iWriter Pro vs Calculator Desk Accessory
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
iWriter Pro
A minimalist text editor with robust Markdown support and distraction-free writing. It offers iCloud sync, live syntax highlighting, and various export options for documents.
- Clean and minimal interface
- iCloud sync
- Live Markdown syntax highlighting
- HTML Preview
- Typewriter mode
- Document Browser with tags
- Export to HTML, PDF, EPUB, DOCX, and more
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# iWriter Pro is elegant and minimalist text editor with built-in Markdown support. Distraction-free and subscription-free. ## Features: - Clean and minimal interface. - iCloud sync across iPad, iPhone, and Mac¹ devices. - Text editing with live Markdown syntax highlighting. - HTML Preview for Markdown and MultiMarkdown documents. - Typewriter mode² with focusing on line, sentence, or paragraph. - Powerful Document Browser³ with tags support. - Integrated counters for words, symbols, sentences, and paragraphs. - Fast and responsive editing even for large files. ## iWriter Pro supports: - Highlighting and rendering of LaTeX equations. - Flowchart and Mermaid diagrams. - Source code highlight in HTML preview. - Exporting documents as HTML, PDF, RTF, EPUB, LaTeX, and DOCX. - Keyboard shortcuts⁴ for text formatting and quick navigation. - Search and Replace in your documents. - Light and dark layouts (auto-switching included). - Automatic number/bullet/task list formatting. ¹ - iWriter Pro for Mac is available as a separate purchase on the Mac App Store. ² - Typewriter and Focus modes are available only on iPad. ³ - Editing files in Dropbox, Google Drive, and other 3d-party storage providers is not guaranteed. ⁴ - External keyboard is required.
Calculator Desk Accessory
A user-friendly calculator app with a retro-modern aesthetic and advanced calculation capabilities. It adapts seamlessly to any iPhone or iPad screen size and supports multitasking features like split view and slide over.
- Retro-Modern design
- Hi-tech calculation engine
- Scales to any screen size
- iPad Split View support
- iPad Slide Over support
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Calculator Desk Accessory, an easy to use calculator with a Retro-Modern look and a hi-tech calculation engine. It scales to fit any iPhone screen, any iPad screen, and also runs beautifully in iPad's split view and slide over modes.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Calculator Desk Accessory at 100% against iWriter Pro's 68%. Calculator Desk Accessory also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.7) and price ($4.99 vs $5.99). iWriter Pro's advantage is ratings volume (132 vs 4). On update cadence, ads, in-app purchases 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
iWriter Pro costs $5.99 and Calculator Desk Accessory $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Calculator Desk Accessory holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: iWriter Pro has 132 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 68% of iWriter Pro's written reviews are positive against 100% of Calculator Desk Accessory's.
iWriter Pro ships an update every 3 months, Calculator Desk Accessory every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | iWriter Pro | Calculator Desk Accessory |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $5.99 | $4.99 — better |
| Rating | 4.7 (132 ratings) | 5.0 (4 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 68.5% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 132 — better | 4 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 6 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 26 | 16.6 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 20 MB | 2 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Serpensoft Group | Planetary Code LLC |
Customer experience
iWriter Pro
Calculator Desk Accessory
Bugs and requests
iWriter Pro
Reported bugs
31 issues- App crashes and freezes frequently
- Data loss or corruption during editing/syncing
- iCloud and Dropbox sync issues
- Exported DOCX files are not fully compatible
- Autocorrect option is confusingly named
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- Cannot rename documents outside of iWriter folder
- List indentation can be problematic
- Markdown menus on keyboard have delayed response
- Automatic dark mode not working after update
- Mermaid plugin not working with iOS 18
- Preview barely works
- App not being updated to fix bugs
- Developer does not respond
- Multiline LaTeX not supported
- App crashes on iPad Pro 2020 after update
- Conversion to DOCX has restrictions
- No preview section in settings for plugins
- Photos cannot be inserted (folder access permission issue)
- Cannot read images from hidden folders
- Line breaks in exported documents turn into spaces
- Formulae not working
- Occasional rendering bug where text doesn't fill screen
- App crashes immediately upon opening
- Google Drive sync issues and inability to open/save files
- iCloud synchronization consumes too much battery
- App deletes work for no reason
- Dropbox connection is poor and leads to conflicts/data loss
- Font compatibility issues in document names
- App is very basic and doesn't work well with other Markdown editors
- Impolite developers
- App is unstable
Requested features
22 requests- Add table support (Markdown)
- Allow reordering of shortcuts
- Cycle visibility on headings using Tab
- Add Mark Set and cut region
- Wordpress export
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- Syntax highlighting
- File tree or explorer in sidebar
- Regex search
- Auto dark mode
- Select and open a folder
- Obsidian support (hyperlink function)
- Chinese support
- Add math input
- Passcode lock feature
- Change font color
- Hybrid/mixed editor/preview mode
- Automatic backup to Dropbox/other cloud storage
- Add file opening options in preview mode
- Enter title edit mode immediately after creating a new file
- Change shortcut keys from moving cursor to indent
- Customizable paste symbols
- Full-text search
Calculator Desk Accessory
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
iWriter Pro
No in-app purchases
Calculator Desk Accessory
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is iWriter Pro free?
Is Calculator Desk Accessory free?
Which has better reviews, iWriter Pro or Calculator Desk Accessory?
Do iWriter Pro or Calculator Desk Accessory have ads?
Which is updated more often, iWriter Pro or Calculator Desk Accessory?
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