Author vs Focus Stacks
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Author
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.
- Minimalist writing interface
- Powerful writing tools
- iOS companion app
- Syncs with macOS version
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The iOS companion to Author macOS.
Focus Stacks
Organize your tasks and ideas with a visually appealing, card-based system. Capture everything, customize with colors, add detailed notes, and sync across devices. Never let a task or idea slip away again.
- Capture every task easily
- Customize lists with colors
- Attach detailed notes to tasks
- Automatic iCloud syncing
- Card-based design
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Unleash the power of your productivity and never let another brilliant idea or must-do task slip through the cracks again! Imagine a world where every movie you've been dying to watch, every spark of inspiration for your next groundbreaking project, and every little to-do is neatly organized, not just in your mind, but right at your fingertips. Our app is crafted for the list-makers, the planners, the doers — those who thrive on keeping life seamlessly organized both at work and at home. Dive into a digital oasis of calm with our card-based design, where clutter is banished and your tasks come to life in a visually stunning, easy-to-navigate space. Say goodbye to mental overload and hello to clear, focused stacks that are as satisfying to use as they are effective. Here's what makes Focus Stacks a must-have: • Capture every task with ease, ensuring nothing important gets forgotten. • Customize your lists with a rainbow of colors to make your productivity system not only efficient but also uniquely yours. • Attach detailed notes to your tasks, from vital phone numbers to extended thoughts, making sure every piece of information is just a tap away. • With automatic, secure syncing with iCloud, your Stacks are always up-to-date across all your devices, safeguarding your progress and ideas wherever you go.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Focus Stacks at $4.99 against Author's $19.99. Focus Stacks also leads on rating (5.0 vs 3.0) and in-app purchases (none vs 1). Author's advantage is ratings volume (5 vs 1) and device support (4 vs 2). On ads 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
Author costs $19.99 and Focus Stacks $4.99 up front. Author sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Focus Stacks asks for nothing beyond the download.
Focus Stacks holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Author has 5 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Author ships an update every 2 months, Focus Stacks weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 4, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Author | Focus Stacks |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $19.99 | $4.99 — better |
| Rating | 3.0 (5 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 71.5% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 5 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Weekly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases — better | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Vision Pro — better | iPhone, Vision Pro |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | 17.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 4 MB | 1 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | The Augmented Text Company LTD | Andrew Despres |
Customer experience
Author
Focus Stacks
Bugs and requests
Author
Reported bugs
20 issues- 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
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- Ask AI feature shows infinite loading spinner
- Unexpected Russian pricing text displayed to US users
- App doesn't launch or open on some systems
- Files not detected in Downloads folder
- Cannot open documents created in desktop version on iOS
- Automatic file conversion to Liquid format breaks iOS compatibility
- Text rendering issues (white text on white background)
- Table function broken - cannot write in cells
- App lags and deletes lines when typing quickly
- Highlight feature not working
- Citations not resolving automatically
- Markdown export only exports preamble
- Copy-paste functionality issues
- French localization not working despite being advertised
- App not compatible with iOS 18 and latest macOS versions
Requested features
20 requests- 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
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- Better image handling and integration
- Find and replace functionality
- Dark mode for older macOS versions
- Inline predictive text support
- Nested list creation and editing
- Paragraph indentation options
- Photo support on macOS version
- Keyboard shortcut reference guide
- Table editing improvements
- Integration with reference management software (Zotero, EndNote)
- Local AI endpoints or BYOK (Bring Your Own Key) for privacy
- Better onboarding and UI guidance for new users
- Typeface options (Courier, American Typewriter, serif fonts)
- Line spacing options (1.5, double spacing)
- Color themes and dark mode options
Focus Stacks
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Author
- Export & AIFree
Focus Stacks
No in-app purchases









