Comparison

Leaffold vs ghostWriter Markdown

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

ghostWriter Markdown

A plain-text writing app designed with accessibility in mind. It allows users to create, organize, and export documents in various formats, with features like voice control and outline navigation.

Highlights
  • Accessibility-first plain-text editor
  • Organize documents and chapters
  • Compile work into finished exports
  • Supports multiple export formats (HTML, EPUB, PDF, Word)
  • VoiceOver integration
  • Native Find and Replace
  • Outline navigation for headings
Read full description

ghostWriter Markdown is an accessibility-first, plain-text writing app for notes, articles, documentation, and full manuscripts. Write individual documents, organize chapters, and compile your work into a finished export. VoiceOver was at the center of the design from the first line of code. Created by a blind developer, ghostWriter gives screen reader users and anyone who loves plain text a clean, native place to write. So what's Markdown? Markdown adds structure using ordinary punctuation. A number sign makes a heading. A dash makes a list item. Your document stays readable as plain text, and you can render it to see the finished formatting. You don't have to know Markdown to start. Insert Actions adds common elements, the Markdown Reference provides examples, and the included ghostWriter Help Manual explains writing, organizing, and exporting your work. Writing Made Easy: • A native editor that keeps Markdown punctuation visible and you in control of the source • Insert links, images, headings, quotes, code, lists, tasks, tables, and rules • Automatic continuation for bullets, numbered lists, and tasks • Indent and outdent with tabs or spaces • Native Find and Replace, dictation, braille input, and text selection • A configurable Status Bar with line and column position, word, sentence, and character counts, heading level, and selection counts • Automatic saving, plus collision detection if the same document is open on separate devices • Start in the Library, a new document, or your last document Useful Navigation: • Use Outline to jump to document headings • Move through headings with a three-finger horizontal VoiceOver swipe while editing • Jump to Line in long documents • Search document names and contents • Return to your remembered editing position in each file Keep Files Organized: • Create, rename, and move nested folders • Pin documents you keep coming back to • Sort by name, created, modified, or last opened, or arrange files and folders manually • Restore removed files from Recently Deleted • Import Markdown, plain text, Word documents, and PowerPoint presentations into Markdown Build Your Manuscript: • Compile documents from nested folders into a single export • Choose which files to include and arrange chapters for each compilation • Keep research and notes nearby while excluding them from compilations • Track word, sentence, and character totals for individual files or whole folders • Control heading structure when combining documents Render and Share: • Render Markdown as structured HTML with semantic headings, lists, tables, and links • Export individual documents or compilations as Markdown, plain text, HTML, EPUB, PDF, Word, PowerPoint, eBraille, or BRF • Customize Word exports with your own JSON stylesheets, optional title and subtitle styles, and a supplied Large Print stylesheet Your Files, Your Devices: • Ordinary Markdown files, visible in the Files app • On-device storage or iCloud Drive syncing across iPhone, iPad, and Mac • Open and edit your files in other apps that read text • No proprietary format and no dependence on ghostWriter to keep your work Accessibility: Developed toward WCAG 2.2 Level AA and tested with VoiceOver as a primary interaction method. • Native controls with familiar roles and behaviors • Dynamic Type, including accessibility text sizes • System, monospaced, rounded, and serif editor typefaces • Light, dark, and system appearance • Voice Control, Switch Control, and hardware keyboard support • Optional keyboard shortcuts for common actions • Reduced-motion support Privacy: No accounts. No sign-in. No ads. No analytics. No tracking. No data collection. No AI tools. There is no server behind this app. Your documents stay on your device or in your own iCloud, and they never travel anywhere you don't send them. Made by a blind developer who got tired of tools that treated screen reader support as an afterthought.

Screenshots

Leaffold4 screens
ghostWriter Markdown4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: ghostWriter Markdown at every 2 days against Leaffold's weekly. Leaffold's advantage is ratings volume (4 vs 1). On price, rating, 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.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.0 for Leaffold against 4.0 for ghostWriter Markdown. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4 and 1 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Leaffold ships an update weekly, ghostWriter Markdown every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on September 17, 2026 and September 27, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Leaffold versus ghostWriter Markdown: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLeaffoldghostWriter Markdown
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (4 ratings)4.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings4 — better1
Update frequencyWeeklyEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.017.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size5 MB5 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperYixin XiaoMarco Salsiccia

Customer experience

Leaffold

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

ghostWriter Markdown

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

None

ghostWriter Markdown

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Leaffold free?
Leaffold is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is ghostWriter Markdown free?
ghostWriter Markdown is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Leaffold or ghostWriter Markdown?
Leaffold and ghostWriter Markdown are both rated 4.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 4 and 1 ratings respectively.
Do Leaffold or ghostWriter Markdown have ads?
Neither Leaffold nor ghostWriter Markdown shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Leaffold or ghostWriter Markdown?
Leaffold ships an update weekly, and ghostWriter Markdown every 2 days. Most recently, Leaffold was updated on September 17, 2026 and ghostWriter Markdown on September 27, 2026.

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