Comparison

iA Writer vs Wishlog

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

Wishlog

This app helps you practice mindful wishlisting by setting customizable waiting periods for desired items. A daily review queue allows you to reflect on, affirm, or delete your wishes, building a clearer picture of what truly matters. Detailed statistics provide insights into your spending habits and relationship with wanting.

Highlights
  • Customizable waiting periods for wishes
  • Daily swipe-based review queue
  • Cost tracking and spending analytics
  • Detailed statistics on habits
  • iCloud sync across devices
  • Color-coded list organization
Features
Read full description

Wishlog is a mindful wishlisting app that helps you slow down and feel good about the things you choose to keep. One-time purchase and it's yours forever. Add items you want to any number of color-coded wishlists, each with a customizable waiting period. Every new wish is locked for that period — giving you time to reflect before you act. When the waiting period ends, the item unlocks and you decide: do you still want it? A daily review queue lets you swipe through your wishes to affirm, delete, or mark them as fulfilled. Over time, you build a clear picture of what truly matters to you. Detailed statistics track your habits, completion rates, spending patterns, survival rates, affirmation counts, and more, so you can understand your relationship with wanting and spending. Features: - Multiple wishlists with customizable waiting periods - Daily swipe-based review and affirmation queue - Cost tracking with spending analytics - Over a dozen statistics including completion rate, survival rate, and monthly spending - iCloud sync across all your devices - Color-coded list organization - Optional notes and URLs for each wish **LINKS** Apple EULA https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Wishlog TOS https://trainflights.com/wishlog/terms-of-service/ Budbud Privacy Policy https://trainflights.com/wishlog/privacy-policy/

Screenshots

iA Writer4 screens
Wishlog4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Wishlog at $2.99 against iA Writer's $19.99. Wishlog also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.6) and update cadence (every 4 days vs every 2 weeks). iA Writer's advantage is ratings volume (1.5K vs 1) and chart position (#32 vs unranked). On ads, in-app purchases, monetization model 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 Wishlog $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Wishlog holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: iA Writer has 1.5K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

iA Writer ships an update every 2 weeks, Wishlog every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
iA Writer versus Wishlog: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameteriA WriterWishlog
Price$19.99$2.99 — better
Rating4.6 (1.5K ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews73.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings1.5K — better1
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 4 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
Best chart rank#32 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better26.1
Further details — not scored
Size70 MB1 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperInformation Architects AGTrain Flights LLC

Customer experience

iA Writer

All ratings1,543 ratings
Positive88.4%
Neutral3.4%
Negative8.2%
Written reviews1,015 reviews
Positive73.0%
Neutral9.2%
Negative17.8%

Wishlog

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

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

Wishlog

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

iA Writer

No in-app purchases

None

Wishlog

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is iA Writer free?
iA Writer costs $19.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Wishlog free?
Wishlog costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, iA Writer or Wishlog?
Wishlog is rated higher. iA Writer averages 4.6 out of 5 from 1.5K ratings, while Wishlog averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do iA Writer or Wishlog have ads?
Neither iA Writer nor Wishlog shows ads.
Which is updated more often, iA Writer or Wishlog?
iA Writer ships an update every 2 weeks, and Wishlog every 4 days. Most recently, iA Writer was updated on October 29, 2026 and Wishlog on October 25, 2026.

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