Comparison

Inkiostro vs Artificial PDF

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

Artificial PDF

Convert PDFs, webpages, and photos into editable text with on-device OCR and a fast Rust engine. Edit content before exporting to various formats like Word, Excel, or Markdown. Offers a free tier with daily limits and a Pro upgrade for unlimited use and advanced features.

Highlights
  • Extract text from PDFs, web pages, and photos
  • On-device OCR for scanned documents
  • Edit extracted text before exporting
  • Export to PDF, Word, Excel, TXT, Markdown, JPG
  • Privacy-focused, no data uploads
  • History and automatic saving of extractions
Features
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Stop retyping. Start extracting. Artificial PDF turns any PDF, webpage, or photo into clean, editable text in seconds — powered by a Rust extraction engine and on-device OCR. No uploads, no cloud, no waiting. EXTRACT FROM ANYTHING • Text PDFs — Lightning-fast extraction preserves headings, lists, and reading order • Scanned PDFs — On-device OCR reads what copy-paste can't • Mixed PDFs — Auto-detects text and scanned pages, handles both in one pass • Web URLs — Strips away ads and clutter, keeps the article • Camera — Snap a photo of any document and get editable text instantly EDIT BEFORE YOU EXPORT Extracted content opens in a clean editor. Fix a title, remove a section, adjust formatting — then export exactly what you need. • Markdown mode — Edit with raw syntax (##, **, -) for full control • Rich text mode — Visual editing with bold, italic, lists, and undo/redo EXPORT TO ANY FORMAT One extraction, every format you need: • PDF — Clean, reformatted document • Word (.docx) — Ready for Microsoft Word or Google Docs • Excel (.xlsx) — Tables preserved in spreadsheet format • Plain Text (.txt) — Universal, lightweight • Markdown (.md) — Perfect for Notion, Obsidian, GitHub • Image (.jpg) — Screenshot-quality capture BUILT FOR SPEED The extraction engine is written in Rust and compiled natively for your device. Most PDFs process in under 100ms. Scanned documents use Google ML Kit OCR — entirely on-device, no internet required. PRIVACY FIRST Your documents never leave your device. There are no servers, no uploads, no analytics on your content. What you extract stays on your phone. ADVANCED OCR (PRO) Pro users get 300 DPI high-resolution OCR processing for scanned documents — sharper recognition for small text, faded prints, and complex layouts. HISTORY & WORKFLOW Every extraction is saved automatically. Search your history, re-export in a different format, or pick up where you left off. FREE TO START Extract up to 5 documents per day for free. Copy text and export to TXT and PDF — no account required, no trial expiration. Upgrade to Pro for unlimited extractions, all export formats, batch processing, advanced OCR, and watermark-free sharing. — Artificial PDF is built by Artists Company for people who work with documents every day. Fast, private, no clutter. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Inkiostro4 screens
Artificial PDF4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Inkiostro at 3.2 against Artificial PDF's 1.0. Inkiostro also leads on update cadence (every 6 days vs every 2 weeks) and ratings volume (5 vs 1). Artificial PDF's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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 Artificial PDF sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Inkiostro holds the better App Store score, 3.2 against 1.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Inkiostro has 5 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Inkiostro ships an update every 6 days, Artificial PDF every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Inkiostro versus Artificial PDF: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterInkiostroArtificial PDF
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.2 (5 ratings) — better1.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews60.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings5 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 6 days — betterEvery 2 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, MaciPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS18.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size21 MB82 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperCarlo Di GiuseppeAlperen Eroglu

Customer experience

Inkiostro

All ratings5 ratings
Positive60.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative40.0%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive60.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative40.0%

Artificial PDF

All ratings1 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Inkiostro

One-time1
  • Inkiostro Pro$19.99
3 purchases

Artificial PDF

Subscriptions3
  • Weekly$1.997 Days
  • PRO Monthly$6.991 Month
  • PRO Annually$19.991 Year

Questions

Is Inkiostro free?
Inkiostro is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Artificial PDF free?
Artificial PDF is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Inkiostro or Artificial PDF?
Inkiostro is rated higher. Inkiostro averages 3.2 out of 5 from 5 ratings, while Artificial PDF averages 1.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Inkiostro or Artificial PDF have ads?
Neither Inkiostro nor Artificial PDF shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Inkiostro or Artificial PDF?
Inkiostro ships an update every 6 days, and Artificial PDF every 2 weeks. Most recently, Inkiostro was updated on October 24, 2026 and Artificial PDF on October 13, 2026.

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