Comparison

iA Writer vs TimeTrackingTool

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

TimeTrackingTool

Features
Read full description

Track your time without creating an account or sending your work data to a cloud service. TimeTrackingTool is a focused, local-first time tracker for projects, teaching, freelance work, administration and everyday tasks. Start a timer in seconds, organise entries using projects and tags, or add and edit time manually. Features: • Start and stop timers quickly • Follow active timers with Live Activities • Organise work using projects and tags • Create and edit time entries manually • Import events from HTTPS or webcal calendar feeds • Export your data as CSV • Keep your tracking data stored locally on your device No account. No advertising. No analytics. Your time-tracking data remains under your control and can be exported whenever you need it.

Screenshots

iA Writer4 screens
TimeTrackingTool3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: TimeTrackingTool at Free against iA Writer's $19.99. TimeTrackingTool also leads on update cadence (daily vs fortnightly). iA Writer's advantage is chart position (#35 vs unranked) and device support (3 vs 1). On ads and in-app purchases 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

TimeTrackingTool is free to download; iA Writer costs $19.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

iA Writer ships an update fortnightly, TimeTrackingTool daily. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and September 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
iA Writer versus TimeTrackingTool: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameteriA WriterTimeTrackingTool
Price$19.99Free — better
Rating4.6 (1.5K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews73.3% of reviews—
Number of ratings1.5K — better—
Update frequencyFortnightlyDaily — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaid—
Best chart rank#35 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size65 MB4 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperInformation Architects AGCyril Blum

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

TimeTrackingTool

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

iA Writer

No in-app purchases

None

TimeTrackingTool

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is iA Writer free?
iA Writer costs $19.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is TimeTrackingTool free?
TimeTrackingTool is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do iA Writer or TimeTrackingTool have ads?
Neither iA Writer nor TimeTrackingTool shows ads.
Which is updated more often, iA Writer or TimeTrackingTool?
iA Writer ships an update fortnightly, and TimeTrackingTool daily. Most recently, iA Writer was updated on October 12, 2026 and TimeTrackingTool on September 30, 2026.

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