AYCM Manuscript vs Trace
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
AYCM Manuscript
This app provides a comprehensive creative ecosystem for novelists, allowing them to manage characters, build worlds, track timelines, and even script comic books. It's designed for writers who need a single platform to organize every aspect of their complex stories.
- Character management
- World building tools
- Timeline tracking
- Comic book scripting
- Research notes
- Publishing checklists
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AYCM Manuscript — Your Story's Complete Ecosystem Your story deserves everything. Some stories are too big for a single document. Too layered for a notes app. Too alive to be managed in a spreadsheet. AYCM was built for those stories. A complete creative ecosystem for novelists who don't just write stories — they build worlds, shape characters, and live inside their fiction long before a single word hits the page. ONE ECOSYSTEM. EVERY LAYER OF YOUR STORY. Great fiction isn't just words. It's the character whose childhood shaped every decision they make. The city with a history that predates your protagonist by three hundred years. The magic system with rules your readers will test. The timeline that has to hold together across four hundred pages. AYCM holds all of it. Together. Connected. Characters Not a character sheet. A living record of who your people are — their relationships, their contradictions, their arcs, their secrets. Connected to every scene, every location, every moment in your story. World Building From a single street to an entire civilisation. Languages, cultures, mythologies, histories — your world exists inside AYCM the same way it exists inside your head. Completely. Timelines The backbone of every great story. Track events, threads, and character arcs with a timeline that keeps your narrative honest — and your continuity airtight. NEW — Comic Studio Your ecosystem just expanded. Plan, script, and build comic books directly inside your story world — same characters, same locations, same universe. Full panel scripting, dialogue management, and issue planning, all woven into the world you've already built. The Rest of Your World Magic systems. Technology frameworks. Sports and games. Research notes. Publishing checklists. Cultural traditions. If it lives in your story, it lives in AYCM. THIS IS WHAT A COMPLETE CREATIVE ECOSYSTEM FEELS LIKE Not a writing app. Not a notes app. Not a world-building app. All of it. One place. Your story — every layer, every thread, every world — finally in an ecosystem built to hold it. AYCM is for the novelist who knows their story is bigger than any single tool ever gave them credit for. PREMIUM Unlimited projects. Full ecosystem access. Every feature, every tool, every layer of your story — unlocked. Start with a 2-week free trial. No commitment required. Subscription renews monthly. Cancel anytime. Terms: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Trace
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Run your day, or it runs you. Trace is a focus timer and time tracker built to turn deep work into a daily habit. Start a session, do the work, and Trace quietly records exactly where your time goes — then turns it into streaks, insights, and momentum you can feel. Most timers forget about you the moment you leave the app. Trace doesn't. Every session is computed from real timestamps, so your time stays accurate even if you lock your phone, take a call, or close the app for hours. WHY TRACE • A timer that survives real life — backgrounding, lock screen, calls, and app kills won't lose a second. • Tap to pause, start, and stop. Every completed session is saved, no matter how short. • Build your ideal day — set up morning, afternoon, evening, and night activities so your schedule reflects how you actually work. • Track anything — Study, Work, Workout, Read, Deep Work, and your own custom session types. • Daily to-dos and goals that keep you moving toward what matters. STAY CONSISTENT • Streaks that reward showing up day after day. • A daily summary that shows what you got done. • Clear insights and charts — see where your time goes, compare days, and spot your trends. GO DEEPER • Immersive focus sounds — coffee shop, library, piano, and more — to pull you into deep work and keep you there. • Screen Time blocking to lock out distracting apps while you focus. • Live Activity on the Lock Screen and Dynamic Island so your session is always one glance away. • Apple Watch and Mac apps so you can start and track focus wherever you are. • Themes, accents, and glow styles to make Trace yours. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Your data lives on your device. No account required to start. Stop guessing where your time went. Start tracing it. — Trace Pro unlocks deeper insights, unlimited session types and tasks, full customization, and immersive focus sounds. Subscriptions auto-renew unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the period; manage or cancel anytime in your App Store settings. Privacy Policy: https://patient-mouse-b9ce.reodan9.workers.dev/privacy Terms of Use: https://patient-mouse-b9ce.reodan9.workers.dev/terms
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is device support: AYCM Manuscript at 3 against Trace's 1. On price, ads, in-app purchases and iOS requirement 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. AYCM Manuscript sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month and Trace sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
| Parameter | AYCM Manuscript | Trace |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (6 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 6 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | — |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 17.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 626 MB | 25 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | AYCM, LLC | Reodan Kanesh Nathan |
In-app purchases
AYCM Manuscript
- Premium Features14 Days trial$5.991 Month
- 500 AI Credits$9.99
Trace
- Trace Pro Monthly$4.991 Month
- Trace Pro Annual$14.991 Year
- Trace Pro Lifetime$49.99









