Comparison

PaperTrail vs Ghost CMS Editor & Publisher

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

Head to head
About

PaperTrail

This app provides a full TaskPaper editing experience on iOS and iPadOS, allowing you to manage projects, tasks, and notes using simple, flexible plain text files. Sync your work with iCloud and edit across devices, with powerful search and filtering capabilities.

Highlights
  • Full TaskPaper format support
  • OPML import
  • Distraction-free editing
  • Full query language search
  • Tag system with progress tracking
  • iOS Reminders integration
  • Shortcuts and Siri integration
Read full description

PaperTrail brings full TaskPaper editing to iOS and iPadOS. TaskPaper is plain text productivity—simple, fast, flexible. Projects, tasks, notes, and tags. Filter, search, and archive. All in plain text files you can sync via iCloud and edit in TaskPaper on your Mac. FEATURES • Full TaskPaper format support (.taskpaper, .todo, .txt, .md) • Open Bike (.bike) and OPML (.opml) outlines, with clear warnings when an import can't carry everything across • OPML and Bike-style export, so tags and done state round-trip back into Bike • Fold and focus into any subtree for distraction-free editing • Full query language with text, tag, boolean, and semantic search • Tag system with dates, progress tracking, and cost aggregation • Tag autocomplete ranked by how often you use each tag • Smart filters with edge-swipe gestures and an iPad side-by-side sidebar • Colour lines by priority, depth, or due date proximity • Natural date parsing and two-way iOS Reminders integration—import a Reminders list as a project • Quick capture: append tasks, notes, clipboard text, or web links to your most recent document • Planning shortcuts: Open in Today, Random Next Task, and Morning Brief • Shortcuts, Siri, Action Button, and Spotlight integration via App Intents • Find & update documents from Shortcuts: run queries, mark done, set tags, append tasks • Command palette for projects, searches, tags, and every editor command • iPadOS menu bar with Item, Tag, Outline, View, and Palette menus • Export documents as interactive HTML slide presentations or as OPML outlines • Built-in and custom document templates • 50+ keyboard shortcuts for power workflow • Native Swift app—tiny install size, built for speed • Dynamic Type, VoiceOver, and dark mode support

About

Ghost CMS Editor & Publisher

This app allows Ghost blog owners to write, format, and publish posts directly from their iPhone using markdown. It supports image uploads and syncs instantly with any Ghost instance, prioritizing user privacy by keeping credentials on the device.

Highlights
  • Markdown formatting
  • Image uploads
  • Instant publishing
  • Draft saving
  • Post scheduling
  • Direct Ghost API sync
Features
Read full description

Your Ghost blog, in your pocket. Sign in with your Ghost account, open any post you've already written, and edit it beautifully — right there on your phone. EDIT ANY POST, PARAGRAPH BY PARAGRAPH Open any post and tap a paragraph, heading, quote or aside to change it, right where it already lives. PRESERVED EXACTLY AS GHOST SAVED IT Images, galleries, buttons, bookmarks and callouts are preserved exactly as Ghost saved them, so every edit stays precisely scoped to the paragraph you touched. A TRULY NATIVE EDITOR Formatting you can see as you type — bold, italic, headings, quotes, links and code. Select text and format it the way you expect on iPhone, with the toolbar where your thumb already is. POST ON THE GO Draft on the train, edit over coffee, publish before you're back at your desk. Save as a draft, schedule for later, or publish straight away. SIGN IN THE WAY YOU ALREADY DO Use the same email and password you already use for your Ghost site, and you're straight into your posts. Prefer an Admin API key? That works too. IMAGE UPLOADS Pick photos from your library and drop them into posts. They upload straight to your own Ghost server. SEE EVERYTHING AT A GLANCE Drafts, scheduled posts and published pieces in one list, with feature-image thumbnails, sorting and tag filters. PRIVATE BY DESIGN The app talks directly to your own Ghost site — your content goes straight to your server and nowhere else. Your site connections are end-to-end encrypted and sync only through your own iCloud, readable by no one but you, not even us. READY ON EVERY DEVICE Set your blog up once and it's there on your iPhone and iPad, and it survives reinstalling the app. WORKS WITH ANY GHOST SITE Self-hosted on your own server, on a VPS, or with a managed Ghost host. If it runs Ghost, this connects to it. HONEST ABOUT WHAT'S NEXT Paragraphs, headings, quotes and asides are fully editable today. Cards — images, galleries, bookmarks, callouts and buttons — display faithfully and are kept safe when you save, with editing on the way. Lists are next. Built by someone who writes on Ghost every day, for people who do the same.

Screenshots

PaperTrail4 screens
Ghost CMS Editor & Publisher4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Ghost CMS Editor & Publisher at $4.99 against PaperTrail's $19.99. Ghost CMS Editor & Publisher also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.3) and review sentiment (100% vs 77%). PaperTrail's advantage is ratings volume (16 vs 1). On ads, in-app purchases, monetization model and chart position 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

PaperTrail costs $19.99 and Ghost CMS Editor & Publisher $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Ghost CMS Editor & Publisher holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: PaperTrail has 16 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 77% of PaperTrail's written reviews are positive against 100% of Ghost CMS Editor & Publisher's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PaperTrail ships an update every 10 days, Ghost CMS Editor & Publisher every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
PaperTrail versus Ghost CMS Editor & Publisher: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPaperTrailGhost CMS Editor & Publisher
Price$19.99$4.99 — better
Rating4.3 (16 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews76.9% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings16 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 10 daysEvery 4 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
Best chart rank#153 — better#196
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS17.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size3 MB15 MB
Age rating4+4+
DevelopergingerbeardmanVERSIONPRIME LTD

Customer experience

PaperTrail

All ratings15 ratings
Positive80.0%
Neutral6.7%
Negative13.3%
Written reviews13 reviews
Positive76.9%
Neutral0.0%
Negative23.1%

Ghost CMS Editor & Publisher

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

PaperTrail

No in-app purchases

None

Ghost CMS Editor & Publisher

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is PaperTrail free?
PaperTrail costs $19.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Ghost CMS Editor & Publisher free?
Ghost CMS Editor & Publisher costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, PaperTrail or Ghost CMS Editor & Publisher?
Ghost CMS Editor & Publisher is rated higher. PaperTrail averages 4.3 out of 5 from 16 ratings, while Ghost CMS Editor & Publisher averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do PaperTrail or Ghost CMS Editor & Publisher have ads?
Neither PaperTrail nor Ghost CMS Editor & Publisher shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PaperTrail or Ghost CMS Editor & Publisher?
PaperTrail ships an update every 10 days, and Ghost CMS Editor & Publisher every 4 days. Most recently, PaperTrail was updated on October 30, 2026 and Ghost CMS Editor & Publisher on October 28, 2026.
Which is more popular, PaperTrail or Ghost CMS Editor & Publisher?
PaperTrail currently peaks at #153 in the App Store charts, and Ghost CMS Editor & Publisher at #196. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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