Comparison

Shift Editor & Quick Lookup vs Etched

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read 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.

About

Etched

Features
Read full description

Stop losing your own notes. Etched finds what you wrote by meaning — not just by keyword. Ask for "the note about slowing down to think" and it surfaces, even if those exact words were never written. Everything runs on your device. Write in plain markdown and watch it render as you type — no symbols, no preview pane, no modes. What you see is the file. Your notes stay portable .md, yours forever. FREE, and complete: • On-device semantic search — find notes by meaning • Live WYSIWYG markdown — bold, headings, lists, quotes, code • Tables, callouts, code blocks, footnotes, highlights, links • iCloud sync across your devices • Export to .md (raw or with rendered images), PDF, plain text ETCHED PRO — one-time purchase, yours forever: • Flashcards + spaced repetition — turn notes into memory • Diagrams from plain text (flowcharts, sequences, mind maps) • Typeset math and chemistry (LaTeX) • Charts from a few rows of data • Sheet music from ABC notation • Handwriting / sketches • Present mode — turn a note into full-screen slides • Per-note themes Reading every format is always free — Pro unlocks creating them. No subscription, ever. Pay once and keep it. Coming from Apple Notes, Obsidian, or Bear? Your markdown imports as plain .md, and you finally get search that finds notes by meaning — privately, with no account. Private by design: your notes never leave your devices except through your own iCloud. No account, no tracking, no ads. Your notes, etched in memory. — Made by Hyojin Mo. Support: support@vibeland.app

Screenshots

Shift Editor & Quick Lookup4 screens
Etched4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Shift Editor & Quick Lookup at none against Etched's 1. Shift Editor & Quick Lookup also leads on iOS requirement (7.0 vs 17.0). Etched's advantage is update cadence (every 2 days vs every 11 months). 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Etched sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Shift Editor & Quick Lookup asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Shift Editor & Quick Lookup ships an update every 11 months, Etched every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 4, 2026 and October 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Shift Editor & Quick Lookup versus Etched: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterShift Editor & Quick LookupEtched
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (10 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings10 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 11 monthsEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS7.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size15 MB87 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperJohn LincolnSoyeon Noh

In-app purchases

None

Shift Editor & Quick Lookup

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Etched

One-time1
  • Etched Pro$14.99

Questions

Is Shift Editor & Quick Lookup free?
Shift Editor & Quick Lookup is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Etched free?
Etched is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Shift Editor & Quick Lookup or Etched have ads?
Neither Shift Editor & Quick Lookup nor Etched shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Shift Editor & Quick Lookup or Etched?
Shift Editor & Quick Lookup ships an update every 11 months, and Etched every 2 days. Most recently, Shift Editor & Quick Lookup was updated on October 4, 2026 and Etched on October 5, 2026.

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