Comparison

ZFiles 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

ZFiles

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ZFiles is an iOS file browser for personal file management. Browse the iOS Files app, SMB shares on your local network, SFTP servers, WebDAV servers, and hidden files and folders. After downloading, all included features are available with no subscriptions or in-app purchases. Save frequently used servers, jump back into folders with bookmarks, preview images, videos, Markdown, JSON, and common documents, and manage transfers from one place. ZFiles has no ads and does not track users. Server settings and bookmarks stay on your device, and passwords are stored in the system keychain.

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
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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

ZFiles4 screens
Folio Writer4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: ZFiles at none against Folio Writer's 8. Folio Writer's advantage is update cadence (every 4 days vs every 3 weeks) and iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). On price, 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. Folio Writer sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. ZFiles asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ZFiles ships an update every 3 weeks, Folio Writer every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
ZFiles versus Folio Writer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterZFilesFolio Writer
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—2 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 4 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Mac — better
Requires iOS26.017.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size13 MB6 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developer之铭 刘Bin Chen

In-app purchases

None

ZFiles

No in-app purchases

8 purchases

Folio Writer

Subscriptions4
  • Cloud Pro Monthly1 Month trial$1.991 Month
  • Premium Monthly$3.991 Month
  • Pro Yearly$19.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Premium Yearly$39.991 Year
One-time4
  • Pro Lifetime$19.99
  • Pro to Premium Upgrade$19.99
  • Premium Lifetime$39.99
Show 1 more
  • Unlock Pro Features$39.99

Questions

Is ZFiles free?
ZFiles is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Folio Writer free?
Folio Writer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do ZFiles or Folio Writer have ads?
Neither ZFiles nor Folio Writer shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ZFiles or Folio Writer?
ZFiles ships an update every 3 weeks, and Folio Writer every 4 days. Most recently, ZFiles was updated on October 17, 2026 and Folio Writer on October 24, 2026.

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