Comparison

Leaffold vs SFD

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

Head to head
About

Leaffold

A focused writing tool offering typewriter mode, curated fonts, and customizable page settings. It prioritizes privacy with no account, tracking, or subscriptions. Ideal for drafting, editing, or thinking in text.

Highlights
  • Typewriter mode for focused writing
  • Seven curated typefaces
  • Adjustable line height and text width
  • Four color themes
  • Plain text support via Files app
  • No account or tracking
Features
Read full description

A focused writing surface with typewriter mode, curated typefaces, and full control over how your page feels. No subscription, no account, no tracking. Leaffold gives you real typographic controls without the price tag or the subscription: a typewriter mode that pins your current line to the centre of the screen, seven hand-picked fonts, adjustable line height and text width, and colour themes tuned for sustained writing. Switch between a minimal setup and a full writing configuration with one tap. TYPEWRITER MODE • Keeps your eyes at a fixed point while text flows upward • Configurable guide line and scroll window • Smooth centering, even at the very first and last lines of a document FIND IN DOCUMENT • Search for words or phrases within any document • Move quickly through every match • Command-F support for hardware keyboards TUNE YOUR PAGE • 7 curated typefaces: serif, sans, and monospace • Precise line height (1.0–2.0×) and font size (8–32pt) • Text width: Full, Classic (~80 chars), percentage, or fixed • Quick presets: Minimal or Writing, one tap FOUR THEMES • System, Paper, Night, High Contrast, each with matched colours PLAIN TEXT, PRIVATE • Works directly with the Files app. Store locally or in iCloud. • No account, no sign-up, no analytics, no tracking • Your text stays on your device Whether you're drafting prose, editing a config file, or simply thinking in text, Leaffold is a page that feels right.

About

SFD

This app helps you overcome writer's block by forcing you to write a first draft without the ability to edit or reread. It uses timed bursts and nudges to keep you moving forward, allowing you to flag sections for later revision.

Highlights
  • Forward-only writing
  • Timed writing bursts
  • Cursor nudges for stalls
  • Flagging sections for revision
  • Plain text export
  • Offline functionality
Features
Read full description

Writing apps help with the easy half — outlines, fonts, folders, word-count trophies. The hard half is producing a bad first version of something, and that's all SFD does. SFD is forward-only. You write in a burst, the earlier lines dim and scroll away, and you can't go back to fix them. You can't edit a draft into existence, so SFD won't let you try until it's out. How it works: — A go is a timed burst. You write. You don't reread. — Stall for a few seconds and you get a shove — a nudge that gets blunter the longer you stare at the cursor. — Hit a line you hate? Drop a later and keep moving. Your flags become a punch-list for when you revise. — A finished part is a chunk. A stack of chunks is the Pile — your whole first draft. — When it's done, send it out as plain text, to wherever you actually revise. Drafting is free. Every go, every later, every export — no account, no trial clock, no nagging. THE BIG MONTH is free too: 50,000 words of a novel's first draft between November 1 and 30. SFD shows your words today and how many a day finishes it, lights up a November calendar on every day you write, marks 10,000, 25,000 and 50,000, and gives you a BIG MONTH 2026 stamp and finisher card you can only earn that November. One thing costs money: SFD Habit Tracking, a 99-cent one-time unlock for the habit layer — the streak map and year wall, the month goal, the quiet reminder, stamps, share cards, and the home-screen widget, which carries THE BIG MONTH in November. The scoreboard, not the game. If you bought SFD back when the app itself cost money, the habit layer is yours automatically. What SFD won't do: format, outline, sync, collaborate, or write the draft for you. You write the bad version. A chunk has to get written; inside that, anything goes. Your words stay yours. Every chunk is a plain-text file on your device. No proprietary format, no servers. SFD makes no network calls at all — it can't lose your words and it can't trap them. Get the first draft out. You can make it good later, somewhere with a real keyboard.

Screenshots

Leaffold4 screens
SFD4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: SFD at 5.0 against Leaffold's 4.0. Leaffold's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ratings volume (4 vs 1). On price, update cadence, 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. SFD sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Leaffold asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

SFD holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4 and 1 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Leaffold ships an update weekly, SFD every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on October 4, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Leaffold versus SFD: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLeaffoldSFD
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (4 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings4 — better1
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 8 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Mac — better
Requires iOS18.017.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size5 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperYixin XiaoDaniel James Kinney-Spears

Customer experience

Leaffold

All ratings4 ratings
Positive75.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative25.0%

SFD

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

In-app purchases

None

Leaffold

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

SFD

One-time1
  • SFD Habit Tracking$0.99

Questions

Is Leaffold free?
Leaffold is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is SFD free?
SFD is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Leaffold or SFD?
SFD is rated higher. Leaffold averages 4.0 out of 5 from 4 ratings, while SFD averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Leaffold or SFD have ads?
Neither Leaffold nor SFD shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Leaffold or SFD?
Leaffold ships an update weekly, and SFD every 8 days. Most recently, Leaffold was updated on October 4, 2026 and SFD on October 10, 2026.

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