Comparison

Write Only vs Book Writer

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

Head to head
About

Write Only

This app offers a distraction-free writing experience, mimicking a typewriter to help users focus on generating ideas. All content is saved permanently as a PDF, preserving formatting and layout. It features a fixed cursor for reduced errors and an extended keybar for easier access to common symbols.

Highlights
  • Typewriter-like writing experience
  • Permanent PDF saving
  • Fixed cursor for accuracy
  • Extended keybar
  • Focus on idea generation
  • Customizable fonts
Features
Read full description

Write Only allows you to use your iPad/iPhone in the exact same way as a good old typewriter. It is a special app designed for people who just want to focus on writing. By separating writing from editing, it helps you focus more on getting your ideas out. Using it is like sitting in front of a typewriter and letting words flow out of your finger tips. Everything you put down on the page is permanent. All the typing is saved as a PDF file, including the positions, the font size, and the colors that the texts come out with. No matter where and when you are going to view these pages, they will be kept exactly same as the time you typed them. Fixed cursor sits right above the keyboard, therefore your eyes will be close both to the text you're typing and the fingers, and that can help to reduce typing errors. You can start typing on the page at any place by tapping on that location and use any margin you want by moving the page. It is very easy to type aligned texts. An extension keybar includes frequently used keys like ' or ; that are difficult to access in iOS' default keyboard. Write Only is good for writing the first version of any work, especially diary or journal. When you come back to your writings years later, the shapes of the text and the errors you made will help you remember the moments of the writing. Tips: - To delete a page, slider your finger from right to left over the page you want to remove; - To send one or more pages, long press on the page you want to send, after the toolbar shows up, you can select more than one pages. More pages means more time to prepare. Sending multiple pages will combine pages into one single PDF document first. - To select a different font, go to Settings app -> Write Only, choose your favorite font, then return back to Write Only, start a new page or simply restart.

About

Book Writer

This app helps aspiring authors and writers organize their ideas, characters, and drafts into a complete book. It offers tools for efficient writing, editing, and managing story elements to bring creative projects to life.

Highlights
  • Book creation and organization
  • Character creation and notes
  • Draft management
  • Side note functionality
  • Fast editing tools
  • Cloud saving
Features
Read full description

MAKE YOUR BOOK A REALITY WITH THE #1 BOOK CREATOR AUTHOR APP Have everything you need to write your book in 1 app with -- Book Write - Extensive Writer--. Our easy to use and yet exceptionally efficient book creator app organizes your writings into a great book. Turn yourself into a quick, efficient and skillful writer in a faster and easier way. Understanding the need for organization, linking subjects, notes & characters, we specifically made our book creator as a simple notes & book writing tool for all authors and aspiring writers. Finally, you have 1 app with intuitive UI and features to turn your ideas and creativity into a book! ADD CHARACTERS, DRAFTS, AND SIDE NOTES Create quality and consistent book with an easy to use book creator app. Add text and let the book writing app organize everything you write beautifully and productively. Edit the lines you write, add side notes, and organize everything endlessly until you are completely satisfied. All our tools make the writing easier and consistent, which is especially important for character development, story flow and ending. For a neater experience, we made sure that each line you write within the book creator is accompanied by tiny glowing stars. Use this as an inspiration to create magic writing. BOOK WRITE FEATURES: - Detailed yet easy app to create a book - Character creation and taking notes about characters - Detailed book and line organization - Creating drafts for books - Keyboard bar for fast editing - Quick add and Quick copy features Whether you want to write a novel, short story or you just want to try your creative writing skills, this app is just the tool you need for writing. Don’t miss one of the best book writer apps to write a book. Subscription Service: 1. Required to access the app's capabilities 2. Creating books, characters, drafts and book chapters 3. Exporting books 4. Saving books to cloud, to reach them from all your devices. Payment models for Book Write Subscription • Book Write Monthly Subscription: $1.99 per month, • Book Write Yearly Subscription: $11.99 per year Terms of Use: https://hiappsco.wordpress.com/2020/12/03/book-write-terms-of-use/ Privacy Policy: https://hiappsco.wordpress.com/2020/02/27/book-write/ • Payment will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase. • Account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current subscription period. • Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's Account Settings after purchase. • Any unused portion of a free trial period will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that publication. Download Book Write - Extensive Writer

Screenshots

Write Only3 screens
Book Writer4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: Write Only at free with in-app purchases against Book Writer's subscription. Write Only also leads on review sentiment (33% vs 19%) and iOS requirement (5.1.1 vs 18.0). Book Writer's advantage is rating (3.9 vs 3.6) and ratings volume (79 vs 14). On price, update cadence, 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. Write Only sells 2 one-off in-app purchases and Book Writer sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Book Writer holds the better App Store score, 3.9 against 3.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Book Writer has 79 ratings behind it against 14, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 33% of Write Only's written reviews are positive against 19% of Book Writer's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Write Only ships an update every 6 weeks, Book Writer every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Write Only versus Book Writer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterWrite OnlyBook Writer
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.6 (14 ratings)3.9 (79 ratings) — better
Positive reviews33.3% of reviews — better19.2% of reviews
Number of ratings1479 — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksEvery 5 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterSubscription
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS5.1.1 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size6 MB105 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developer潮激 李Kaan Yildiz

Customer experience

Write Only

All ratings14 ratings
Positive71.4%
Neutral0.0%
Negative28.6%
Written reviews93 reviews
Positive33.3%
Neutral6.5%
Negative60.2%

Book Writer

All ratings79 ratings
Positive67.1%
Neutral11.4%
Negative21.5%
Written reviews52 reviews
Positive19.2%
Neutral17.3%
Negative63.5%

User reviews

Write Only

From 14 App Store ratings

What we love

  • ✨ Retro aesthetic
  • ✍️ Focused writing experience
  • 😌 Peaceful typing
  • 💡 Simple and beautiful UI
  • 💡 Accurate typewriter simulation

Room to improve

  • ❌ Cannot delete words
  • ❌ Cannot delete pages
  • ❌ No save/export option
  • ❌ Limited free pages
  • ❌ Ads are distracting

Book Writer

From 79 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use for some
  • 👍 Good for organizing work
  • 👍 Character logging feature is good
  • 👍 Cloud saving works for some
  • 👍 Can be useful with patience

Room to improve

  • 💸 Expensive subscription required
  • 🐛 App doesn't save work
  • 🐛 Work is deleted frequently
  • 🐛 Cannot access notes of chapters
  • 🐛 Character details not saved

Bugs and requests

Write Only

Reported bugs

13 issues
  • Cannot backspace to remove words
  • Cannot delete pages or erase
  • Cannot save or export
  • App crashes and deletes work
  • Crashes with each delete
Show 8 more
  • Doesn't work on iOS8
  • UI and accessibility issues
  • App freezes and crashes
  • Cannot delete old pages
  • Space bar bug (types adjacent letter)
  • Text moves and becomes jumbled
  • Kicks user off at inconvenient times
  • Upgrade prompts reappear after purchase

Requested features

10 requests
  • Add copy/paste functionality
  • Add export to text option
  • Add PDF conversion
  • Add Russian language support
  • Add Korean keyboard
Show 5 more
  • Add typewriter key sound
  • Add dark mode
  • Add print option
  • Add email functionality
  • Make it free without upgrade limitations

Book Writer

Reported bugs

14 issues
  • Typing a word multiple times
  • Saving and exiting unavailable
  • App doesn't save text
  • Lost account, cannot log back in
  • Notes of chapters not accessible
Show 9 more
  • Character notes deleted when added to book
  • App deletes work
  • Work is deleted frequently
  • App doesn't save anything
  • Chapters are gone
  • Subscription notes not saved
  • Cannot create even one character in free version
  • Deleted everything every time
  • Wiped for a reason

Requested features

13 requests
  • Fix the issue of typing a word multiple times
  • Add option to remove numbering
  • Improve saving and exiting functionality
  • Provide a user guide or tutorial
  • Improve organization of characters for multiple books
Show 8 more
  • Make the writing space larger and clearer
  • Implement a more dedicated writing space
  • Add dark mode
  • Add advanced analytics dashboard
  • Add outline feature
  • Add world-building notes section
  • Pull everything together into a publishable format
  • Make it a one-time payment instead of subscription

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Write Only

One-time2
  • Unlimited Fonts$0.99
  • Unlimited New Pages$1.99
6 purchases

Book Writer

Subscriptions5
  • Book Writer Weekly$6.997 Days
  • Book Write Monthly$7.991 Month
  • Book Write Monthly$12.991 Month
Show 2 more
  • Book Writer Yearly$24.991 Year
  • Book Write Yearly Subscription$49.991 Year
One-time1
  • Book Write Lifetime$99.99

Questions

Is Write Only free?
Write Only is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Book Writer free?
Book Writer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Write Only or Book Writer?
Book Writer is rated higher. Write Only averages 3.6 out of 5 from 14 ratings, while Book Writer averages 3.9 from 79 ratings.
Do Write Only or Book Writer have ads?
Neither Write Only nor Book Writer shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Write Only or Book Writer?
Write Only ships an update every 6 weeks, and Book Writer every 5 weeks. Most recently, Write Only was updated on October 26, 2026 and Book Writer on October 24, 2026.

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