Comparison

InkPond vs Folio Writer

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

Head to head
About

InkPond

A native Typst editor for iOS devices, offering real-time preview, syntax highlighting, and smart auto-completion for creating beautifully typeset documents. Organize projects, manage fonts, and sync seamlessly across devices via iCloud.

Highlights
  • Real-time Typst preview
  • Syntax highlighting
  • Smart auto-completion
  • Multi-file project organization
  • iCloud sync
  • PDF export
Features
Read full description

InkPond is a native Typst editor built for iPad and iPhone. Write beautifully typeset documents right from your device with real-time preview, syntax highlighting, and smart auto-completion. POWERFUL EDITOR - Full syntax highlighting with Catppuccin color themes (Mocha dark / Latte light) - Context-aware auto-completion for functions, parameters, fonts, labels, and more - Smart bracket pairing, auto-indentation, and type-over - Typst-optimized keyboard accessory bar with quick-insert symbols - Code snippets library with custom snippet support - Find & Replace - Document outline navigation LIVE PREVIEW - See your document rendered in real time as you type - Side-by-side split view on iPad, tabbed view on iPhone - Bidirectional sync between editor and preview — tap to jump - Full-screen slideshow mode for presentations - Word, character, and token statistics MULTI-FILE PROJECTS - Organize source files, images, and fonts in per-project directories - Import and export projects as ZIP - Per-project font management alongside built-in CJK fonts (Source Han Sans & Serif) - App-wide font library for fonts shared across all projects - Local Typst package support — import and manage custom packages iCLOUD SYNC - Seamless project sync across all your devices via iCloud Drive - Selective sync for fonts, packages, and snippets - Conflict detection when files are edited on multiple devices EXPORT & SHARE - Export compiled PDF, source files, or full project ZIP - Share directly from the app via the system share sheet Built on Typst — the modern, fast typesetting system. Whether you are drafting academic papers, class notes, resumes, or any structured document, InkPond gives you a focused, native writing experience without leaving your iPad or iPhone.

About

Folio Writer

This writing studio allows you to work on long-form projects like books and manuscripts on your iPhone and iPad. It supports plain text formats like Markdown and Typst, syncing seamlessly with its Mac counterpart. Features include a special keyboard bar, project organization, and citation management.

Highlights
  • Plain-text writing (Markdown, Typst)
  • iCloud Drive, Dropbox, Files integration
  • Special Markdown key bar
  • Typewriter scrolling and sentence focus
  • Binder for project organization
  • Snapshots for version control
  • Project-wide search
  • BibTeX citation support
Features
Read full description

Folio Writer is a plain-text writing studio for long-form work — scholarly manuscripts, books, and novels. This is its iPhone and iPad edition: the same projects, the same files, in your pocket. Open a project from iCloud Drive, Dropbox, any Files location, or your Folio Cloud account, and pick up exactly where you left off on the Mac. Everything you write is a plain Markdown or Typst file you own — no lock-in. WRITE ANYWHERE — FREE A Markdown key bar puts #, *, links, code, and $math$ one tap away. Typewriter scrolling and sentence focus for drafting on the go. Live word count and writing targets for each document, the whole draft, and each session. Hardware-keyboard shortcuts on iPad. YOUR WHOLE PROJECT — FREE The full binder: browse, open, rename, reorder by dragging, indent and outdent, and create new documents. Project-wide search with filters — label:, status:, type:, tag: — and saved searches as Collections. Version history: every save is kept and restorable, so nothing you write is quietly lost. Comments, and the Review Inbox for suggestions from co-authors. CITATIONS & PREVIEW — FREE Insert citations from the project's BibTeX files by author, year, or key. Preview the rendered document — headings, tables, images, and LaTeX math — right on the device. SYNC WITH THE MAC AND FOLIO CLOUD — FREE Opens the exact same .folio projects as Folio Writer for Mac, byte-for-byte. Conflict-safe syncing: edits from two devices merge when they don't overlap, and a losing copy is always preserved. Sign in to Folio Cloud and every project your account owns is listed; create projects in the cloud, share by link, co-edit live, and protect encrypted projects with a recovery passphrase. FOLIO PRO — ONE PURCHASE FOR MAC, iPHONE, AND iPAD Pro adds the finishing tools: Preview Manuscript — the whole draft assembled in binder order with its title page. Suggesting — propose edits as tracked changes, then Accept or Reject each one from the review bar, and mark a document as reviewed. Snapshots — named copies to compare side by side and roll back, change by change. Insert Template, with starter snippets for figures, tables, equations, and more. Compile to PDF, Word, or Typst through Folio Cloud, right from the device. Pay once, unlock both platforms. Folio Pro is the same one-time purchase as in Folio Writer for Mac: buy it here and Pro unlocks on your Mac; buy it on the Mac and it unlocks here. It follows your Apple ID — tap Restore Purchases if it hasn't appeared. Every Pro feature is free to try for 7 days. Prefer to pay by the month or year? Pro ($1.99 a month) and Premium ($3.99) are also available as subscriptions, which unlock the tier here and on the Mac for as long as they run and come with complimentary Folio Cloud storage (1 GB or 3 GB), so your projects sync to every device and open in any browser. PRIVATE BY DESIGN No analytics, no trackers. Your manuscripts never leave your own devices except through the cloud service you choose, and Folio Cloud projects are end-to-end encrypted. In-App Purchases (display names) Folio Pro — one-time, universal purchase shared with Folio Writer for Mac Folio Pro Subscription — monthly / yearly (Pro here and on the Mac + 1 GB Folio Cloud storage) Folio Premium Subscription — monthly / yearly (Premium here and on the Mac + 3 GB Folio Cloud storage) Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://foliowriter.app/privacy/

Screenshots

InkPond4 screens
Folio Writer4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Folio Writer at Free against InkPond's $4.99. Folio Writer also leads on rating (5.0 vs 2.7) and review sentiment (100% vs 67%). InkPond's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 6). On ratings volume, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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

Folio Writer is free to download; InkPond costs $4.99 up front. Folio Writer sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. InkPond asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Folio Writer holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 2.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3 and 3 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 67% of InkPond's written reviews are positive against 100% of Folio Writer's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

InkPond ships an update fortnightly, Folio Writer every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
InkPond versus Folio Writer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterInkPondFolio Writer
Price$4.99Free — better
Rating2.7 (3 ratings)5.0 (3 ratings) — better
Positive reviews66.7% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings33
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 4 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Mac — better
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size37 MB16 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developer祺迪 林Bin Chen

Customer experience

InkPond

All ratings3 ratings
Positive33.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative66.7%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%

Folio Writer

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

InkPond

No in-app purchases

6 purchases

Folio Writer

Subscriptions4
  • Cloud Pro Monthly1 Month trial$1.991 Month
  • Premium Monthly$3.991 Month
  • Cloud Pro Yearly$19.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Premium Yearly$39.991 Year
One-time2
  • iOS Pro Lifetime$19.99
  • Premium Lifetime$39.99

Questions

Is InkPond free?
InkPond costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Folio Writer free?
Folio Writer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, InkPond or Folio Writer?
Folio Writer is rated higher. InkPond averages 2.7 out of 5 from 3 ratings, while Folio Writer averages 5.0 from 3 ratings.
Do InkPond or Folio Writer have ads?
Neither InkPond nor Folio Writer shows ads.
Which is updated more often, InkPond or Folio Writer?
InkPond ships an update fortnightly, and Folio Writer every 4 days. Most recently, InkPond was updated on October 31, 2026 and Folio Writer on October 29, 2026.

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