Shift Editor & Quick Lookup vs Ember
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Shift Editor & Quick Lookup
This app streamlines writing and referencing by integrating a browser with customizable text display. It offers smart Markdown shortcuts, multiple customizable presets for editing and viewing, and robust version control for documents. The app prioritizes a clean, distraction-free writing experience with advanced typography options.
- Integrated browser with custom color schemes
- Smart Markdown shortcuts
- Customizable presets for editing and viewing
- HTML preview sync
- Dropbox repository browsing
- Automatic document versioning
- Advanced typography options
Read full descriptionHide full description
When we write, we reference the dictionary, Wikipedia, Google, and any number of websites. I made Shift to make writing and referencing both easy to do and especially, easy to read. The integrated browser displays text in your custom color-scheme using gorgeous fonts, so the web can readable at night and during the day. This means that you can quickly open Wikipedia or other text-based website and have the text size & colors match your custom choices without busy clutter. And Shift makes changing between presets easy. You have four customizable presets to choose from, accessible from the editor itself. Two touches, that's it. The MultiMarkdown editor syncs the text with an HTML preview that shows your work with the customizable style of your choice. Tap text to edit, pinch to preview. It's easy. Shift is smart about Markdown. Shift has shortcuts to create lists, emphasis and strong, indentation, headings, and more. All lines selected can be marked at once. For example, if you want to mark a few words to be italic, select at least parts of the words and press the italic button. Shift will insert the markdown where it needs to be. It's smart. Some Markdown documents or some websites are easier to read in landscape. That's no problem in Shift. You can use Shift in landscape view as well as portrait. And Shift can browse your entire Dropbox repository, not just a single folder. Every time you open a document, a copy is saved. Two previous versions are always available for you to revert any mistakes. There will be no tears when using Shift. I care about typography. Shift comes with Concourse, Equity, and Triplicate, three gorgeous fonts by Matthew Butterick (see http://practicaltypography.com). And so font selection and editor layout has been carefully put together. But you are free to change (and restore) text color, background color, highlight colors, and presentation style. You'll find that the keyboard color will follow your background color selection and other parts of the UI adapt to your choices as well. Shift is customizable, but it's simple. It gets out of your way so you can write and read the way you want. If you have any question, go to http://shiftwriter.com and press the "support" link on the bottom of the page. I'll answer as best as I'm able. Thanks for your time. A special thanks to Icons8 at http://iconpharm.com for the use of a number of their icons.
Ember
A fast and organized workspace for writing Markdown notes, storing PDFs, diagrams, and voice memos. It offers a vault for reusable prompts and syncs across Apple devices. Start for free with full editor access.
- Rich Markdown editor
- Inline PDF and image support
- Reusable prompt vault
- Daily notes, folders, and tags
- Instant search functionality
- Private iCloud sync
- Share Extension
Read full descriptionHide full description
Your notes should feel like home. Ember is a warm, fast place to think — Markdown notes, PDFs, diagrams, voice memos, and a vault of reusable prompts, all in one calm workspace that syncs across iPhone, iPad, and Mac. WRITE IN RICH MARKDOWN A live editor with real formatting: headings, tables, task lists, links, highlights, footnotes, and code — rendered as you type, never in your way. Bullets, numbers, and checkboxes feel native and effortless. MORE THAN TEXT Drop PDFs, images, diagrams, and voice notes right inline. Your references live beside your writing, so everything about a thought stays in one place. A VAULT FOR YOUR PROMPTS Keep the prompts you reuse for writing, research, and planning in a dedicated Prompt Vault — organized, searchable, and a tap away when you need them. STAY ORGANIZED, STAY FAST Daily notes, folders, tags, smart filters, and pinned notes keep things tidy, and instant search finds anything the moment you look for it. YOURS EVERYWHERE Ember runs natively on iPhone, iPad, and Mac, with optional private iCloud sync, widgets, and a Share Extension for capturing from anywhere. FREE TO START Capture notes, PDFs, prompts, and attachments with the full editor — free, no account required. EMBER PRO Unlock advanced themes and alternate icons, premium writing and organization workflows, and deeper Prompt Vault tools, as a subscription or a one-time lifetime purchase. PRIVATE BY DESIGN No accounts. No ads. No selling your words. Your notes stay on your device and your own iCloud. Make a home for your thinking. Download Ember Notes. TERMS & PRIVACY Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://embernotes.app/privacy
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Shift Editor & Quick Lookup at none against Ember's 3. Shift Editor & Quick Lookup also leads on ratings volume (11 vs 3) and iOS requirement (7.0 vs 26.0). Ember's advantage is update cadence (every 10 days vs every 11 months) and rating (5.0 vs 4.6). On price, 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
Both are free to download. Ember sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Shift Editor & Quick Lookup asks for nothing beyond the download.
Ember holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 11 and 3 respectively.
Shift Editor & Quick Lookup ships an update every 11 months, Ember every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 9, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Shift Editor & Quick Lookup | Ember |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (11 ratings) | 5.0 (3 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 11 — better | 3 |
| Update frequency | Every 11 months | Every 10 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 7.0 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 15 MB | 70 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | John Lincoln | Rene DeAnda |
Customer experience
Shift Editor & Quick Lookup
Ember
In-app purchases
Shift Editor & Quick Lookup
No in-app purchases
Ember
- Ember Pro Monthly$3.991 Month
- Ember Pro Annual$34.991 Year
- Ember Pro Lifetime$99.99
Questions
Is Shift Editor & Quick Lookup free?
Is Ember free?
Which has better reviews, Shift Editor & Quick Lookup or Ember?
Do Shift Editor & Quick Lookup or Ember have ads?
Which is updated more often, Shift Editor & Quick Lookup or Ember?
Other comparisons















