# iA Writer vs GTW

The clearest difference is price: GTW at $5.99 against iA Writer's $19.99. GTW also leads on iOS requirement (11.0 vs 15.0). iA Writer's advantage is rating (4.6 vs 3.1) and ratings volume (1.5K vs 32). On update cadence, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

iA Writer costs $19.99 and GTW $5.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

iA Writer holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 3.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: iA Writer has 1.5K ratings behind it against 32, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 73% of iA Writer's written reviews are positive against 55% of GTW's.

iA Writer ships an update every 2 weeks, GTW every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | iA Writer | GTW |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $19.99 | **$5.99** |
| Rating | **[4.6 (1.5K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ia-writer-get-focused/id775737172/reviews)** | [3.1 (32 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/gtw-markdown-and-text-editor/id1225146526/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **1.5K** | 32 |
| Positive reviews | **73.1% of reviews** | 55.3% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 2 weeks** | Every 3 weeks |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Best chart rank | **#27** | — |
| Size | 70 MB | 53 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | **11.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Information Architects AG](https://appshunter.io/developer/775737175) | [Christoph Gogolin](https://appshunter.io/developer/511901280) |

## What reviewers say

### iA Writer

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ia-writer-get-focused/id775737172)

**Currently charting:** #27 Top Paid · Productivity (US App Store)

This writing application provides a clean, distraction-free environment to focus on your words. It offers features like Focus Mode to dim distractions, plain text writing with HTML preview, and customizable keyboard layouts. Organize and export your documents in various formats.

**Highlights:** Distraction-free writing environment, Focus Mode for sentence/paragraph highlighting, Plain text writing with HTML preview, Document search, sort, and cloud syncing, Customizable keyboard layouts, Export to WordPress, Medium, Word, PDF, Inverted light-on-dark mode

**Features:** iPhone Duo support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Distraction-free writing experience
- 👍 Elegant and minimalist design
- 💡 Helpful syntax highlighting and formatting tools
- 🚀 Seamless sync across devices
- 👍 Reliable and stable performance

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Occasional crashes and sync issues
- 🔒 Limited cloud storage integration options
- 👎 Lack of advanced organization and navigation features
- 👎 Subpar text selection and cursor control
- 👎 Dated app icon and visual design

**Reported bugs**

- Crashes when opening certain files
- Sync issues leading to data loss
- Formatting problems when exporting to other formats

**Requested features**

- Improved cloud storage integration (Dropbox, Google Drive, etc.)
- Enhanced file management and organization tools
- Better text selection and cursor control
- More customization options for appearance and layout
- Integrated outline/table of contents view


### GTW

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/gtw-markdown-and-text-editor/id1225146526)

A plain text and Markdown editor optimized for fast editing of local and remote files. Supports cloud storage, FTP, SFTP, and offers advanced features like syntax highlighting, snippets, and markdown preview.

**Highlights:** Edit local and remote files (Dropbox, OneDrive, FTP, SFTP), Markdown preview, convert, and export (PDF, DOCX, HTML), Syntax highlighting for popular coding languages, Snippets with placeholder support, Focus Mode for distraction-free editing, External keyboard and iPad Pro support

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is iA Writer free?

iA Writer costs $19.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Is GTW free?

GTW costs $5.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, iA Writer or GTW?

iA Writer is rated higher. iA Writer averages 4.6 out of 5 from 1.5K ratings, while GTW averages 3.1 from 32 ratings.

### Do iA Writer or GTW have ads?

Neither iA Writer nor GTW shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, iA Writer or GTW?

iA Writer ships an update every 2 weeks, and GTW every 3 weeks. Most recently, iA Writer was updated on November 1, 2026 and GTW on November 2, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*