About
iA Writer is the plain text editor professional writers reach for when the words matter more than the tool. Focus Mode dims everything except the sentence you are writing, Syntax Highlight colours nouns, verbs and adjectives so you can hear the rhythm of a sentence, and Style Check quietly flags cliches, fillers and redundancies as you type. Authorship marks pasted and AI-generated text, so you always know which words are yours.
Version 8, released in June 2026, brought a refreshed Liquid Glass interface, a command palette and document outlines in Quick Search. Files stay as portable Markdown on your machine, and export to HTML, PDF and Word is built in. It is a one-time purchase per platform: $49.99 on the Mac, with no subscription attached.
Alternatives
- Ulysses
Pick Ulysses if you write on a Mac, iPad and iPhone: one subscription of $39.99 a year covers all three with iCloud sync, and there is a free trial.
- Obsidian
Pick Obsidian if you want a free Markdown editor over plain files you own: the app has no sign-up and no cost, with optional Sync from $4 a month billed yearly.
At a Glance
- Requires
- macOS 10.15 Catalina or later
- Price
- $49.99 one-time for the Mac app, with a 7-day free trial; Windows and iPhone and iPad are priced separately
- Also On
- Windows, iPhone and iPad
- Get It From
- ia.net and the Mac App Store
Curator's Note
“No other editor makes you read your own writing as honestly as this one does.”
Theo, Mac Dept.
