Comparison

EndNote vs Essayist

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

Head to head
About

EndNote

Manage your research from anywhere with this popular tool. Organize, search, and share academic papers and bibliographies seamlessly across devices. Sync your library and annotate PDFs on the go.

Highlights
  • Sync research library across devices
  • Search academic databases
  • Annotate PDFs
  • Import reference file formats
  • Share references with collaborators
  • Attach files from cloud storage
Features
Read full description

Collect, collaborate, create from anywhere with the EndNote app - the world's most popular research management tool. With flexible tools for searching, organizing, sharing research, and creating bibliographies, the EndNote app extends your ability to stay on top of cutting edge research and connect with your EndNote library on the go. EndNote enables you to easily view, edit, organize, and share research material on your iOS device. By syncing your research library across iOS, online, and desktop, you increase the power of EndNote by gaining seamless access to your reference library from multiple devices and platforms. The EndNote app includes: - Sign up for a free, EndNote online account or sign in to an existing account - Synchronize your library references, attachments, and PDF annotations to your online account and EndNote desktop - Built in web browser to search Clarivate Analytics Web of Science, PubMed, Google Scholar, your library catalog, or any other database you choose - Built in PDF viewer with wide range of annotation features. Annotations made can be synced and edited online and on the EndNote desktop - Importing capabilities for .ris, .nbib, and other popular reference file formats - Email and copy options for sharing references and file attachments with collaborators - EndNote “temporary citation” format support - Attach files from Dropbox, OneDrive or Google Drive to your references (accounts available separately) - Viewing and editing options for references and file attachments - Sorting, searching, and grouping options for references and file attachments - Getting Started Guide documentation

About

Essayist

This app simplifies academic writing by automatically formatting essays in various styles like APA, MLA, and Chicago. It includes a universal reference manager, citation tools, and equation support, allowing for distraction-free writing and easy export to PDF or Word.

Highlights
  • Automatic essay formatting
  • Universal reference manager
  • In-text citation and footnote insertion
  • LaTeX equation support
  • Export to PDF and Word
  • Minimalist interface
Features
Read full description

Try Essayist for free today! "Mac App of the Year 2025" — Apple "App of the Day" — Apple "Editors' Choice" — Apple "A-Plus Apps for Students" — Apple "Mac Essentials" — Apple No more fighting margins, hanging indents, or citation formatting. Essayist streamlines academic writing so you can concentrate on your ideas while it takes care of formatting, citations, references, footnotes, page setup, and more. AUTOMATIC FORMATTING Essayist automatically formats margins, fonts, spacing, headings, page numbers, references, citations, footnotes, figures, tables, and other essential elements. UNIVERSAL REFERENCE MANAGER Store and organize references with iCloud, then use them across multiple essays. Add sources through built-in search, Google Scholar, URLs, BibTeX, or manual entry. Essayist formats each source and adds it to your references or works cited list automatically. ZOTERO IMPORT Import your Zotero references and start using them in Essayist. CITATIONS Quickly insert in-text citations, footnotes, and endnotes with the click of a button. CITATION STYLES Choose from APA, MLA, Chicago/Turabian, Harvard, IEEE, AMA, Vancouver, and more than 10,000 other styles. EQUATIONS Add equations using LaTeX. FIGURES & TABLES Insert fully formatted figures and tables with captions, numbering, titles, and notes. Cross-reference them throughout your essay. ABSTRACT, APPENDICES & TABLE OF CONTENTS Easily add an abstract, appendices, and an automatically generated table of contents. WRITE ANYWHERE, STAY IN SYNC Your essays and references sync across iPhone, iPad, and Mac with iCloud, so you can start on one device and finish on another — even offline. YOUR WORK IS YOURS No ads, no selling your data, no lock-in — export anytime as PDF or Word. EXPORT Export your essays as PDF or Word documents. MINIMAL INTERFACE Write in a clean, distraction-free workspace with customizable themes, backgrounds, and dark mode. MORE • Available on iPhone, iPad, and Mac with universal purchase • US Letter and A4 paper sizes • Times New Roman and Arial fonts • Word and page counts • Spell check, auto-completion, and auto-capitalization • Accessibility support REGULAR UPDATES Have a feature request or found an issue? Contact us at contact@essayist.app. PRICING Essayist is free to download and includes a free trial of Essayist Pro. Pro is available as a monthly or yearly subscription. Terms of Use: https://www.iubenda.com/terms-and-conditions/82031685 Privacy Policy: https://www.iubenda.com/privacy-policy/82031685

Screenshots

EndNote4 screens
Essayist4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Essayist at 4.5 against EndNote's 2.6. Essayist also leads on review sentiment (61% vs 28%) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 4 months). EndNote's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 4) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.0). On price, ratings volume, ads and device support 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. Essayist sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month. EndNote asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Essayist holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 2.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 165 and 429 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 28% of EndNote's written reviews are positive against 61% of Essayist's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

EndNote ships an update every 4 months, Essayist fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
EndNote versus Essayist: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterEndNoteEssayist
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.6 (165 ratings)4.5 (429 ratings) — better
Positive reviews27.8% of reviews60.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings165429 — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterSubscription
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS15.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size91 MB82 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperClarivate Analytics (US) LLCEssayist Software Inc.

Customer experience

EndNote

All ratings165 ratings
Positive32.7%
Neutral14.5%
Negative52.7%
Written reviews370 reviews
Positive27.8%
Neutral11.9%
Negative60.3%

Essayist

All ratings423 ratings
Positive86.5%
Neutral3.1%
Negative10.4%
Written reviews185 reviews
Positive60.5%
Neutral8.6%
Negative30.8%

User reviews

EndNote

From 165 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Syncs well with desktop version
  • 📚 Convenient for reading and annotating papers
  • 💻 Good companion to desktop app
  • 🔍 Useful for managing references on the go
  • 🖋️ Annotation tools work well with Apple Pencil

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes frequently
  • 🔍 Clunky search and organization
  • 📁 Sync issues and lost annotations
  • 🔒 Incompatible with other cloud storage
  • 🔧 Missing key features from desktop version

Essayist

From 429 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Easy to use
  • 👍 Helpful for academic writing
  • 🚀 Saves time on formatting
  • 👍 Accurate citations
  • 👍 Intuitive interface

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Bugs and crashes
  • 💰 Expensive subscription
  • 🔒 Privacy concerns
  • 🔒 Locked features behind paywall
  • 🔧 Limited functionality

Bugs and requests

EndNote

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Crashes when editing references
  • Indexing issues and lost library data
  • Compatibility problems with iOS updates
  • PDF viewer issues (e.g. no rotation, lost page position)
  • Login and authentication problems

Requested features

5 requests
  • Cite while you write functionality
  • Better PDF annotation tools (e.g. eraser, text notes)
  • Support for group sets and nested folders
  • Automatic citation data population from PDFs
  • Improved syncing and offline access

Essayist

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • App crashes when trying to add references
  • Formatting issues when copying and pasting
  • Inability to edit title pages and section headings
  • Inconsistent behavior across devices (iPad vs. Mac)
  • Issues with in-text citations and reference lists

Requested features

6 requests
  • Add more citation styles (e.g. MHRA, Vancouver)
  • Improve table and image handling
  • Integrate with reference managers like Zotero
  • Add grammar and spell check tools
  • Allow more customization of templates and formatting
Show 1 more
  • Improve export functionality to preserve formatting

In-app purchases

None

EndNote

No in-app purchases

4 purchases

Essayist

Subscriptions4
  • Monthly Subscription3 Days trial$5.991 Month
  • Monthly Subscription3 Days trial$9.991 Month
  • Yearly Subscription7 Days trial$39.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Yearly Subscription7 Days trial$79.991 Year

Questions

Is EndNote free?
EndNote is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Essayist free?
Essayist is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, EndNote or Essayist?
Essayist is rated higher. EndNote averages 2.6 out of 5 from 165 ratings, while Essayist averages 4.5 from 429 ratings.
Do EndNote or Essayist have ads?
Neither EndNote nor Essayist shows ads.
Which is updated more often, EndNote or Essayist?
EndNote ships an update every 4 months, and Essayist fortnightly. Most recently, EndNote was updated on October 21, 2026 and Essayist on October 29, 2026.

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