iWriter Pro vs MiaoYan
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.
MiaoYan
This app offers a native Markdown note-taking experience across Mac, iPhone, and iPad. Notes are stored as plain Markdown files in your chosen iCloud Drive folders, ensuring seamless access and compatibility. Enjoy rich text formatting, code highlighting, and integrated diagram rendering.
- Plain Markdown files in iCloud Drive
- Cross-device synchronization
- Rich text rendering (justified text, tables, diagrams)
- Code highlighting and dark mode
- Real-time saving and version conflict resolution
- Searchable note library
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MiaoYan is a native Markdown note app for Mac, iPhone and iPad. Your notes are plain Markdown files in a folder you choose, so what you write on the Mac opens on iPhone through iCloud Drive, folders and all. One purchase covers iPhone, iPad and Mac. There is no account to create and nothing to import or export. Reading • Long notes are typeset like a book, with justified text, hyphenated English, and serif, sans or rounded faces in three sizes • Tables, footnotes, task lists, images, quotes and Mermaid diagrams render the way they do on the Mac • Code blocks are highlighted, and dark mode follows the system Writing • Plain Markdown, with headings, lists, links and code highlighted as you type • Every change is saved as you go; when another device edits the same note, MiaoYan asks which version to keep • A note moved to the Trash can be brought back with Undo for five seconds Library • Browse your iCloud Drive folders as they are, or open any folder from the Files app • Search matches note titles and the text inside them • On iPad, the note list and the page sit side by side
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: MiaoYan at 100% against iWriter Pro's 68%. MiaoYan also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 3 months) and chart position (#183 vs unranked). iWriter Pro's advantage is price ($5.99 vs $12.99). On 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 MiaoYan $12.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
iWriter Pro ships an update every 3 months, MiaoYan every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 9, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | iWriter Pro | MiaoYan |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $5.99 — better | $12.99 |
| Rating | 4.7 (132 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 68.5% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 132 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Paid |
| Best chart rank | — | #183 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 26 | 18.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 20 MB | 20 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Serpensoft Group | 威 汤 |
Customer experience
iWriter Pro
MiaoYan
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
MiaoYan
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
iWriter Pro
No in-app purchases
MiaoYan
No in-app purchases
