# iA Writer vs MarkText

The clearest difference is price: MarkText at $3.99 against iA Writer's $19.99. iA Writer's advantage is rating (4.6 vs 3.0) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 4 months). On ads, in-app purchases, monetization model and device support there is nothing between them.

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

iA Writer holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: iA Writer has 1.5K ratings behind it against 3, 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 54% of MarkText's.

iA Writer ships an update every 2 weeks, MarkText every 4 months. Both last shipped on November 1, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | iA Writer | MarkText |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $19.99 | **$3.99** |
| Rating | **[4.6 (1.5K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ia-writer-get-focused/id775737172/reviews)** | [3.0 (3 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/marktext-markdown-editor/id948768793/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **1.5K** | 3 |
| Positive reviews | **73.1% of reviews** | 54.2% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 2 weeks** | Every 4 months |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Best chart rank | **#29** | — |
| Size | 70 MB | 14 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | **14.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Information Architects AG](https://appshunter.io/developer/775737175) | [刘生 林](https://appshunter.io/developer/948768792) |

## What reviewers say

### iA Writer

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

**Currently charting:** #29 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


### MarkText

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/marktext-markdown-editor/id948768793)

This app is a markdown editor and note-taking tool for iOS devices. It offers real-time syntax highlighting, conversion to various formats like HTML, PNG, and PDF, and seamless syncing across Apple devices via iCloud Drive.

**Highlights:** Real-time markdown syntax highlighting, Convert notes to HTML, PNG, PDF, Share to Evernote, Dropbox, Email, iCloud Drive sync across devices, FlowChart & Diagrams support, LaTeX and MathML rendering

**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 MarkText free?

MarkText costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, iA Writer or MarkText?

iA Writer is rated higher. iA Writer averages 4.6 out of 5 from 1.5K ratings, while MarkText averages 3.0 from 3 ratings.

### Do iA Writer or MarkText have ads?

Neither iA Writer nor MarkText shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, iA Writer or MarkText?

iA Writer ships an update every 2 weeks, and MarkText every 4 months. Most recently, iA Writer was updated on November 1, 2026 and MarkText on November 1, 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.*