Comparison

SolarWriter vs Page by a

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

Head to head
About

SolarWriter

Transform your e-reader into a portable typewriter for outdoor writing. This app connects your keyboard to your e-reader's screen, allowing you to type comfortably on e-ink displays in bright sunlight. Save and share your work easily.

Highlights
  • E-reader integration
  • External keyboard support
  • Outdoor writing on e-ink screens
  • Text mirroring to e-reader
  • File saving and sharing
  • Detailed setup instructions
Features
Read full description

Traditional screens are fantastic everywhere but outside, especially on a sunny day. E-ink screens work well, but e-readers like the Kindle are difficult to type on and don't support external keyboards. SolarWriter gives you the best of both worlds. SolarWriter runs on your iOS device and acts as a hub between your keyboard and your e-reader. You type on the keyboard, and the text appears on both on the iOS device and on the e-reader's screen (via its web browser). Take advantage of your Kindle's (or other e-reader's) e-ink screen to put your thoughts on paper even outside, with no need to transcribe later. Write at parks, on beaches, in backyards... anywhere you wanted to but couldn't. Save files on your device, or share through email, SMS, and more. Detailed instructions for setup are included inside the app.

About

Page by a

Features
Read full description

Stop fighting with copy and paste. Page is one inbox every machine you own can write to. Clip a note, a link, an error, a command, a number you will need in an hour — from a terminal, a script, or an AI coding assistant. It is on your phone before you have switched windows. FOUR KINDS OF PAGE NOTES — save this for me. REMINDERS — bring this back at nine. UPDATES — tell me when the build finishes. QUESTIONS — I need you to decide. Questions are the part nothing else does. When an agent asks "the migration is ready, deploy?", it stops and waits. You tap Deploy or Review first on your phone, and the answer goes back to the terminal that asked. READ IT THE WAY YOU THINK Timeline puts the day in order. Tree groups by the machine that paged you, which is what you want when a dozen hosts are talking. Project groups by the code you were working in. Markdown renders properly and long logs stay collapsed until you open them. BUILT FOR THE PLACE IT LIVES Swipe to pin or delete. Search across everything loaded. Copy a page, or send it to Reminders, Calendar, or anywhere else. On iPad it reads like Mail, list beside page. Answer from the notification without unlocking into the app. WORKS WITH WHAT YOU ALREADY RUN A one-line install adds the page command to your shell, and an MCP server so agents can both reach you and read the inbox back. "Page me when the build finishes" and "ask me before deploying" become things you can just say. FREE AND PRO Free includes the full inbox, email delivery, and a rolling 30-day history — pin anything you want to keep past that. Pro is $7.99/month, adds push notifications and SMS, and keeps every page for good. SECURITY Page content is encrypted at rest with AES-256-GCM, and every connection is HTTPS. API tokens are stored as hashes, never in the clear, and the token on your device lives in the Keychain. PAGE PRO Page Pro is $7.99 per month. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. The subscription renews automatically unless it is canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel it in your Apple Account settings. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://a-gnt.com/page/privacy

Screenshots

SolarWriter3 screens
Page by a4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Page by a at every 3 days against SolarWriter's every 5 months. SolarWriter's advantage is iOS requirement (15.6 vs 18.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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. SolarWriter sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Page by a sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $7.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SolarWriter ships an update every 5 months, Page by a every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
SolarWriter versus Page by a: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSolarWriterPage by a
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.8 (16 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews60.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings16 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.6 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size92 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperCool S, LLCJoseph Smith

In-app purchases

1 purchases

SolarWriter

One-time1
  • SolarWriter Pro$9.99
1 purchases

Page by a

Subscriptions1
  • Page Pro$7.991 Month

Questions

Is SolarWriter free?
SolarWriter is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Page by a free?
Page by a is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do SolarWriter or Page by a have ads?
Neither SolarWriter nor Page by a shows ads.
Which is updated more often, SolarWriter or Page by a?
SolarWriter ships an update every 5 months, and Page by a every 3 days. Most recently, SolarWriter was updated on November 1, 2026 and Page by a on November 10, 2026.

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