cyberWriter vs em
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
cyberWriter
This app offers a comprehensive Markdown editing experience with live WYSIWYG, split-screen editing, and the ability to link notes into a knowledge graph. It supports diagrams, charts, and math, with a built-in terminal for vault management and optional AI integration. All data is stored locally and offline.
- Live WYSIWYG Markdown editing
- Knowledge graph with wikilinks
- Built-in GLOW terminal with AI
- Support for diagrams, charts, and math
- Offline and private by design
- Export to PDF, Word, and HTML
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cyberWriter turns plain Markdown into a live studio - write in true WYSIWYG, split screen editing, link your notes into a knowledge graph, and drop in diagrams, charts, drawings from excalidraw, and KaTeX math. All native, all offline, no account required. Even use the built in GLOW terminal to manage, script and create docs in your vault, with your own AI models if you'd like. Bring your own vault from any popular markdown editor and unleash your potential. It reads and writes ordinary .md files in your own folders - including iCloud Drive - so your notes stay portable, future-proof, and yours. WRITE • Live WYSIWYG editing with a one-tap raw-Markdown toggle • Tables, callouts, task lists, footnotes, code blocks • Split view, focus mode, and beautiful themes • Clip a web page → clean Markdown, images and all * New TOML Support and Pageless PDF exports POWER TOOLS • GLOW terminal - a built-in command line for your vault, with your AI model on the prompt • Live data blocks - pull from any API straight into a note • Typed YAML properties with an inline editor • Dataview-style query blocks to list and filter across your vault • Templates, find & replace, snippets, and media embeds (audio, video, PDF, CSV) LINK • [[Wikilinks]] and automatic backlinks across your vault • #tags, a quick-open switcher, and hover previews • An interactive 3D knowledge graph of your notes SHOW • Mermaid diagrams - flowcharts, sequence, Gantt, and more • Vega-Lite charts straight from your data • Excalidraw hand-drawn diagrams • LaTeX math, beautifully typeset • Play any note as slides or spaced-repetition flash cards CAPTURE & EXPORT • Voice notes and on-device dictation • Export to PDF, Word, and HTML - no external tools, no cloud PRIVATE BY DESIGN • Fully offline. No account, no sign-up, no telemetry, no ads • Optional AI connects only to a provider you choose - a local server (Ollama, LM Studio, oMLX etc), your own API key, or Apple Intelligence on supported devices. Nothing leaves your device unless you set it up. One purchase. Your notes, your device, your rules.
em
A privacy-focused Markdown editor for Mac, iPad, and iPhone. It offers distraction-free writing, goal tracking, location mapping, smart search, and version history. Seamlessly publish and edit content on Ghost sites, with optional AI-powered editorial feedback.
- Distraction-free Markdown editor
- Word and deadline goal tracking
- Location mapping of writing sessions
- Smart search with advanced operators
- Automatic version history with iCloud backup
- Ghost API integration for publishing
- On-device AI for editorial feedback
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em is a privacy-first universal Markdown writing app for Mac, iPad, and iPhone that takes advantage of Apple's Foundation Models to give you editorial feedback. It also connects to the Ghost API to publish and edit your website. Your files are yours, and you're the only one who should decide what to do with 'em. WRITE 'EM WITH MARKDOWN Capture your thoughts in a distraction-free Markdown editor tuned for each device, including the iPhone Duo. em counts your words and reading time, but only if you want it to. TRACK 'EM Set a word goal or a deadline for a file, or a daily, weekly, or monthly goal for everything you write. Want 500 words a day? 50,000 by the end of the month? em keeps track, shows your pace and your streak, and holds you to it. MAP 'EM em can remember where you started writing each file, including every place you worked on 'em. See all of them on a map and follow your writing journey in a whole new way. Location is off until you turn it on for a library, and it stays out of anything you share or send to AI. FIND 'EM WITH SMART SEARCH Smart Search lists every file holding your words. Use quotes, +, -, OR, and * for precision, filter by library, tag, status, or year, and save any search as a Smart Folder that stays current. Only remember what a piece was about? Ask em. PROTECT 'EM WITH VERSION HISTORY Every edit is automatically versioned and backed up to iCloud. Compare and restore versions from any device, so an accidental deletion never costs you your writing. PUBLISH 'EM WITH GHOST Connect em to your Ghost site to edit, back up, and publish natively in Markdown that maps to Ghost's cards. em supports 19 Ghost editorial cards, drafts, scheduling, newsletters, and Ghost pages. EXPLORE 'EM WITH AI (BUT ONLY IF YOU WANT TO) Ask em questions and get answers grounded in your files, not the internet. On OS 27, Siri can search, add, or edit notes in the libraries you approve. Get an Editorial Review from a prompt you can read and edit. em doesn't write your drafts; it helps you edit 'em. ALL FEATURES - GOALS: Word and deadline goals, daily, weekly, and monthly, with pace and streaks - CALENDAR: Every day you wrote, in one place - PLACES: Every place you've written, on a map - SMART SEARCH: Search operators, filters, and Smart Folders - VERSION HISTORY: Automatic versioning, stored in iCloud - GHOST SITES: Sync, edit, publish, and send newsletters, for posts and pages - AI ON YOUR TERMS: On-device Apple Intelligence by default; optionally Claude, ChatGPT, or Gemini with your API key - SIRI AI: Search, add, or edit notes in approved libraries (OS 27) - ASK EM AND EDITORIAL REVIEW: Answers and feedback from your own writing - APPLE SHORTCUTS: Create files, add visits, or publish to Ghost - APPLE JOURNALING SUGGESTIONS: Capture memories in Markdown (iOS) - READ ALOUD: Hear your draft to catch what your eyes miss - CUSTOMIZATION: Reader and Editor fonts and colors - OFFLINE EDITING: Works without an iCloud or Ghost connection PRIVACY, PLAINLY em has no server. That's not a promise about what the developer does with your data. There's no backend, no account, and no company database where your writing could end up. Your writing syncs through your iCloud and nowhere else. AI features are off by default and, if turned on, run on-device with Apple Intelligence. Want a larger model? Connect Claude, ChatGPT, or Gemini with your own API key; your account, your billing, revocable anytime. em names the model answering, every time. Location data is never sent from em with your AI requests. Transparency Statement: AI was used in developing this app, but every feature idea, design call, and architectural decision was made by a human.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ratings volume: cyberWriter at 6 against em's 1. cyberWriter also leads on iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). On price, rating, update cadence and ads 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
cyberWriter costs $14.99 and em $14.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for cyberWriter against 5.0 for em. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: cyberWriter has 6 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
cyberWriter ships an update weekly, em every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and November 10, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | cyberWriter | em |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $14.99 | $14.99 |
| Rating | 5.0 (6 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 6 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Weekly — better | Every 9 days |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 48 MB | 21 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | John Taverna | Justin Cox |
Customer experience
cyberWriter
em
In-app purchases
cyberWriter
No in-app purchases
em
No in-app purchases








