus and Typewriter modes
  • Native iCloud Drive sync
  • External folder support
Features
Read full description

Inkiostro is a Markdown editor for people who write — notes, documentation, theses, novels. Plain text files that stay yours, a preview that looks like a finished page, and exports ready to hand over. Buy once, no subscription. No account, no tracking. WRITE, SEE, FINISH • A complete Markdown toolbar: headings, lists, tables and code blocks, one tap away. • A side-by-side preview that comes back exactly where you left it. • LaTeX formulas typeset by KaTeX, and Mermaid diagrams drawn as you type. • 27 preview styles, 11 of them free: GitHub, Sepia, Nord, Solarized and more. With Pro, Manuscript, Book, Report, Academic and others set the page like print. • Focus and Typewriter modes, a live word count and a daily writing goal. FROM DRAFT TO BOOK • PDF with selectable text, formulas and diagrams included. Free, with a small credit line in the footer. • A professional ePub: real chapters, a cover, ISBN, series, footnotes that open over the page, and the accessibility declaration Europe requires. The export sheet tells you what a store would reject — before you send it. (Pro) • A book made of many files: one chapter per file, in a folder, in the order you choose. Arranging it is free; exporting it as a single ePub is Pro. • Self-contained HTML, and page setup for PDF: paper, margins, headers and page numbers. (Pro) NEVER LOSE A WORD • Version history: Inkiostro saves versions as you write. Search them, compare them line by line, and bring back a single word or a whole draft. (Pro) • Backups of your whole library: a dated zip archive with your version history inside, offered when one is due, while the app is open, in a folder you pick. Open it in the Files app and your Markdown files are right there. (Pro) YOUR FILES, YOUR RULES • Unlimited documents, as plain .md files you can open anywhere. • Folders, color labels and tags, with search that filters by tag. • iCloud Drive sync between iPhone, iPad and Mac, with no setup. • External folders: work directly inside any folder on your device or in iCloud Drive. (Pro) INKIOSTRO PRO — ONE PURCHASE, EVERY DEVICE One purchase unlocks Pro on iPhone, iPad and Mac, forever. Try it free for 7 days. • Version history with search, comparison and a year of versions • Backups of your library • Professional ePub, HTML, and books made of many files • PDF page setup • Focus and Typewriter modes • External folders • 24 app themes, the Pro preview styles and any font installed on your device MADE FOR • Writers: novels and essays in plain text, out as a real ebook • Students and researchers: notes and theses with proper formulas • Developers: READMEs, documentation and technical notes with diagrams • Anyone tired of paying every month for a text editor PRIVACY Your documents stay in your iCloud Drive or on your device. No servers of ours, ever. Inkiostro collects only anonymous, aggregated usage statistics — never personal data, never the content of your documents — and you can turn them off in Settings.

Screenshots

uFocus4 screens
Inkiostro4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: uFocus at 4.7 against Inkiostro's 3.0. uFocus also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 1) and review sentiment (92% vs 60%). Inkiostro's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs monthly). On price 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Inkiostro sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. uFocus asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

uFocus holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: uFocus has 35 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 92% of uFocus's written reviews are positive against 60% of Inkiostro's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

uFocus ships an update monthly, Inkiostro weekly. The most recent releases landed on September 29, 2026 and September 28, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
uFocus versus Inkiostro: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameteruFocusInkiostro
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (35 ratings) — better3.0 (4 ratings)
Positive reviews91.5% of reviews — better60.0% of reviews
Number of ratings35 — better4
Update frequencyMonthlyWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac, Vision Pro — betteriPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS15.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size7 MB19 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNicolas KickCarlo Di Giuseppe

Customer experience

uFocus

All ratings35 ratings
Positive94.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative5.7%
Written reviews142 reviews
Positive91.5%
Neutral1.4%
Negative7.0%

Inkiostro

All ratings4 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive60.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative40.0%

In-app purchases

None

uFocus

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Inkiostro

One-time1
  • Inkiostro Pro$19.99

Questions

Is uFocus free?
uFocus is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Inkiostro free?
Inkiostro is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, uFocus or Inkiostro?
uFocus is rated higher. uFocus averages 4.7 out of 5 from 35 ratings, while Inkiostro averages 3.0 from 4 ratings.
Do uFocus or Inkiostro have ads?
Neither uFocus nor Inkiostro shows ads.
Which is updated more often, uFocus or Inkiostro?
uFocus ships an update monthly, and Inkiostro weekly. Most recently, uFocus was updated on September 29, 2026 and Inkiostro on September 28, 2026.

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