Comparison

iA Writer vs Hair Notes

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

Hair Notes

This app helps hair stylists quickly record client details, including color formulas, haircut photos, and preferences. It's designed for fast use between appointments, offering a simple, offline notebook experience.

Highlights
  • Client color formulas and history
  • Haircut reference photos
  • Before-and-after images
  • Contact information storage
  • Client preferences and allergies
  • Searchable client records
  • High-contrast interface
Features
Read full description

Built for the chair, not the back office. You don't need another app trying to run your salon. You need to remember what you put in Sarah's hair eight weeks ago. That's what Hair Notes is for. Open a client. Check the last formula. Snap a photo. Write a note. Move on. The whole app is built around the 30 seconds you actually have between clients. For every client, keep: • Color formulas and color history over time • Haircut reference photos • Before-and-afters • Contact info: add manually or pull from your Contacts • Preferences, allergies, the stuff you'd forget • Follow-up notes for next time Designed for how stylists actually work: • High-contrast interface readable in salon lighting • Searchable client records • Recent clients pinned to the top • Fast enough to open, use, and close between sections What Hair Notes is not: It's not a booking app. It's not a payment processor. It's not trying to charge you $40 a month to run a salon you already run just fine. It's a notebook. That's the point. Pay once. $3.99. Done. No account. No subscription. No salon software contract. Your data lives on your device. You own it. We don't see it, sync it, sell it, or hold it hostage. Built by an indie team. Made for stylists who'd rather spend their money on color than on software.

Screenshots

iA Writer4 screens
Hair Notes4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Hair Notes at $3.99 against iA Writer's $19.99. Hair Notes also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.6) and review sentiment (100% vs 73%). iA Writer's advantage is ratings volume (1.5K vs 2) and chart position (#36 vs unranked). On update cadence, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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 Hair Notes $3.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Hair Notes 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 2, 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 100% of Hair Notes's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

iA Writer ships an update every 2 weeks, Hair Notes every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
iA Writer versus Hair Notes: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameteriA WriterHair Notes
Price$19.99$3.99 — better
Rating4.6 (1.5K ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews73.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1.5K — better2
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
Best chart rank#36 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better26.5
Further details — not scored
Size70 MB13 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperInformation Architects AGJerrod Eoff

Customer experience

iA Writer

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

Hair Notes

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
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

Hair Notes

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

iA Writer

No in-app purchases

None

Hair Notes

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is iA Writer free?
iA Writer costs $19.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Hair Notes free?
Hair Notes costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, iA Writer or Hair Notes?
Hair Notes is rated higher. iA Writer averages 4.6 out of 5 from 1.5K ratings, while Hair Notes averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do iA Writer or Hair Notes have ads?
Neither iA Writer nor Hair Notes shows ads.
Which is updated more often, iA Writer or Hair Notes?
iA Writer ships an update every 2 weeks, and Hair Notes every 3 weeks. Most recently, iA Writer was updated on October 26, 2026 and Hair Notes on October 16, 2026.

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