Best writing app on Reddit

221 reviews from r/FanFiction, r/writing, r/macapps and 24 more subreddits

221 reviews from

and

By Brand

By Product

Google

4.0

(22)

"I edit using Google docs on web with Grammarly."

"Google Docs is basic, free, and accessible anywhere with a plugin that auto-formats for AO3."

"Google Docs is free and cloud-based so you can use it on any device."

"Google Docs has an offline mode and is easy to share with betas."

"You could also use these offline if needed."

"Automatic saving and synchronization with other devices make it very convenient."

"Google Docs is a powerful tool for writing and collaboration."

"Google Docs is my go-to"

"Auto save is fantastic."

"I use Google Docs pretty much every day."

Microsoft

4.5

(16)

"Microsoft Word is more efficient than other writing tools."

"Microsoft Word is phenomenal, and it’s not bloated like the desktop versions that require a subscription."

"OneNote is an excellent tool for organizing notes and ideas!"

"OneNote allows you to handwrite directly on pages and take pictures, making it a versatile organizational tool."

"I love using MS Word 365 for its features and ease of use."

"I prefer OneNote because it's easy to use and completely free."

"Onenote is really great, especially if you got a Surface device."

"My word processor of choice? Microsoft Word."

"I like onenote and kilonotes"

"MS Word is a reliable word processor."

Apple

4.5

(15)

"Ulysses is a powerful writing app that allows for great customization and organization."

"Apple makes Pages and it’s on your device for free. Plus it’s very voiceover friendly."

"Pages is cross platform and syncs, allowing seamless document access across devices."

"Notability works like a charm, as you can have it sync to iCloud."

"IA Writer does all that you ask. It syncs seamlessly across all of those devices."

"An amazing app for collaboration and productivity!"

"Absolutely the best note taking app in Apple ecosystem. It's just so simple and the UI is top-notch."

"I really enjoy Pages. Try that one, it comes preinstalled, and if it doesn't then you can find it on the Mac App Store."

"Pages comes free with a new Mac. It is a full-featured word processor."

"I use my MacBook Pro all the time."

iA Writer

4.7

(14)

"Some options: * iA Writer"

"Some minimalist options: * iA Writer"

"Some options: * [iA Writer](https://apps.apple.com/app/id775737590) * [Ulysses](https://apps.apple.com/app/id1225570693)"

"Some options: * iA Writer"

"Some options in addition to iA Writer and Ulysses."

"If you want to use markdown and like the simplicity of Notes, check out iA Writer."

"I’ve been using iA Writer on Mac and iPad for a few years now."

"I think it and iA Writer are of the same ilk."

"IAWriter has a personality. take a look at a review first."

Ulysses

4.8

(13)

"Some options: * Ulysses."

"Some options: * Ulysses"

"Some minimalist options: * Ulysses (Apple-exclusive)"

"Some options: * Ulysses"

"Ulysses for sure. I can’t write anywhere else."

"Nothing beats Ulysses. Super easy text (re-)structuring (comparable to scrivener)..."

"Ulysses all the way"

"Ulysses offers a full-featured phone version with a subscription model that includes cloud syncing."

"Ulysses is where I do much of my writing, both casual and not-so-casual."

"Definitely Ulysses."

Scrivener

3.7

(14)

"I've been using Scrivener for almost a decade, and they just released v3 for Windows."

"It's got a load of features and was worth the money in my opinion."

"It's spendy at $45 but it's amazing."

"This one is worth the price Scrivener by Literature & Latte."

"I use Scrivener because I love its organisation features and I've set it up to work well when copying to AO3. It's not free."

"Scrivener for mac is perfectly accessible."

"Scrivener is effective for organizing writing projects."

"For editing I copy it into Scrivener."

"I use Scrivener, but it's only for iOS."

"It's one of the better iOS apps of any type in my opinion."

Evernote

4.3

(8)

"Evernote Web Clipper is essential for saving articles and notes."

"Big fan of EverNote for writing, love its simplicity and multi operating system interface."

"I find it handy as you can organise your notes into different notebooks."

"Looks great, is this supposed to be like an alternative for Evernote?"

"I used Evernote when I was in college and it was great."

"Wish they could feature Evernote integration. I'll ditch Evernote right away"

"This looks great."

"Looks really nice - but what's making me use this over Evernote?"

Notion

4.1

(7)

"I like Notion a lot for writing and keeping ideas and chapters organized."

"Notion does what you are asking for pretty well."

"Notion is great for organizing research and ideas, allowing for easy nesting of information."

"Notion is freemium but has most features in the free plan."

"I use notion, which has a desktop app and a dark mode, although you’re limited to dark/light and have little font customization."

"I recently signed up for a Pro account and am migrating away from Notion to Craft."

"As a Med student I really like and am considering the idea of importing my notes into here!"

Bear

4.3

(6)

"Some options: * Bear"

"I loooove Bear for writing, been using it for about a year. You can try all the features for free too."

"I use the Bear notes app because it has markdown. It’s easy to format and very simple."

"MacOS already has Bear for markdown notes, which *is* a native Mac app."

"I use it on my Mac and I love it."

"It's a great looking app but I don't think it will be successful."

#10

Paper

5.0

(5)

"Some options: * Paper."

"Some minimalist options: * Paper (Apple-exclusive)"

"Some options: * Paper"

"I think it's very well suited for writing. Give it a try!"

#11

Google Docs

4.0

(6)

"Google docs?"

"To change the document page color for Google Docs, you can go to File > Page Setup > Page Color."

"Then just change to whatever color you want, and you can set it as the default as well."

"Docs because it syncs offline between my phone and computer."

"I believe Google Docs has an offline option, but I haven't used it."

"I find most of this can be done in a simple Google Doc."

#12

Byword

4.8

(5)

"Some options: * Byword."

"Some options: * Byword"

"Some minimalist options: * Byword (Apple-exclusive)"

"Check out Byword; I’ve been happy with it for what you describe."

"Take a look at Byword"

#13

Typora

4.8

(4)

"Some options: * Typora."

"Some minimalist options: * Typora"

"It's a minimal markdown text editor with five beautiful themes and a file explorer."

"* [Typora](https://typora.io/)"

#14

Literature and Latte

4.5

(4)

"Scrivener has a few nice templates included for different formats, and the layout is appealing for quick referencing notes or character sheets."

"Scrivener is great for manuscripts."

"Scrivener is my favorite writing app with a focused writing mode that helps me concentrate."

"I've heard positive things about Scrivener."

#15

iWriter Pro

5.0

(3)

"Some options: * iWriter Pro."

"Some options: * iWriter Pro"

"Some minimalist options: * iWriter Pro (Apple-exclusive)"

#16

Notability

4.7

(3)

"I really like Notability."

"This is the first note app I have ever used that I thought, these guys just get it."

"Notability? It has a fairly decent typed text feature + handwriting + audio recording."

#17

Craft

4.7

(3)

"Craft is a native app because of which it’s super fast and it has a pretty UI."

"Craft is exactly what I need."

"I love Craft. For me, it's replaced Ulysses."

#18

Sublime Text

4.3

(3)

"Sublime Text. Has a distraction-free mode."

"Sublime Text + Marked2 (extremely nice text editor + quality realtime markdown preview)"

"I use sublime but that's just because it's fast."

#19

Obsidian

4.3

(3)

"I use Obsidian. It's as simple as you might want and as complex as you need as you grow."

"Obsidian is great for writing with markdown formatting."

"Obsidian is a slick wiki that runs on Android, and the Fantasy Calendar plugin is great for custom calendars."

#20

OneNote

3.7

(3)

"Onenote"

"I use OneNote second most."

"OneNote isn't exactly made for long writing."

#21

Grammarly

5.0

(2)

"I copy paste from Google docs to AO3’s text editor with no formatting issues."

"Grammarly helps improve writing with real-time grammar and style suggestions."

#22

Focused

5.0

(2)

"Some options: * Focused."

"Some minimalist options: * Focused (Apple-exclusive)"

#23

UpNote

5.0

(2)

"UpNote"

"I've used it for a couple of years now and love it."

#24

Microsoft Word

5.0

(2)

"I just use Word. Syncs great with iCloud and I can continue on either of my two iPads, my iPhone, my MBA, or my thinkpad."

"If you're just starting out and don't want to spend money - stick to Word."

#25

FocusWriter

4.5

(2)

"FocusWriter allows customization of font, background, and colors, making it ideal for minimal distractions."

"I think I've found it."

#26

1Writer

4.5

(2)

"Some options: * 1Writer"

"* [1Writer](https://apps.apple.com/app/id680469088)"

#27

Simplenote

4.5

(2)

"Some options: * Simplenote"

"Some options: * Simplenote * Bear * Spaces * Paper"

#28

Story Planner for Writers

5.0

(1)

"It's great for organizing writing projects and creating character bios."

#29

Bighugelabs

5.0

(1)

"If you like the whole electronic typewriter aesthetic, I suggest this product."

#30

Samsung

5.0

(1)

"MS OneNote is your best option for handwritten notes, converting them into searchable text."

#31

Goodnotes

5.0

(1)

"Goodnote 6 so far"

#32

WaveMaker

5.0

(1)

"I like WaveMaker Cards because it has a timeline creator, and a system of ‘notecards’ for story elements."

#33

Momentum

5.0

(1)

"Momentum App enhances productivity with beautiful backgrounds and to-do lists."

#34

Noteful

5.0

(1)

"Noteful is an excellent product that exceeded my expectations."

#35

Native Note-Taking App

5.0

(1)

"I use the native note-taking app the most, as a notepad replacement, it syncs into my browser."

#36

Nimble Writer

5.0

(1)

"I'm partial to Nimble Writer myself."

#37

Dabblewriter

5.0

(1)

"I use Dabblewriter. On computer and on the app on my cellphone."

#38

Just Write

5.0

(1)

"The platform is super simple looking and not distracting, you can arrange your works in folders etc."

#39

Overleaf

5.0

(1)

"If you are familiar with LaTex it is really cool, and also synchronizes."

#40

Sublime

5.0

(1)

"Weirdly enough, programming editors like Sublime and Text Wrangler are awesome for this stuff."

#41

Write!

5.0

(1)

"The Write! app is currently my organizational/brainstorming/outlining app of choice. So useful I can't even begin to sing its praises enough."

#42

ProWritingAid

5.0

(1)

"ProWritingAid is my favorite and has a free version (limited to 500 words at a time)."

#43

Nebo

5.0

(1)

"Nebo is the app you're looking for!"

#44

NotionDraw

5.0

(1)

"I have used NotionDraw to draw directly into Notion pages."

#45

Writer

5.0

(1)

"Writer is great. Edits as plain text, so you can take your work to/from any other program."

#46

Drafts

5.0

(1)

"I use Drafts, it’s great."

#47

Jotterpad

5.0

(1)

"Works offline for android phones, probably tablets too. Can use cloudsync to dropbox when you get online. Smooth."

#48

GoodNotes

5.0

(1)

"I love using GoodNotes. Truly an amazing app for writing and taking notes."

#49

Markdown

5.0

(1)

"Love this! Might not be worthwhile for people who aren't comfortable with Markdown, but it's definitely worth a learn. Has some really nice export options as well."

#50

SmartEdit

4.0

(1)

"SmartEdit Writer is similar to Scrivener, free, and has dark modes."

#51

zCage.com Apps LLC

4.0

(1)

"I really like it for writing songs. You can transpose the key, there's an option to display the chord diagrams, it's got a simple autoscroll, you can add tabs manually, and it prints nicely."

#52

Wattpad

4.0

(1)

"Wattpad's mobile format is user-friendly and allows offline access."

#53

Theologeek

4.0

(1)

"I really like that one, and I've used Scrivener before."

#54

BOOX

4.0

(1)

"On BOOX, OneNote and Evernote are also passable."

#55

PDF Annotation App

4.0

(1)

"Sometimes I will annotate a PDF or word document, I use the native apps for that."

#56

Notes App

4.0

(1)

"Some authors just use the Notes app on their phones. I did this for a couple of my stories and it was fine."

#57

rsync

4.0

(1)

"Rsync is essential for backups on Unix/Linux systems."

#58

Atticus

4.0

(1)

"As an offline enabled web-app, it should check all your boxes."

#59

yWriter

4.0

(1)

"YWriter is excellent for writers."

#60

Editsaurus

4.0

(1)

"I also use a few free editors on occasion: Editsaurus."

#61

Typely

4.0

(1)

"I also use a few free editors on occasion: Typely."

#62

Hemingway Editor

4.0

(1)

"I also use a few free editors on occasion: Hemingway Editor."

#63

novelwriter

4.0

(1)

"I’d recommend “novelwriter” but it can be a bit finicky to run."

#64

Word

4.0

(1)

"Then Word for final clean up."

#65

Bluetooth Keyboard

4.0

(1)

"A Bluetooth keyboard can enhance the experience for under 20 dollars."

#66

Minimalist Markdown Editor

4.0

(1)

"It works well offline and gives more control than WYSIWYG editors."

#67

Pluot

4.0

(1)

"This is one related to outlining - Pluot"

#68

Pluggable Folding Keyboard

4.0

(1)

"I use a Pluggable Folding Keyboard/"

#69

Novel Goggles

4.0

(1)

"I'm working on a writing app that lets you plan and write stories, story arcs, characters, etc."

#70

WordPress

3.0

(1)

"WordPress offers a free option, but lacks folder organization for posts, which can be frustrating."

#71

Boyue

3.0

(1)

"The one that comes with the tablet has too much lag, but the inkredible pen is easier to use."

#72

One Note

3.0

(1)

"One Note also has an ink to text feature but it's not as accurate or developed as Nebo."

#73

WPS Office

3.0

(1)

"It's not bad, but does sometimes format things strangely."

#74

MacDown

3.0

(1)

"The editor I use to write markdown currently is the free and open-source MacDown, but development on it seemingly slowed down/stopped entirely."

#75

Plaintext

3.0

(1)

"Plaintext is extremely bare bones but I find that it helps keep me focused."

#76

Eink Tablets

2.0

(1)

"On most eink tablets, the built-in apps are the only ones for which latency is reasonable."

#77

Vim

2.0

(1)

"Vim is recommended only for Unix/Linux geeks or programmers; it's not user-friendly for beginners."

Discover your audience

GummySearch is an audience research toolkit for 130,000 unique communities on Reddit.

If you are looking for startup problems to solve, want to validate your idea or find your first customers online, GummySearch is for you.

Tell me more

Get started