Stilo Markdown Editor vs Derly
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side β with what reviewers say about each.
Stilo Markdown Editor
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What you write stays a file. Stilo is a Markdown editor for iPhone and iPad. It keeps no library of its own. It opens the .md files already sitting in Files and iCloud Drive, and saves them right back. The same file still opens on your Mac and in every other app. WHAT IT DOES Your files stay yours. Edit Markdown on this iPhone, in iCloud Drive or on another cloud service. Nothing to import, nothing to export. The name and location of the open file sit at the top of the screen, and you can rename the file without leaving the editor. EAST ASIAN TYPOGRAPHY - Vertical text preview. Read your work in vertical columns, just as it appears in print - Ruby annotation. Write |εζ΅·ιγγ»γ£γγγ©γγ and it renders as ruby text above the base characters: furigana, zhuyin, pinyin or Korean readings - Tate-chu-yoko. Two-digit numbers stay upright inside vertical text - Page counts. Count in 400-character manuscript sheets, Taiwanese gaozhi, Korean wongoji or 250 words per page, or set your own grid - Writing goals, with progress on the status line A SCREEN THAT STAYS OUT OF THE WAY - Markdown syntax is drawn in a lighter colour so the text itself stays readable - A tag toolbar above the keyboard inserts headings, bold, quotes and ruby with one tap. Reorder it, add to it, or cut it down - Find and replace, with a match count, previous and next, and a Match Case switch - Characters, characters excluding spaces, the full-width and half-width split, lines and words EXPORT HTML export is free. PDF export keeps the vertical layout and the ruby exactly as you see them. Choose A4, Letter, Legal and other paper sizes. PRIVACY Stilo collects no personal information. There are no analytics SDKs and no advertising. The developer runs no servers, so the only place your writing goes is the cloud you chose yourself. ABOUT STILO PRO Editing, preview, find and replace, reading and writing files, character and word counts, and HTML export are free. Vertical text preview, ruby conversion, page counts and goals, PDF export, and themes with font import come with Stilo Pro. It is a one-time purchase, not a subscription. Buy it once and it works on every iPhone and iPad signed in with the same Apple ID. If the free version covers what you need, keep using it. Stilo Pro isn't required for writing; it's for reading and publishing your work in typeset form. ABOUT REPOSITORY ACCESS (sold separately, one-time purchase) Open the Markdown files in your GitHub repositories as they are, edit them, and save with a commit message. If a file changed elsewhere first, Stilo tells you instead of overwriting it. This is not a Git client: no branching, merging, history or diffs. It is focused on writing the manuscripts that live in your repository. Repository Access is independent of Stilo Pro; you can buy either one on its own. Your GitHub access token is stored only on your device.
Derly
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Say what's on your mind. Derly writes it down. Tap the mascot and talk. When you stop, you get a clear note: a title, the gist in your own words, the points behind it, and any to-dos, with dates when you said them. Everything happens on your iPhone, iPad or Mac. Your voice is never sent to us or anyone else. CHANGE IT BY SAYING SO Open a note and say "drop the part about pricing and add that I'll try it Friday." You see each change before and after, and apply them one at a time or all at once. Every recording is kept. YOURS, AS FILES Every thought is a folder in the Files app: the note as Markdown, the recording, and every edit you spoke. Open them in any app. Nothing is locked in. ALWAYS AT HAND Record from the Action button, Control Center, the Lock Screen, a widget or Siri. A Live Activity shows the time, with pause and stop. SIRI, SHORTCUTS AND SPOTLIGHT Ask Siri to make a note, add to one or read one back. Find any word you said in Spotlight. Build your own flows in Shortcuts, like turning voice memos into notes. TO-DOS WHERE YOU NEED THEM Send to-dos to Reminders with a tap, or have them go there on their own. MAKE IT YOURS Pick the app's color and your mascot's shape and glass, and put them on the app icon too. Tell it your languages, how notes should read, and the names and words it should know. MORE THAN ONE LANGUAGE Talk in the languages you use, even in the same thought. PLANS Free: record as much as you like. Everyday transcripts, notes, to-dos and editing by voice. Plus: Precise transcripts, the most accurate, even with names, jargon and more than one language. Fast transcripts: an hour's meeting in a minute or two. Every color, shape and glass. Your notes on your iPhone, iPad and Mac, through iCloud. Monthly or yearly, with a free week to try it. Prices are shown in the app. Notes are written with Apple Intelligence on devices that support it. On other devices you still get the recording and the transcript. Plus renews automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the period. Manage or cancel it in your Apple Account settings. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://usefriendly.app/products/derly/privacy/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Derly at daily against Stilo Markdown Editor's every 2 weeks. Derly also leads on device support (4 vs 2). Stilo Markdown Editor's advantage is iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). On price, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price Β· Rating Β· Positive reviews Β· Number of ratings Β· Update frequency Β· Ads Β· In-app purchases Β· Monetization Β· Best chart rank Β· Devices Β· Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Stilo Markdown Editor sells 2 one-off in-app purchases and Derly sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Stilo Markdown Editor ships an update every 2 weeks, Derly daily. Both last shipped on October 31, 2026.
| Parameter | Stilo Markdown Editor | Derly |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Daily β better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch β better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 β better | 26.0 |
| Further details β not scored | ||
| Size | 3 MB | 223 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Sohshi Sasao | Gabriel Espirito Santo |
In-app purchases
Stilo Markdown Editor
- Repository Access$3.99
- Stilo Pro$6.99
Derly
- Plus7 Days trial$4.991 Month
- Plus (Yearly)7 Days trial$39.991 Year









