iA Writer vs Typora
Both are bought outright, both sit in writing, and both are bought by people leaving Ulysses, Bear Pro. Here is what actually differs — including what each price does not buy.
The short answer
- Typora costs $14.99 against $49.99 — 70% less.
Side by side
 iA Writer$49.99This version |  Typora$14.99This version | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | markdown editor sold once per platform, no subscription offered | live-preview markdown editing for $14.99, three activations |
| Price | $49.99 | $14.99 |
| Licence | Own this version forever | Own this version forever |
| What you get | One payment buys this major version outright. The next major version is a separate purchase, if you want it. | One payment buys this major version outright. The next major version is a separate purchase, if you want it. |
| The catch | Each platform is a separate purchase, and major versions may cost extra | A major version jump like 1.x to 2.x can require paying again |
| Macs per licence | not established | 3 |
| Account required | no | no |
| Works offline | yes | yes |
| Apple Silicon | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| On Setapp | No | No |
| Minimum macOS | macOS 10.15 | not established |
| App Store rating | not established | not established |
| Last updated | not established | not established |
| Price checked | 2026-09-22 | 2026-09-22 |
Apple’s public API reports a rating for only a small minority of Mac apps, and returns zero for most of the rest even when the store page plainly shows reviews. A blank here means we could not read a number, never that an app is unrated or disliked.
In their own right
iA Writer
A plain-text markdown editor built around getting words down: one typeface, a focus mode that dims everything but the current sentence, and highlighting that flags adverbs, filler and weak nouns.
Typora
A markdown editor that renders formatting in place as you type, with no split preview pane. One $14.99 licence key covers three device activations across macOS, Windows and Linux.