# Author vs OmniFocus 4

The clearest difference is price: OmniFocus 4 at Free against Author's $19.99. OmniFocus 4 also leads on rating (4.0 vs 3.0) and ratings volume (335 vs 5). Author's advantage is review sentiment (73% vs 52%). On ads, in-app purchases, monetization model and device support there is nothing between them.

OmniFocus 4 is free to download; Author costs $19.99 up front. Author sells 2 one-off in-app purchases and OmniFocus 4 sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

OmniFocus 4 holds the better App Store score, 4.0 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: OmniFocus 4 has 335 ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 73% of Author's written reviews are positive against 52% of OmniFocus 4's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Author ships an update every 2 months, OmniFocus 4 every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Author | OmniFocus 4 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $19.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | [3.0 (5 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/author/id951792010/reviews) | **[4.0 (335 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/omnifocus-4/id1542143627/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 5 | **335** |
| Positive reviews | **73.1% of reviews** | 52.5% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Every 3 weeks** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 4 MB | 138 MB |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | **18.2** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Vision Pro | **iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Vision Pro** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [The Augmented Text Company LTD](https://appshunter.io/developer/459748478) | [The Omni Group](https://appshunter.io/developer/281731738) |

## 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


### OmniFocus 4

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/omnifocus-4/id1542143627)

This task management application helps busy professionals organize and prioritize their work. It offers a unified interface across multiple Apple devices, allowing users to create, organize, and focus on tasks efficiently. A free trial is available.

**Highlights:** Unified interface across Apple devices, Task creation and organization, Perspectives Bar for navigation, Focus mode for specific projects, Secure, end-to-end encrypted sync, Universal cross-platform purchase

**Features:** Siri integration, Apple Watch app

**In-app purchases (10)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Legacy Subscription | $9.99 | per month |
| Legacy Subscription | $99.99 | per year |
| Upgrade to v4 from v1-v3 | $37.49 | one-time |
| Upgrade v4 to Pro from v1-v3 | $37.49 | one-time |
| Unlock Standard (Mac Promo) | $56.00 | one-time |
| Unlock Standard | $74.99 | one-time |
| Upgrade from Standard to Pro | $74.99 | one-time |
| Upgrade to v4 Pro from v1-v3 | $74.99 | one-time |
| Unlock Pro (Mac Promo) | $111.99 | one-time |
| Unlock Pro | $149.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Streamlined and better than ever
- 🔒 End-to-end encrypted
- 👍 Universal interface across devices
- 🚀 Powerful task management features
- 👍 Customizable perspectives

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Buggy, crashes, and laggy
- 👎 Clunky and confusing user interface
- 👎 Degraded user interface compared to previous version
- 🐛 Sync issues and slow synchronization
- 👎 Lacks important features like time-sensitive notifications

**Reported bugs**

- View options button not working consistently
- Custom perspectives not persisting in sidebar
- App crashing on launch
- Drag and drop functionality issues
- Incorrect task completion when adding new tasks

**Requested features**

- Markdown support in notes
- Gantt view for projects
- Ability to reorder perspectives in the sidebar
- Print to PDF with due dates and completed dates
- Natural language processing for task creation


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Author free?

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

### Is OmniFocus 4 free?

OmniFocus 4 is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Author or OmniFocus 4?

OmniFocus 4 is rated higher. Author averages 3.0 out of 5 from 5 ratings, while OmniFocus 4 averages 4.0 from 335 ratings.

### Do Author or OmniFocus 4 have ads?

Neither Author nor OmniFocus 4 shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Author or OmniFocus 4?

Author ships an update every 2 months, and OmniFocus 4 every 3 weeks. Most recently, Author was updated on September 22, 2026 and OmniFocus 4 on September 23, 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.*