iA Writer is celebrated for its radical focus on the writing experience — and it earns that praise. The minimal interface, custom typography, and cross-platform sync are genuinely excellent. Auctore matches that writing focus and adds AI assistance, novel structure, world-building, and publishing tools for when the manuscript grows beyond a single file.
✓ Free plan forever · Works on Android · AI co-writer included
Let's be honest: iA Writer has earned its reputation. Here's what it genuinely gets right — and why so many writers love it.
Nothing but words. iA Writer strips away every distraction, leaving only you and your text. The focus mode, custom fonts, and clean interface are genuinely best-in-class for writers who want to disappear into their work.
Mac, Windows, iOS, and Android. Rare for a writing app of this quality. iA Writer syncs via iCloud and is one of the few premium writing tools that works everywhere.
Your files are plain Markdown — open in any editor, forever. iA Writer never locks you in. Wikilinks let you connect documents without a proprietary database.
$29.99 one-time on desktop (separate purchase per platform). No subscription. For writers who hate recurring fees, this is genuinely appealing — and a fair price for what you get.
Embed other Markdown documents inside any file. Wikilinks connect your notes. For essays, journalism, and short-form writing, this is a genuinely clever system.
iA Writer is a text editor, not a novel writing tool. A 90,000-word manuscript split across dozens of Markdown files — manually linked — is a fragile, exhausting setup for any novelist.
iA Writer is perfect for essays, journalism, and short-form work. But novelists need more — and managing a book in a folder of Markdown files is where things break down.
A novel in iA Writer means dozens of Markdown files — one per chapter — manually linked with Wikilinks that break if you rename anything. Reorganizing a novel is a maintenance nightmare.
iA Writer has basic grammar checking — nothing more. No AI co-writer, no beat suggestions, no character voice consistency, no prose rewrites. You're writing entirely alone.
No character sheets, no lore database, no interactive maps, no relationship webs. For complex fiction, you're maintaining world notes in yet another folder of Markdown files.
iA Writer has no concept of chapters, scenes, or story structure. There's no corkboard, no outline view, no timeline — just files in a folder. Novel structure is entirely manual.
iA Writer exports PDF and DOCX — but not EPUB. No book formatting, no cover designer, no KDP profiles. You still need another tool to publish.
iA Writer is a solo tool. No shared editing, no beta reader portal, no co-author features. If you want another set of eyes on your work, you're emailing files back and forth.
iA Writer writers manage their novels as a folder of Markdown files — one file per chapter, linked manually. It works, but it's fragile. Rename a file and links break. Reorganize and you're manually updating references. Auctore keeps all chapters in one project, always connected, always organized. Your story lives in one place — not scattered across a filesystem.
Every feature, side by side. No marketing spin — just what each app actually does.
| Feature |
Auctore
|
iA Writer |
|---|---|---|
| Writing Experience | ||
| Distraction-free modeClean writing environment | ||
| Dark mode | ||
| Markdown support | ||
| Typewriter / focus mode | ||
| Word count & writing stats | ||
| Novel Structure & Planning | ||
| Chapter managementOrganize chapters inside one project | ||
| Corkboard / scene cards | ||
| Visual plot grid | ||
| Writing goals & streak tracking | ||
| Genre story templates52 pre-built structures | 52 genres | |
| AI Tools | ||
| AI co-writerContext-aware writing assistance | ||
| AI beta reader | ||
| AI review modeTrack-changes suggestions | ||
| Beat extractor & sensory rewrite | ||
| Grammar & style checking | Basic | |
| World-Building | ||
| World bible / codex14 entry types | ||
| Character sheets & profiles | ||
| Interactive maps | ||
| Moodboards & research board | ||
| Publishing & Export | ||
| EPUB export | ||
| PDF export | ||
| DOCX export | ||
| Advanced compile13 trim sizes, KDP profiles | ||
| Cover designer10 genre templates | ||
| Read to Me — 52 studio voicesEN, PT-BR, ES | ||
| Platform & Access | ||
| Mac | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Collaboration | ||
| Pricing | ||
| Free plan | ||
| Paid plan cost | From $12/mo (all-in-one) | $29.99 one-time per platform |
iA Writer is a beautiful writing tool. Auctore is a complete novel studio — with the same distraction-free editor built in.
iA Writer is one of the best writing tools ever built — for essays, notes, articles, and short-form work. But a novel is not a long article. It's 80+ chapters, dozens of characters, interconnected plotlines, and a world that needs to stay consistent. iA Writer wasn't built for any of that.
Auctore's editor is as distraction-free as iA Writer — but it lives inside a complete novel studio. Your chapters are organized, your AI co-writer knows your world, and when you're done writing you format and export without leaving the app.
Your Markdown files are portable — nothing is locked in.
Markdown files open anywhere. No export needed — your writing is already in a universal format.
Sign up free and start a new novel project. The Story Wizard will set up your structure and genre.
Open each Markdown file and paste the content into a new chapter. Your whole manuscript is organized in minutes.
Add character profiles, world-building notes, and plot structure. Your story — finally organized in one place.
Who should use iA Writer: Writers who want radical minimalism, own their files in Markdown, and write shorter works or essays. Also great as a daily journaling or note-taking tool.
Who should use Auctore: Novelists who want the same distraction-free focus — with AI assistance, chapter management, world-building, and publishing built in. One app instead of a folder of files.
Start free — distraction-free editor, AI co-writer, chapter management, and publishing tools. The complete studio iA Writer writers grow into.
Free plan forever · Works on Android · AI co-writer included