Atlas vs Writing App
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Atlas
This app provides a creative workspace for ambitious writing projects, organizing research, and building knowledge bases. It offers tools for deep world-building and information gathering, adapting to your unique workflow.
- Organize research and chapters
- Visualize connections with canvases
- Smart linking for connected documents
- Live Markdown formatting
- Visual editing on canvases
- iCloud sync across devices
- Export to ebook, PDF, HTML
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Atlas: Write. Collect. Publish. # Your creative workspace for ambitious projects. Atlas is where complex writing projects come together. Draft your novel, organize your research, outline your world, or build a personal knowledge base—all with tools designed for deep world-building and serious information gathering. Atlas adapts to how you work, not the other way around. # Everything in One Place Create projects that mirror how you think. Nest documents and folders to any depth, visualize connections on infinite canvases, sketch with Apple Pencil, and let smart wiki-style links keep everything connected as your project grows. Hierarchical tags tie related documents together, so a character, a source, or a loose thread never gets lost. # Markdown That Works With You Write with live formatting—headings, emphasis, and lists render as you type, with no separate preview mode. Images appear inline and resize with a drag. Links to other documents stay current when you rename them. Drop in Document Variables like title, author, and dates that fill themselves in. And shape the editor with the built-in theme editor until it feels like home—then share your themes with others. # Collect From Anywhere Research lives on the web, so Atlas brings it in cleanly. The Web Clipper captures articles as readable Markdown—images, metadata, and all—straight from Safari, and even pulls transcripts from YouTube videos. Snap a photo on your iPhone or share text from any app, and it's waiting in your project. # Think Visually Drop documents, images, and notes onto large canvases. Sketch maps, place labels, and draw connections between ideas. Arrange research beside your draft, map out story arcs, or build a mood board—and edit any document right on the canvas without breaking your flow. # Syncs Thoughtfully iCloud keeps your Mac, iPad, and iPhone in perfect sync. Start writing anywhere, continue everywhere. Automatic version history protects every draft, and intelligent conflict resolution merges changes for you—so simultaneous edits across devices simply work. # Publish On Your Terms When your work is ready for the world, export it your way: polished ePub eBooks with custom chapter breaks, print-ready PDFs down to trade-paperback layouts, clean HTML, RTF, or plain Markdown. A live preview shows exactly what you'll get before you export. # Built for Hard Work and Play Atlas is a native Mac, iPad, and iPhone app for writers, researchers, and creators tackling ambitious projects. Whether you're writing a novel, world-building, managing academic research, or building a personal wiki, Atlas fits the way you work. -- Learn more at https://contagious.dev/atlas -- Start free with a free project (with a document count restriction) or a 7-day unlimited project and document subscription trial. Atlas requires a single lifetime, monthly, or yearly subscription to unlock access across all devices and unlimited projects and documents. A limited-time Lifetime purchase is available periodically. Privacy Policy: https://contagious.dev/privacy-policy/atlas/ Terms of Use (EULA): https://contagious.dev/terms-of-use/atlas/
Writing App
This app helps authors plan stories and track writing progress. Organize plot details, set word goals, and monitor daily achievements with insightful statistics and a visual calendar. Stay motivated throughout your writing journey.
- Create and manage writing projects
- Set word count goals
- Log writing sessions
- Organize plot notes and worldbuilding
- Track writing statistics
- Calendar view of writing sessions
- Home screen widgets
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PlotWords takes you from your first idea to your finished manuscript. Plan your story, develop your characters, write your book, and stay on top of your writing goals. PlotWords keeps everything in sync across your iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Created by a writer, for writers. WRITE YOUR MANUSCRIPT Turn your ideas into a story. With the built-in text editor, you can write and edit your manuscript directly in PlotWords – whether you're on the go with your iPhone, working on your iPad, or writing at home on your Mac. • Organize your manuscript into chapters and plan your plot wherever you are. • Format your text and easily navigate your manuscript using the table of contents. • Keep everything at your fingertips while writing by accessing your custom character, location, and note cards. DEVELOP CHARACTERS, PLOTS & WORLDS • Bring your characters to life with detailed profiles and create family trees on your Mac. • Build locations and settings for your stories. • Structure your plot with plot cards and notes, and assign point-of-view characters and locations. • Keep your research, notes, and ideas in one place, whether you're at home or on the go. ORGANIZE PROJECTS & BOOK SERIES Keep all your writing projects organized, from the first spark of inspiration to the final revisions. Group your books into series and give each project its own cover in your personal library of stories. SET WRITING GOALS & TRACK YOUR PROGRESS Every word brings you one step closer to finishing your book. Set word count goals and deadlines, track your writing sessions, and watch your project grow. • Track your word count and overall project progress. • Discover your writing habits with clear, easy-to-read statistics. • Keep an eye on your writing streaks and average word counts. • Use the writing calendar to see when you wrote and how much you accomplished. STAY FOCUSED ON YOUR WRITING Make time for your story. Writing Focus comes with a built-in timer to help you plan distraction-free writing sessions and track your progress afterward. YOUR GOALS ON YOUR HOME SCREEN With iOS widgets, you can keep track of your writing progress and upcoming deadlines right from your Home Screen. KEEP WRITING ON IPHONE, IPAD & MAC Sync your projects and manuscripts across your Apple devices with iCloud. Capture an idea on the go, work on your next chapter on your iPad, and pick up right where you left off on your Mac. Some features require PlotWords Premium. You can find details about the available purchase options in the app. Privacy Policy: https://bookpairs.de/plotwords-datenschutzerklaerung.html Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
Atlas and Writing App both sit at 5.0 stars, but that hides the real split: 100% of Writing App's written reviews are positive against 50% of Atlas's. Writing App also leads on monetization model (free vs subscription) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.0). On price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence 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
Both are free to download. Atlas sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month and Writing App sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Atlas against 5.0 for Writing App. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 3 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 50% of Atlas's written reviews are positive against 100% of Writing App's.
Atlas ships an update every 6 days, Writing App every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 5, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Atlas | Writing App |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (2 ratings) | 5.0 (3 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 50.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 2 | 3 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 6 days | Every 3 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Subscription | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 65 MB | 100 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Daniel Griffin | Annika Reinecke |
Customer experience
Atlas
Writing App
In-app purchases
Atlas
- Monthly Access14 Days trial$3.991 Month
- Yearly Access14 Days trial$24.991 Year
- Lifetime Purchase$59.99
Writing App
- Premium$0.997 Days
- Premium$6.99
- Premium$14.99









