Comparison

Inkiostro vs MarkUp

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

Head to head
About

Inkiostro

A distraction-free Markdown editor for Apple devices. Organize files with color labels and tags, and write efficiently with a comprehensive toolbar and live preview. Syncs automatically via iCloud Drive.

Highlights
  • Color Labels for files and folders
  • Custom tags for organization
  • Complete Markdown toolbar
  • Live preview with multiple themes
  • Focus and Typewriter modes
  • Native iCloud Drive sync
  • External folder support
Features
Read full description

Inkiostro is a Markdown editor for people who write — notes, documentation, theses, novels. Plain text files that stay yours, a preview that looks like a finished page, and exports ready to hand over. Write in Markdown, or in the visual editor and never see a symbol. Buy once, no subscription. No account, no tracking. WRITE, SEE, FINISH • Two ways to write: the Markdown editor shows the symbols, the visual editor formats as you type, like a word processor. Either way the file stays plain Markdown. (Visual editor: Pro, free for 7 days) • A complete Markdown toolbar: headings, lists, tables and code blocks, one tap away. • A side-by-side preview that comes back exactly where you left it. • LaTeX formulas typeset by KaTeX, and Mermaid diagrams drawn as you type. • 27 preview styles, 11 of them free: GitHub, Sepia, Nord, Solarized and more. With Pro, Manuscript, Book, Report, Academic and others set the page like print. • Focus and Typewriter modes, a live word count and a daily writing goal. FROM DRAFT TO BOOK • PDF with selectable text, formulas and diagrams included. Free, with a small credit line in the footer. • A professional ePub: real chapters, a cover, ISBN, series, footnotes that open over the page, and the accessibility declaration Europe requires. The export sheet tells you what a store would reject — before you send it. (Pro) • A book made of many files: one chapter per file, in a folder, in the order you choose. Arranging it is free; exporting it as a single ePub is Pro. • Self-contained HTML, and page setup for PDF: paper, margins, headers and page numbers. (Pro) NEVER LOSE A WORD • Version history: Inkiostro saves versions as you write. Search them, compare them line by line, and bring back a single word or a whole draft. (Pro) • Backups of your whole library: a dated zip archive with your version history inside, offered when one is due, while the app is open, in a folder you pick. Open it in the Files app and your Markdown files are right there. (Pro) YOUR FILES, YOUR RULES • Unlimited documents, as plain .md files you can open anywhere. • Folders, color labels and tags, with search that filters by tag. • iCloud Drive sync between iPhone, iPad and Mac, with no setup. • External folders: work directly inside any folder on your device or in iCloud Drive. (Pro) INKIOSTRO PRO — ONE PURCHASE, EVERY DEVICE One purchase unlocks Pro on iPhone, iPad and Mac, forever. Try it free for 7 days. • The visual editor • Version history with search, comparison and a year of versions • Backups of your library • Professional ePub, HTML, and books made of many files • PDF page setup • Focus and Typewriter modes • External folders • 24 app themes, the Pro preview styles and any font installed on your device MADE FOR • Writers: novels and essays in plain text, out as a real ebook • Students and researchers: notes and theses with proper formulas • Developers: READMEs, documentation and technical notes with diagrams • Anyone tired of paying every month for a text editor • Anyone new to Markdown: the visual editor works like a word processor PRIVACY Your documents stay in your iCloud Drive or on your device. No servers of ours, ever. Inkiostro collects only anonymous, aggregated usage statistics — never personal data, never the content of your documents — and you can turn them off in Settings.

About

MarkUp

This versatile editor allows you to write notes, research papers, screenplays, and long-form documents. It supports Word, Markdown, and LaTeX, with advanced features like live previews, offline typesetting, and data file integration. Work seamlessly across iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

Highlights
  • Edit Word documents with full formatting
  • Live preview for Markdown writing
  • Offline LaTeX typesetting with XeTeX engine
  • Support for CSV, JSON, YAML, HTML, RTF, Fountain
  • Cross-device syncing via iCloud
  • Templates and version history
  • Password protection for files
Features
Read full description

MarkUp is a writing app for notes, research, screenplays, and long-form work. Edit Word documents on real pages, write Markdown with a live preview, or typeset a full LaTeX thesis with a real XeTeX engine that runs entirely on your device. Work with CSV, JSON, YAML, HTML, Rich Text, and Fountain files too, and let your files work together, with the same features on iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Made for students, researchers, and writers: draft a thesis in LaTeX, take notes in Markdown, and hand in a Word document, all in one app. Word (.docx) documents • Fully formatted Word documents on real pages, with Home, Insert, References, and Review tabs • Tables you can type straight into, with fonts, colors, shading, and bullets inside cells • Charts with editable data, over 30 shapes, text boxes, and signatures you draw or type • Photos and shapes with text wrap: in line, in columns, behind text, or in front of text • Table of contents designs, captions, cross-references, and citations with a works-cited list • Footnotes and endnotes, comments with replies, and tracked changes • Custom styles, multilevel numbering, columns, section breaks, and page color • LaTeX math inside Word documents (Pro) LaTeX, offline (Pro) • A real XeTeX engine on your device: no internet, no account, nothing uploaded • Tap the rendered page to jump to the line that made it, and back again (SyncTeX) • Autocomplete for commands, citations, references, and file paths • Errors and warnings in the margin, explained in plain English • Math symbol palette, visual table builder, and multi-file projects with BibTeX Markdown • Live preview as you type, side by side or on its own • LaTeX math and Mermaid diagrams • Citations from a BibTeX file, with the bibliography written for you • Edit any table in a simple grid Data, web pages, and screenplays • CSV opens as a grid you can type in, with rows and columns you can drag • JSON and YAML are checked as you type and previewed as a tree • HTML shows as a real web page and can run its JavaScript when you allow it • Fountain screenplays get a formatted preview, a scene list, and character name suggestions; Final Draft files open too Every language • Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Arabic, Hebrew, Russian, Greek, and more, in every kind of file • Right-to-left text, older text encodings, and word counts that work in every script Files that work together • Tables and charts made from a CSV, JSON, or YAML file update when the data changes • Convert between Word, Markdown, LaTeX, HTML, RTF, plain text, data files, and screenplays, and keep converted copies up to date (Pro) • Lock any file with a password; it stays locked on every device One app, all your devices • The same features on iPhone, iPad, and Mac, in one universal purchase • Documents, templates, and settings sync through iCloud Templates and version history • Start from an article, thesis, problem set, CV, screenplay, web page, and more • Save any document as a template (Pro) • Earlier drafts kept as you edit; compare them side by side and restore one in a tap (Pro) Files & workflow • Works with docx, rtf, md, tex, bib, txt, rmd, fountain, fdx, csv, json, yaml, and html files • Export to PDF or the document’s own format • Open any folder from iCloud or your device, and find & replace across all of it • Spell check that understands LaTeX, autosave, dark mode, and keyboard shortcuts MarkUp is free to use. MarkUp Pro unlocks offline LaTeX typesetting, LaTeX math in Word documents, converting between formats, version history, your own templates, and unlimited file exports. Try Pro free for 14 days with the yearly subscription, or buy it once and keep it forever, on all your devices. Privacy Policy: https://appsvaldonchevdeveloper.com/privacy/markup Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Inkiostro4 screens
MarkUp4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: MarkUp at 5.0 against Inkiostro's 3.2. MarkUp also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 67%). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and ads 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. Inkiostro sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and MarkUp sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

MarkUp holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 5 and 4 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 67% of Inkiostro's written reviews are positive against 100% of MarkUp's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Inkiostro ships an update every 6 days, MarkUp every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Inkiostro versus MarkUp: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterInkiostroMarkUp
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.2 (5 ratings)5.0 (4 ratings) — better
Positive reviews66.7% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings5 — better4
Update frequencyEvery 6 daysEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, MaciPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS18.017.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size22 MB71 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperCarlo Di GiuseppeValentin Donchev

Customer experience

Inkiostro

All ratings5 ratings
Positive60.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative40.0%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%

MarkUp

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Inkiostro

One-time1
  • Inkiostro Pro$19.99
2 purchases

MarkUp

Subscriptions1
  • MarkUp Yearly14 Days trial$3.991 Year
One-time1
  • MarkUp Lifetime$9.99

Questions

Is Inkiostro free?
Inkiostro is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is MarkUp free?
MarkUp is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Inkiostro or MarkUp?
MarkUp is rated higher. Inkiostro averages 3.2 out of 5 from 5 ratings, while MarkUp averages 5.0 from 4 ratings.
Do Inkiostro or MarkUp have ads?
Neither Inkiostro nor MarkUp shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Inkiostro or MarkUp?
Inkiostro ships an update every 6 days, and MarkUp every 5 days. Most recently, Inkiostro was updated on October 30, 2026 and MarkUp on November 5, 2026.

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