Comparison

Textn. vs Authora

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

Head to head
About

Textn.

Features
Read full description

Textn. is a minimal, focused plain text editor built for people who just want to write. Write notes, journal entries, drafts, memos, and ideas in pure plain text. No formatting clutter. No distractions. Just you and your words. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Lock the entire app with Face ID or Touch ID. Your documents stay on your device and are never sent to any server. PLAIN TEXT. ALWAYS. Every document is stored as a plain .txt file. Open them anywhere. Import and export with ease. No lock-in. FOCUSED WRITING A clean, distraction-free editor with a beautiful reading experience. Choose between light and dark appearance. Instantly switch from the app toolbar without opening Settings. MULTI-TAB WORKFLOW Keep multiple documents open at once with a fast tab bar. Switch between notes in a tap. IPHONE AND IPAD Optimised for both. The split-view sidebar on iPad keeps your document list always at hand. Write more. Worry less.

About

Authora

This writing companion helps aspiring authors reclaim lost minutes for their book projects. It offers tools for writing, storyboarding, and self-publishing directly from a mobile device, turning commutes and waiting times into productive writing sessions.

Highlights
  • Six writing format templates
  • Rich text editor optimized for mobile
  • Storyboard for characters, plot, and world-building
  • Export to EPUB/PDF for self-publishing
  • Speech-to-text dictation
  • On-device writing analysis
  • Encrypted cloud sync (Premium)
Features
Read full description

Turn waiting into writing. Most people who want to write a book never finish one - not for lack of ideas, but for lack of time to sit down. Authora is a mobile writing companion built for the life you actually have. Waiting rooms, commutes, flight delays, lunch breaks - the minutes that usually disappear into doomscrolling, reclaimed for the book you've always meant to write. WRITE ANYWHERE Six format templates - novel, journal, manuscript, academic paper, non-fiction, poetry collection. Rich text editor optimised for phones and tablets, not a desktop UI stuffed onto a small screen. Auto-save every two seconds. Focus mode for distraction-free writing. Preview mode to read your draft as a reader will see it. STORYBOARDING THAT MATCHES HOW WRITERS THINK Characters with bios, traits, and relationships. Plot arcs with scenes you can link to chapters. World-building notes. Colour-coded labels. Keep the people, places, and threads of your story organised without leaving your phone. FROM BLANK PAGE TO PUBLISHED BOOK Authora isn't just a writing app - it's a self-publishing pipeline. When your draft is done, add a cover image, and export as EPUB or PDF that's ready to upload straight to Amazon KDP, Apple Books, or Kobo. Front matter, back matter, TOC, metadata - all handled. Your finished book goes into your personal library inside Authora too, readable with a built-in ebook reader. No separate formatting tool. No desktop required. Draft to published, all on your phone. CAPTURE ON THE GO Speech-to-text dictation with live transcription. Chapter import from .docx, .rtf, and .txt - start with existing drafts, no retyping. On-device writing analysis flags passive voice, adverb overuse, clichés, and readability issues as you write. FREE FOREVER, PREMIUM WHEN YOU'RE READY Full writing experience, export, personal library, and a starter storyboard - all free, all local, no account required. Premium ($4.99/mo or $49.99/yr) adds encrypted cloud sync and backup across phone and tablet, unlimited storyboarding, inline figures with captions, and priority support. PRIVATE BY DEFAULT Free users never sign in. Premium users' chapters, world notes, character bios, and plot descriptions are encrypted at rest with AES-256, and in transit with TLS - even in a breach, your draft stays unreadable. Biometric app lock on both platforms. We never read your work, never train on your writing, never sell your data. BUILT FOR PHONES AND TABLETS Native iOS App. Dark and light theme. Responsive layout on tablets. Biometric unlock. Full offline support. Dashboard showing word count trends and your completion stats. The book is already in you. Authora is where you finish it.

Screenshots

Textn.4 screens
Authora4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Textn. at none against Authora's 2. Authora's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, update cadence, ads and device support 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. Authora sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Textn. asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on September 30, 2026 and October 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Textn. versus Authora: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTextn.Authora
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyEvery 9 daysEvery 9 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
Monetization—Freemium
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size5 MB41 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJoseph TuazonRonan Campbell

In-app purchases

None

Textn.

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Authora

Subscriptions2
  • Authora Premium (Monthly)$4.991 Month
  • Authora Premium (Yearly)$49.991 Year

Questions

Is Textn. free?
Textn. is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Authora free?
Authora is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Textn. or Authora have ads?
Neither Textn. nor Authora shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Textn. or Authora?
Textn. ships an update every 9 days, and Authora every 9 days. Most recently, Textn. was updated on September 30, 2026 and Authora on October 5, 2026.

Other comparisons