Comparison

Authora vs Quiet Write

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

Head to head
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 ($2.99/mo or $29.99/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.

About

Quiet Write

A distraction-free writing application for journals, drafts, and notes. It offers a Markdown-friendly editor with focus and typewriter modes, along with organizational tools like archiving and version snapshots. Your writing is stored locally with optional iCloud sync.

Highlights
  • Markdown-friendly editor with preview
  • Focus mode and typewriter mode
  • Outline view for longer writing
  • Archive, restore, and recently deleted drafts
  • Version snapshots for writing changes
  • Optional iCloud sync
  • Import and export Markdown files
Features
Read full description

Quiet Write is a calm, local-first Markdown writing app for journals, drafts, essays, newsletters, and quiet daily notes. Create and edit drafts in a focused writing space with Markdown-friendly tools, preview, outline, focus mode, and typewriter mode. Keep your writing organized with archive, recently deleted, search, and version snapshots. Quiet Write is intentionally small: no custom account, no subscription, no publishing platform, and no AI writing pipeline. Your writing is stored locally first, with optional iCloud sync for continuity across your Apple devices. Features: • Write drafts, journals, essays, newsletters, and notes • Markdown-friendly editor with preview • Focus mode and typewriter mode • Outline view for longer writing • Archive, restore, and recently deleted • Version snapshots for writing changes • Search active and archived drafts • Import .md and .txt files • Export one draft as Markdown • Export all writing as Markdown or JSON backup • Optional iCloud sync • One-time lifetime unlock Quiet Write is designed for people who want a slower, clearer writing space without accounts, feeds, pressure, or noise.

Screenshots

Authora4 screens
Quiet Write3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Quiet Write at 5.0 against Authora's 4.6. Authora's advantage is ratings volume (5 vs 1) and device support (3 vs 1). 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. Authora sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Quiet Write sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Quiet Write holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Authora has 5 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Authora versus Quiet Write: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAuthoraQuiet Write
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (5 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings5 — better1
Update frequencyFortnightly—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size43 MB4 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRonan CampbellLizzian LLC

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Authora

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

Quiet Write

One-time1
  • Quiet Write$9.99

Questions

Is Authora free?
Authora is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Quiet Write free?
Quiet Write is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Authora or Quiet Write?
Quiet Write is rated higher. Authora averages 4.6 out of 5 from 5 ratings, while Quiet Write averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Authora or Quiet Write have ads?
Neither Authora nor Quiet Write shows ads.

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