Comparison

MinimaTXT vs Recto Writer

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

Head to head
About

MinimaTXT

A minimalist and fast plain text editor designed for focused writing on iPhone. It offers local storage, instant file editing, and robust undo/redo functionality. The app prioritizes simplicity with no ads, tracking, or sign-up required.

Highlights
  • 100% local storage
  • Instant .txt file editing
  • Full Undo/Redo
  • Auto-save functionality
  • Full-text search
  • Batch export as ZIP
Read full description

MinimaTXT is a minimalist, lightning-fast plain text editor for iPhone. For people who prefer focus over features. - 100% local storage — no cloud, no sync, no servers - Open and edit .txt files instantly - Full Undo/Redo support - Auto-save on close, background, and every 30 seconds - Full-text search with instant result highlighting - Easy import and export of your files - Batch export as ZIP No ads. No tracking. No sign-up. Just text.

About

Recto Writer

Features
Read full description

Recto is a word processor for people writing books. Arrange your projects on your bookshelf. THE OUTLINE IS THE BOOK For pantsers and plotters alike, arrange your outline or infer it from your book. Your outline is always there for you to quickly glance at and jump to that section of your book. FRONT MATTER THAT KNOWS WHAT IT IS Keep your book's blurb, back cover description, and other information in one place so it's easy to export to EPUB. YOUR WORDS STAY YOURS No proprietary files or storage systems. Every book is stored as Markdown so you can open it in any editor. All files are kept in your own iCloud. WHEN THE DRAFT IS DONE Export to EPUB, Word, PDF, Markdown, HTML or plain text. WHAT ELSE IS IN HERE Kill Your Darlings, except you can also keep them and reuse them later in this book or the next book. Placeholders, for the fact you will look up later. Drop a flag and keep writing. Daily word goals, timed sprints, and a chart of the last thirty days. Find and replace across the whole book, spellcheck, typewriter scrolling, five reading typefaces and three styles of drop cap. FREE Recto is free. There is no trial, no subscription and no in-app purchases lurking in the shadows to steal your lunch money. If it becomes part of how you work and you want to say thank you, there's an opportunity to send me a tip. But it's not necessary. You can also email me and just say hi. WITH THANKS Recto is a native rewrite of NEO, the word processor Hugh Howey wrote and released under the MIT License. The outline, the scene breaks, and the idea that a writing app should get out of the way are all his. Recto shares none of his code and all of his intent.

Screenshots

MinimaTXT3 screens
Recto Writer4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is device support: Recto Writer at 3 against MinimaTXT's 1. MinimaTXT's advantage is iOS requirement (17.6 vs 26.0). 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

MinimaTXT ships an update every 5 days, Recto Writer every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and October 26, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
MinimaTXT versus Recto Writer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMinimaTXTRecto Writer
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 5 daysEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, Mac — better
Requires iOS17.6 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size4 MB5 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAndrey BychkovPrashant Sridharan

In-app purchases

None

MinimaTXT

No in-app purchases

None

Recto Writer

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is MinimaTXT free?
MinimaTXT is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Recto Writer free?
Recto Writer is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do MinimaTXT or Recto Writer have ads?
Neither MinimaTXT nor Recto Writer shows ads.
Which is updated more often, MinimaTXT or Recto Writer?
MinimaTXT ships an update every 5 days, and Recto Writer every 3 days. Most recently, MinimaTXT was updated on October 7, 2026 and Recto Writer on October 26, 2026.

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