Comparison

iA Writer vs EML Viewer

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

Head to head
About

iA Writer

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
Read full description

“Leaving life’s mess for an ideal realm of words.” —The New Yorker “My favorite iOS app for writing in Markdown, without question, is iA Writer. iA Writer is just beautiful. To me, it’s the gold standard for Markdown syntax styling... an elegant champagne flute. That’s iA Writer for me.” —John Gruber “iA Writer creates a clean, simple and distraction-free writing environment for when you really need to focus on your words.” —The New York Times “iA Writer is an example of how powerful simplicity and accessibility can be.” —The Guardian “iA Writer is all about textual production—writing this phrase, this sentence, this word at this moment.” —WIRED 4 x Best of App Store Winner # The Simple Writing App iA Writer removes distractions. Giving you a calm, focused, writing space, so you can express yourself clearly. # Focus Focus Mode dims everything but the current sentence or paragraph, helping you stay in the flow. # Start Don’t worry about the format. First, write in plain text. Then preview in HTML. # Organize Search, sort, and quickly swap between documents from different clouds. # Customize When you tap and hold a key in the command keyboard, you’re given the chance to choose your own layout. Rearrange your keys, or pick new ones from the extensive list. # Search You can open documents and launch frequent actions in no time with the new Quick Search. It lives in the keyboard so it’s always close at hand. # Work iA Writer includes an inverted light-on-dark-mode, perfect for working day and night. # Clean Spot superfluous adjectives, weak verbs, repetitive nouns, false conjunctions and clean your text of the usual rumble. # Shape Customize your templates and export to WordPress or Medium, HTML, Microsoft Word (.docx), or PDF. # 100% Text Embed links, pictures, tables and text files in plain text and see them in preview. # Get in Touch - Visit ia.net/writer for more information - Visit ia.net/writer/support for support and feedback

About

EML Viewer

Easily view saved emails in EML format directly on your iOS device. Open attachments, share them with other applications, or print them. You can also compose a new email using the content of an EML file.

Highlights
  • View EML files
  • Access attachments
  • Share attachments
  • Print attachments
  • Compose new emails from EML
Features
Read full description

View .EML files on your iOS device, including attachments within them. These are usually emails saved in the EML format. Tap on an EML file in another app, "Open In..." and select EML Viewer to view your saved email. You may tap "open a sample EML" to see an example email open up. Attachments may be shared with other apps or printed. Tap the compose icon to open your EML as a new Mail message This app is for .EML files. If you also need to view Outlook .MSG files, check out our related apps MSG View and Message Viewer Pro on the App Store.

Screenshots

iA Writer4 screens
EML Viewer2 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: EML Viewer at $1.99 against iA Writer's $19.99. iA Writer's advantage is rating (4.6 vs 3.0) and review sentiment (73% vs 49%). On ads, in-app purchases 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

iA Writer costs $19.99 and EML Viewer $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

iA Writer holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: iA Writer has 1.5K ratings behind it against 21, 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 49% of EML Viewer's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

iA Writer ships an update every 2 weeks, EML Viewer every 2 months. Both last shipped on November 6, 2026.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
iA Writer versus EML Viewer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameteriA WriterEML Viewer
Price$19.99$1.99 — better
Rating4.6 (1.5K ratings) — better3.0 (21 ratings)
Positive reviews72.8% of reviews — better49.0% of reviews
Number of ratings1.5K — better21
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree — better
Best chart rank#18 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size70 MB10 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperInformation Architects AGMatrix Logic Corporation

Customer experience

iA Writer

All ratings1,543 ratings
Positive88.4%
Neutral3.4%
Negative8.2%
Written reviews1,022 reviews
Positive72.8%
Neutral9.2%
Negative18.0%

EML Viewer

All ratings21 ratings
Positive52.4%
Neutral0.0%
Negative47.6%
Written reviews96 reviews
Positive49.0%
Neutral5.2%
Negative45.8%

User reviews

iA Writer

From 1.5K App Store ratings

What we love

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

Room to improve

  • 🐛 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

EML Viewer

From 21 App Store ratings

What we love

  • ✅ Opens .eml files
  • 👍 Works as advertised
  • 🚀 Quick updates and support
  • ✨ Displays attachments
  • 💡 Handles PEC emails

Room to improve

  • 🐛 App crashes frequently
  • 🐛 Unusable due to crashes
  • 🐛 Does not read digitally signed emails
  • 🐛 Does not open files over 2MB
  • 🐛 Low memory errors

Bugs and requests

iA Writer

Reported bugs

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

Requested features

6 requests
  • 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
Show 1 more
  • Collaborative editing features

EML Viewer

Reported bugs

34 issues
  • App crashes frequently
  • App is unusable due to crashes
  • Does not read digitally signed emails
  • Does not open files over 2MB
  • Low memory errors
Show 29 more
  • Poor formatting and link browsing
  • Does not download attached images
  • Only displays email header
  • Does not support dark mode override
  • Clumsy to open files
  • Does not open attachments
  • Does not support Chinese characters
  • Does not display formatted text
  • Cannot open EML files from Calendar app
  • Does not support Reply and Forward
  • Does not open attachments from PEC
  • Blank screen on opening
  • Crashes on some EML files
  • Does not show up in share menu
  • Instructions not clear
  • Money wasted
  • Does not open EML files
  • Garbled Japanese characters
  • Does not open PDF attachments
  • Crashes browser
  • Does not open EML files on iPad
  • Does not support ISO2022JP
  • Does not display To/Cc Japanese names correctly
  • Price is slightly high
  • Does not support Outlook MSG to EML conversion
  • Does not support EML files from Lotus Notes
  • Does not allow printing or PDF export
  • Forwarding not compatible with default mail apps
  • Does not display external images by default

Requested features

12 requests
  • Dark mode option
  • Option to create folders
  • Ability to print messages
  • Forwarding function
  • Prevent external images from loading by default
Show 7 more
  • Support for ISO2022JP character encoding
  • Support for Lotus Notes EML files
  • Improved handling of To/Cc Japanese names
  • Improved link browsing controls
  • Support for digitally signed emails
  • Support for emails over 2MB
  • Improved memory management

In-app purchases

None

iA Writer

No in-app purchases

None

EML Viewer

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is iA Writer free?
iA Writer costs $19.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is EML Viewer free?
EML Viewer costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, iA Writer or EML Viewer?
iA Writer is rated higher. iA Writer averages 4.6 out of 5 from 1.5K ratings, while EML Viewer averages 3.0 from 21 ratings.
Do iA Writer or EML Viewer have ads?
Neither iA Writer nor EML Viewer shows ads.
Which is updated more often, iA Writer or EML Viewer?
iA Writer ships an update every 2 weeks, and EML Viewer every 2 months. Most recently, iA Writer was updated on November 6, 2026 and EML Viewer on November 6, 2026.

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