Comparison

iA Writer vs RecPlayReverse

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

Head to head
About

iA Writer

A distraction-free writing environment designed to help you focus on your words. It offers features like Focus Mode, plain text writing with HTML preview, and robust organization tools. Customize your writing experience and export to various formats.

Highlights
  • Distraction-free writing environment
  • Focus Mode for enhanced concentration
  • Plain text writing with HTML preview
  • Document organization and search
  • Customizable keyboard layout
  • Export to various formats (Word, PDF, HTML, WordPress, Medium)
Currently charting
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

RecPlayReverse

Features
Read full description

RecPlayReverse is a creative audio app for recording, playing and experimenting with sound – including reverse playback. Record your voice, ambient sounds or music and explore new sonic possibilities. Play recordings forward or backward, trim them precisely and enhance them with effects such as reverb, tempo and pitch adjustment. Place your recordings on pads and control them intuitively. The archive keeps everything organized so you can revisit or export your projects at any time. Ideal for musicians, sound experiments, voice recordings or simply creative exploration. RecPlayReverse works completely offline. No data is collected, no tracking is used and no content is uploaded.

Screenshots

iA Writer4 screens
RecPlayReverse4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: RecPlayReverse at Free against iA Writer's $19.99. RecPlayReverse also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs fortnightly). iA Writer's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and chart position (#30 vs unranked). On 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

RecPlayReverse is free to download; iA Writer costs $19.99 up front. RecPlayReverse sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. iA Writer asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

iA Writer ships an update fortnightly, RecPlayReverse every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and September 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
iA Writer versus RecPlayReverse: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameteriA WriterRecPlayReverse
Price$19.99Free — better
Rating4.6 (1.5K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews73.1% of reviews—
Number of ratings1.5K — better—
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaid—
Best chart rank#30 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size65 MB2 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperInformation Architects AGFlorian Ermann

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

RecPlayReverse

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

iA Writer

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

RecPlayReverse

One-time3
  • Support the Developer$0.99
  • Support the Developer$3.99
  • Support the Developer$8.99

Questions

Is iA Writer free?
iA Writer costs $19.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is RecPlayReverse free?
RecPlayReverse is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do iA Writer or RecPlayReverse have ads?
Neither iA Writer nor RecPlayReverse shows ads.
Which is updated more often, iA Writer or RecPlayReverse?
iA Writer ships an update fortnightly, and RecPlayReverse every 2 days. Most recently, iA Writer was updated on October 17, 2026 and RecPlayReverse on September 29, 2026.

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