Comparison

iA Writer vs Goals

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

Head to head
About

iA Writer

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
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

Goals

This app helps you track personal goals with a clean interface. Set measurable targets, break them down into milestones, and visualize your progress with customizable schedules and home screen widgets. Gentle reminders keep you on track.

Highlights
  • Number goal tracking
  • Milestone breakdown
  • Customizable schedules
  • Clutter-free 'Today' screen
  • Progress visualization
  • Home screen widgets
  • Customizable reminders
Features
Read full description

Goals: an app for tracking personal goals — no clutter, just goals, milestones, and progress you can see at a glance. ----What's in Goals---- Number goals: Track kilometers, money, days in a row — anything measurable by a number, including goals where "lower is better" (losing weight, paying off debt). Milestones: Break a goal into steps and check them off one by one. Custom schedule: Daily, weekly, or monthly — the app counts your streak by your own plan, not the calendar. Today screen: See only what's scheduled for today, no clutter. Visualize your progress: Clear, at a glance, so you always know where you stand. Widgets: Three kinds, three sizes, check in with one tap right from your Home Screen. Reminders: Set your own, plus a gentle "haven't checked in in a while" nudge if you forget a goal for a few days. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

iA Writer4 screens
Goals4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Goals at Free against iA Writer's $19.99. Goals also leads on update cadence (every 4 days vs every 2 weeks). iA Writer's advantage is rating (4.6 vs 1.0) and in-app purchases (none vs 3). 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

Goals is free to download; iA Writer costs $19.99 up front. Goals sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. iA Writer asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

iA Writer holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 1.0. 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, Goals every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
iA Writer versus Goals: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameteriA WriterGoals
Price$19.99Free — better
Rating4.6 (1.5K ratings) — better1.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews72.8% of reviews—
Number of ratings1.5K — better1
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 4 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFreemium — better
Best chart rank#21 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size70 MB4 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperInformation Architects AGMARTIN HRBEK

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

Goals

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

iA Writer

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Goals

Subscriptions2
  • Goals Pro$1.991 Month
  • Goals Pro$14.991 Year
One-time1
  • Goals Pro$19.99

Questions

Is iA Writer free?
iA Writer costs $19.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Goals free?
Goals is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, iA Writer or Goals?
iA Writer is rated higher. iA Writer averages 4.6 out of 5 from 1.5K ratings, while Goals averages 1.0 from 1 ratings.
Do iA Writer or Goals have ads?
Neither iA Writer nor Goals shows ads.
Which is updated more often, iA Writer or Goals?
iA Writer ships an update every 2 weeks, and Goals every 4 days. Most recently, iA Writer was updated on November 6, 2026 and Goals on October 31, 2026.

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