Comparison

iWriter Pro vs Notebooks

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Read full description

# 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.

About

Notebooks

This app helps you write, organize, and manage documents, tasks, and files. It offers flexible writing modes, robust organization tools, and task management features, all while ensuring your data remains accessible and under your control.

Highlights
  • Formatted text, plain text, and Markdown writing
  • Create documents with styles, tables, and attachments
  • Organize with nested hierarchies and 'books'
  • Task management with due dates and checklists
  • Wiki-style linking and backlinks
  • Full-text search
  • Cross-device synchronization
Features
Read full description

Own your notes — forever. Notebooks is a writing and organization app with no subscription, no lock-in, and no worries. Your documents are stored as standard files you can always access, export, or move freely. Pay once. Use for life. Use Notebooks as a personal wiki, Zettelkasten, document archive, task manager, or long-term writing space. Capture quick notes, turn them into actionable tasks, combine text fragments into chapters, organize research, or keep business documents separate from personal journals — without ever switching apps. Designed to help you stay focused and work at your own pace, Notebooks grows with your needs and is always ready to support you. WRITE AND CREATE Create beautifully formatted documents with styles, attachments, tables, checklists, and optional tables of contents. Choose from ready-made styles or design your own. Write in different ways: Formatted text (WYSIWYG) Plain text, with smart handling of lists, automatic character pairing, and a focused writing view Markdown, supporting MultiMarkdown and Discount, with syntax highlighting, dedicated keyboard keys, wiki-style links, and interactive checklists Sketch ideas or annotate images and PDFs using Apple Pencil. STORE AND ORGANIZE Notebooks stores all documents as regular files in standard formats. You always remain in control — no lock-in, no export worries, fully compatible across devices and over time. Organize your work in books and nested hierarchies without limits. Import PDFs, emails, web pages, MS Office and iWork documents, images, audio, video, and more. Use full-text search to find even the most deeply nested document. PLAN AND ACT Turn books into project lists and documents into tasks. Assign due dates and alerts, create nested projects, and track progress naturally — right where your work lives. Use simple checklists in formatted documents or Markdown for lightweight task tracking. STAY FOCUSED Link documents together to build knowledge over time. Use wiki-style links, backlinks, contexts, and smart books to keep everything connected and within reach. When you rename or move documents, links stay intact. A PLACE YOU CAN RELY ON Sync your documents between iPhone, iPad, Mac, and PC. Work on documents stored in other apps, compile selections into PDFs or eBooks, scan documents and extract text using OCR, and trust that your data stays accessible — now and in the future. With time, Notebooks often becomes the one place users rely on to keep everything that matters close at hand. WHAT USERS SAY “Notebooks is a wonderful app — sophisticated in an unassuming way. I feel more productive without spending time managing the app itself.” “You are GTD in every way that makes it efficient — and makes me efficient.”

Screenshots

iWriter Pro4 screens
Notebooks4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: iWriter Pro at $4.99 against Notebooks's $17.99. iWriter Pro also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 4). Notebooks's advantage is review sentiment (83% vs 68%) and chart position (#100 vs unranked). On rating, 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

iWriter Pro costs $4.99 and Notebooks $17.99 up front. Notebooks sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. iWriter Pro asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for iWriter Pro against 4.7 for Notebooks. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Notebooks has 1.1K ratings behind it against 130, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 68% of iWriter Pro's written reviews are positive against 83% of Notebooks's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

iWriter Pro ships an update every 3 months, Notebooks every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
iWriter Pro versus Notebooks: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameteriWriter ProNotebooks
Price$4.99 — better$17.99
Rating4.7 (130 ratings)4.7 (1.1K ratings)
Positive reviews68.1% of reviews82.6% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1301.1K — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 5 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterPaid
Best chart rank—#100 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS18.616.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size19 MB47 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSerpensoft GroupAlfons Schmid

Customer experience

iWriter Pro

All ratings130 ratings
Positive93.1%
Neutral2.3%
Negative4.6%
Written reviews91 reviews
Positive68.1%
Neutral4.4%
Negative27.5%

Notebooks

All ratings1,056 ratings
Positive94.1%
Neutral2.6%
Negative3.3%
Written reviews207 reviews
Positive82.6%
Neutral5.8%
Negative11.6%

User reviews

iWriter Pro

From 130 App Store ratings

What we love

  • ✨ Simple and clean interface
  • 🚀 Fast and efficient performance
  • ✍️ Distraction-free writing experience
  • 💡 Good value for money
  • 🔄 Seamless iCloud sync

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes and freezes
  • 🔋 High battery consumption (iCloud sync)
  • 🐛 Data loss or corruption issues
  • 🐛 Syncing problems (iCloud, Dropbox)
  • 🐛 Exported DOCX files have restrictions

Notebooks

From 1.1K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Powerful and flexible organization
  • 🔒 Respects user data and privacy
  • 👍 Reliable and stable
  • 👍 Responsive and helpful developer
  • 👍 Elegant and intuitive interface

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes and sync issues
  • 🐛 Formatting and editing limitations
  • 🐛 Steep learning curve for some users

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
Show 26 more
  • 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
Show 17 more
  • 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

Notebooks

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Data loss after iOS upgrades
  • Compatibility issues with newer iOS versions

Requested features

4 requests
  • Improved Markdown support
  • More font and color customization options
  • Better Apple Watch integration
  • Export to Word format

In-app purchases

None

iWriter Pro

No in-app purchases

4 purchases

Notebooks

One-time4
  • Small Tip$0.99
  • Custom Storage Locations$2.99
  • Medium Tip$2.99
Show 1 more
  • Generous Tip$4.99

Questions

Is iWriter Pro free?
iWriter Pro costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Notebooks free?
Notebooks costs $17.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, iWriter Pro or Notebooks?
iWriter Pro and Notebooks are both rated 4.7 out of 5 on the App Store, from 130 and 1.1K ratings respectively.
Do iWriter Pro or Notebooks have ads?
Neither iWriter Pro nor Notebooks shows ads.
Which is updated more often, iWriter Pro or Notebooks?
iWriter Pro ships an update every 3 months, and Notebooks every 5 weeks. Most recently, iWriter Pro was updated on September 24, 2026 and Notebooks on September 23, 2026.

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