Writing App reviews from Reddit
Summary
We analyzed 318 Reddit reviews across 30 subreddits and 62 posts to rank the best Writing App brands recommended by redditors, including communities like r/macapps, r/FanFiction, r/writing, r/ipad, r/writers. Top-rated brands include Scrivener (4.0/5), Google (4.1/5), Apple (4.3/5).
Stats
Reviews318
Subreddits30
Posts62
Brands73
Products39
318 reviews from
and
By Brand
/By Product
#1
Scrivener
4.0
(31)
"Scrivener is still the best choice. I am working on my second book using Scrivener and it is working great."
"Scrivener if you want local storage and the ability to organize your document like a 3-ring binder instead of like a bound notebook (one-time payment)."
"It's probably my best purchase and there is no day I regret buying it."
"I use Scrivener (which is a one time payment) and it's a godsend for writing and organizing my oneshots and multichapter fics!"
"Go Scrivener. I use it every day."
"Scrivener is one of the most professional tools for writers, bought it long ago (one time payment!) and happy use ever since."
"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."
"I've spent maybe 400 hours in Scrivener since August to hit my 200,000 words so far. It's irreplaceable."
"It's spendy at $45 but it's amazing."
#2
4.1
(25)
"I’m writing my novel on google docs with a co author. It’s actually so solid for organizing and writing a novel."
"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."
"Easy to use, saves to my Google Drive."
"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"
#3
Apple
4.3
(24)
"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."
#4
Microsoft
4.3
(22)
"It syncs everything automatically with the free desktop app. I write on my phone in public transit and pick up right where I left off at home."
"I can confirm that Microsoft Word works flawlessly."
"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."
#5
Ulysses
4.6
(19)
"Ulysses continually receives new features and support. It’s well worth the subscription."
"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](https://ulysses.app) is all what you're looking for, save free."
"Ulysses offers a full-featured phone version with a subscription model that includes cloud syncing."
#6
iA Writer
4.5
(19)
"Some options: * iA Writer"
"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."
#7
Obsidian
4.5
(18)
"Obsidian is literally the best"
"Obsidian is best for mobile organisation and multiple docs"
"Obsidian is the best option, along with iCloud subscription."
"Obsidian is great for this among so many other things."
"Obsidian. Check out “Linking Your Thinking” YouTube channel."
"Next good solution is Obsidian with plugins for writers."
"Obsidian. Free. No need to think about plugins, it works great as a vanilla app."
"Obsidian or any markdown text editor since you want to focus on writing and creating instead of formatting."
"I use Obsidian. It's as simple as you might want and as complex as you need as you grow."
"Obsidian"
#8
Bear
4.4
(10)
"Bear is the best I can recommend. It’s free, but the Pro version costs $3/month. You can sync between Apple devices, with 38 themes, countless fonts, and unlimited notes."
"I use Bear pro as a subscription app and it’s fantastic."
"Some options: * Bear"
"I loooove Bear for writing, been using it for about a year. You can try all the features for free too."
"I use the Bear notes app because it has markdown. It’s easy to format and very simple."
"I use bear pro too and find it covering all my needs at a price point that is very comfortable for me."
"I have a Mac and use Bear. It’s basically a text editor that uses Markup."
"MacOS already has Bear for markdown notes, which *is* a native Mac app."
"I use it on my Mac and I love it."
"It's a great looking app but I don't think it will be successful."
#9
UpNote
4.6
(9)
"It's super-intuitive, fast-syncing, and has formatting flexibility far beyond any other note-taking app"
"I use UpNote and don't see any other app that can beat it."
"I like UpNote very much. Also bought the lifetime upgrade for 29$"
"UpNote"
"I've used it for a couple of years now and love it."
"Overall the best one was UpNote. Just don't store anything private in there as it's not end to end encrypted."
"If you don't care about privacy, and need simple and beautiful note, UpNote is the one. Do simple job perfectly"
"If you are willing to pay: UpNote. Which is like Apple Notes on steroids."
"UpNote"
#10
Notion
3.9
(10)
"I like Notion a lot for writing and keeping ideas and chapters organized."
"Notion does what you are asking for pretty well."
"I’d say it’s pretty easy to navigate through, and you have a lot of different choices for the writing style."
"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."
"Then have been using Notion but can’t love it for some reason."
"I currently use Notion"
"As a Med student I really like and am considering the idea of importing my notes into here!"
#11
Paper
4.8
(8)
"Paper has the best writing experience I know of. Both on Mac and iPhone/iPad."
"Some options: * Paper."
"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!"
"I just use the app Paper. It's got folders and whatnot, and that's pretty much all I need."
"Take a look at [Paper](https://papereditor.app/). It is markdown but has several features for unobtrusive writing."
#12
Craft
4.6
(8)
"Another one for Craft. Unlike others the iPhone app is also amazing."
"Definitely look at Craft. Well done app. You just need to get used to working with blocks."
"I’ve been using Craft. One of the best UI’s and with similar feature set to Notion in my opinion much better. Also completely free for education users."
"Craft is a native app because of which it’s super fast and it has a pretty UI."
"Craft is exactly what I need."
"Craft bring out lots of new features and a delight to use"
"Craft docs - excellent copy & paste to all apps, mac/ios apps robust, webversion as well."
"I love Craft. For me, it's replaced Ulysses."
#13
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?"
#14
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."
#15
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"
#16
Typora
4.6
(5)
"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/)"
"Typora is a great cross platform markdown editor that is currently free."
#17
Ellipsus
4.0
(5)
"I had this same issue with scrivener. Ellipsus"
"I use ellipsus! It’s a great google docs alternative imo."
"Ellipsus if you want something cloud-based that lets you collaborate and edit with other people."
"I've heard good things about Ellipsus since it's anti-AI and it has a post to AO3 button."
"I use ellipsus for most of my writing, because I can easily access it on any device since it's a browser-based."
#18
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."
#19
PureWriter
3.8
(4)
"Purewriter"
"Second nod for Purewriter."
"I use PureWriter. It is super easy to write with on Boox and can be downloaded via the playstore."
"I like PureWriter. It's free and kind of basic, but in a good way."
#20
iWriter Pro
5.0
(3)
"Some options: * iWriter Pro."
"Some options: * iWriter Pro"
"Some minimalist options: * iWriter Pro (Apple-exclusive)"
#21
Drafts
4.7
(3)
"Drafts is my go-to. It is excellent in its free version."
"I use Drafts, it’s great."
"Drafts."
#22
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."
#23
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."
#24
OneNote
3.7
(3)
"Onenote"
"I use OneNote second most."
"OneNote isn't exactly made for long writing."
#25
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."
#26
Focused
5.0
(2)
"Some options: * Focused."
"Some minimalist options: * Focused (Apple-exclusive)"
#27
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."
#28
FocusWriter
4.5
(2)
"FocusWriter allows customization of font, background, and colors, making it ideal for minimal distractions."
"I think I've found it."
#29
Simplenote
4.5
(2)
"Some options: * Simplenote"
"Some options: * Simplenote * Bear * Spaces * Paper"
#30
1Writer
4.5
(2)
"Some options: * 1Writer"
"* [1Writer](https://apps.apple.com/app/id680469088)"
#31
Notesnook
4.5
(2)
"I like Notesnook: UI is polished, open-source, and a data privacy first mission - so end to end encrypted. You can self-host on your own machine."
"Check Notesnook"
#32
NotePlan
4.5
(2)
"Noteplan - no comparison possible!!"
"NotePlan is expensive but its users seem to love it."
#33
DabbleWriter
4.0
(2)
"DabbleWriter can do this too, it's subscriptionware."
"Dabblewriter pairs amazingly with Boox devices."
#34
SnipNotes
4.0
(2)
"SnipNotes developer is constantly improving the app"
"I chose SnipNotes because I needed Mac + iPhone + Watch and no one else had it for free or for a one time payment, only subscriptions."
#35
Apple Notes
4.0
(2)
"I use Apple Notes to sketch out ideas, keep a character index etc."
"The latest version has been very reliable for me."
#36
ConniePad
3.5
(2)
"Support rich text and have a great editor ad Evernote. Sync between ios and mac os device via icloud. Offline on both platform."
"Conniepad, notion, upnote"
#37
Apple Pages
3.5
(2)
"I use Apple Pages for actual writing."
"Pages is free I guess"
#38
yWriter
3.5
(2)
"YWriter is excellent for writers."
"It's writing software written by a guy who's a published author for his own needs."
#39
Samsung Notes
5.0
(1)
"I use Samsung Notes."
#40
Wavemaker
5.0
(1)
"You probably want wavemaker https://wavemaker.co.uk - it s PWA and will install on your chromebook."
#41
ChatSee
5.0
(1)
"Highly Recommended: [https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jsxr.chatstories&pcampaignid=web_share]"
#42
Spaces
5.0
(1)
"Some options: * Spaces"
#43
Textilus Pro
5.0
(1)
"Personally I use Textilus Pro because it easily syncs with scrivener over Dropbox."
#44
Editorial
5.0
(1)
"I like Editorial."
#45
Werdsmith
5.0
(1)
"Some options: * Werdsmith"
#46
Fade In Mobile
5.0
(1)
"Some other options you may want to look at: Fade In Mobile."
#47
Final Draft
5.0
(1)
"Some other options you may want to look at: Final draft writer."
#48
WriterDuet
5.0
(1)
"Some other options you may want to look at: Writerduet works in a chrome app."
#49
Emacs
5.0
(1)
"Check out Emacs, open source text editor."
#50
Story Planner for Writers
5.0
(1)
"It's great for organizing writing projects and creating character bios."
#51
Bighugelabs
5.0
(1)
"If you like the whole electronic typewriter aesthetic, I suggest this product."
#52
Samsung
5.0
(1)
"MS OneNote is your best option for handwritten notes, converting them into searchable text."
#53
Goodnotes
5.0
(1)
"Goodnote 6 so far"
#54
WaveMaker
5.0
(1)
"I like WaveMaker Cards because it has a timeline creator, and a system of ‘notecards’ for story elements."
#55
Momentum
5.0
(1)
"Momentum App enhances productivity with beautiful backgrounds and to-do lists."
#56
Noteful
5.0
(1)
"Noteful is an excellent product that exceeded my expectations."
#57
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."
#58
Nimble Writer
5.0
(1)
"I'm partial to Nimble Writer myself."
#59
Dabblewriter
5.0
(1)
"I use Dabblewriter. On computer and on the app on my cellphone."
#60
Just Write
5.0
(1)
"The platform is super simple looking and not distracting, you can arrange your works in folders etc."
#61
Overleaf
5.0
(1)
"If you are familiar with LaTex it is really cool, and also synchronizes."
#62
Sublime
5.0
(1)
"Weirdly enough, programming editors like Sublime and Text Wrangler are awesome for this stuff."
#63
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."
#64
ProWritingAid
5.0
(1)
"ProWritingAid is my favorite and has a free version (limited to 500 words at a time)."
#65
Nebo
5.0
(1)
"Nebo is the app you're looking for!"
#66
NotionDraw
5.0
(1)
"I have used NotionDraw to draw directly into Notion pages."
#67
Writer
5.0
(1)
"Writer is great. Edits as plain text, so you can take your work to/from any other program."
#68
Jotterpad
5.0
(1)
"Works offline for android phones, probably tablets too. Can use cloudsync to dropbox when you get online. Smooth."
#69
Writer Lite
4.0
(1)
"I use writer lite but I don't know if it's in the apple store."
#70
Draftin
4.0
(1)
"[draftin] has a nice minimalist interface."
#71
FSNotes
4.0
(1)
"FSNotes (simple markdown writer/good sync)"
#72
Agenda
4.0
(1)
"Try agenda app."
#73
Pages
4.0
(1)
"* [Pages](https://apps.apple.com/app/id361309726)"
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