# Author vs ECGO.

The clearest difference is price: ECGO. at Free against Author's $19.99. ECGO. also leads on rating (3.8 vs 3.0) and in-app purchases (none vs 2). Author's advantage is device support (4 vs 2). On ratings volume, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

ECGO. is free to download; Author costs $19.99 up front. Author sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. ECGO. asks for nothing beyond the download.

ECGO. holds the better App Store score, 3.8 against 3.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 5 and 4 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 72% of Author's written reviews are positive against 100% of ECGO.'s.

Author ships an update every 2 months, ECGO. every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 27, 2026 and September 16, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Author | ECGO. |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $19.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | [3.0 (5 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/author/id951792010/reviews) | **[3.8 (4 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ecgo/id1210411099/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **5** | 4 |
| Positive reviews | 71.5% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Every 5 weeks** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Free** |
| Size | 4 MB | 30 MB |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | **9.0** |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, Mac, Vision Pro** | iPhone, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [The Augmented Text Company LTD](https://appshunter.io/developer/459748478) | [Salem River Holdings LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1478928392) |

## What reviewers say

### Author

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/author/id951792010)

This app serves as a companion to its macOS counterpart, offering a minimalist and powerful writing experience on iOS devices. It allows users to create and manage their written content seamlessly across platforms.

**Highlights:** Minimalist writing interface, Powerful writing tools, iOS companion app, Syncs with macOS version

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Export & AI | Free | one-time |
| Eng | $1.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- ✨ Clean, minimalist interface design
- 💡 Innovative concept mapping and mind mapping features
- 📚 Excellent citation and reference management
- ⌨️ Useful keyboard shortcuts and productivity features
- 🎯 Powerful outlining and document folding capabilities

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent crashes and data loss issues
- 📱 iOS/iPad app severely broken and non-functional
- 🔄 Syncing problems between devices
- 🎨 Limited formatting and customization options
- 📊 Poor image handling capabilities

**Reported bugs**

- App crashes frequently, causing data loss
- iOS app shows blank screen and won't open documents
- iPad app completely non-functional
- Text disappears or becomes greyed out during iCloud saves
- Vision OS app lacks cursor for text input

**Requested features**

- iPad and iOS app that actually works
- Typewriter scrolling mode
- Variable screen width for large displays
- Complete LaTeX export with full file support
- Markdown support


### ECGO.

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ecgo/id1210411099)

Control and program specific hardware devices. This application is designed exclusively for the ECGO-G and ECGO-GKP models.

**Highlights:** Program ECGO-G devices, Control ECGO-GKP devices, Exclusive hardware compatibility

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Author free?

Author costs $19.99, and also offers in-app purchases.

### Is ECGO. free?

ECGO. is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Author or ECGO.?

ECGO. is rated higher. Author averages 3.0 out of 5 from 5 ratings, while ECGO. averages 3.8 from 4 ratings.

### Do Author or ECGO. have ads?

Neither Author nor ECGO. shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Author or ECGO.?

Author ships an update every 2 months, and ECGO. every 5 weeks. Most recently, Author was updated on September 27, 2026 and ECGO. on September 16, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*