# iA Writer vs Second Brain Joiner

The clearest difference is price: Second Brain Joiner at $3.99 against iA Writer's $19.99. Second Brain Joiner also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 73%). iA Writer's advantage is chart position (#23 vs unranked) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.2). On update cadence, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

iA Writer costs $19.99 and Second Brain Joiner $3.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

iA Writer ships an update every 2 weeks, Second Brain Joiner every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | iA Writer | Second Brain Joiner |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $19.99 | **$3.99** |
| Rating | **[4.6 (1.5K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ia-writer-get-focused/id775737172/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **1.5K** | — |
| Positive reviews | 73.1% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 2 weeks** | Every 3 weeks |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Best chart rank | **#23** | — |
| Size | 70 MB | 11 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.0** | 18.2 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Information Architects AG](https://appshunter.io/developer/775737175) | [Hirofumi Inoue](https://appshunter.io/developer/1886583968) |

## What reviewers say

### iA Writer

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

**Currently charting:** #23 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


### Second Brain Joiner

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/second-brain-joiner/id6760870675)

This tool optimizes AI input by merging and formatting Markdown notes. It intelligently filters content, calculates optimal chunk sizes for AI context windows, and maintains original file structure for enhanced AI accuracy and security.

**Highlights:** Advanced filtering by tags and dates, High-precision token calculation, Smart chunking for AI context limits, Local-first absolute security, Folder structure maintenance, Timestamping for context

**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 Second Brain Joiner free?

Second Brain Joiner costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Do iA Writer or Second Brain Joiner have ads?

Neither iA Writer nor Second Brain Joiner shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, iA Writer or Second Brain Joiner?

iA Writer ships an update every 2 weeks, and Second Brain Joiner every 3 weeks. Most recently, iA Writer was updated on November 1, 2026 and Second Brain Joiner on October 31, 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.*