The Best iA Writer AlternativesTop Note-taking Tools & Text Editors like iA Writer

iA Writer is described as 'The key to good writing is not that magical glass of Bordeaux, the right kind of tobacco or that groovy background music. The key is focus. What you need to write well is a spartan setting that allows you to fully concentrate on your text and nothing but your text' and is a popular Note-taking tool in the news & books category. There are more than 100 alternatives to iA Writer for a variety of platforms, including Mac, Windows, Linux, Web-based and iPhone apps. The best iA Writer alternative is Joplin, which is both free and Open Source. Other great apps like iA Writer are Typora, Zettlr, Simplenote and ghostwriter.

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Alternatives list

  1. Joplin icon

    Joplin

     865 likes
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    Open source app for managing notes and to-dos with Markdown support. Syncs seamlessly across devices using services like Dropbox and OneDrive. Offers end-to-end encrypted synchronicity, offline access, rich import/export options, and a Web Clipper for browsers.

    105 Joplin alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium (Subscription)
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    • Self-Hosted
    • AppImageHub
    • Snapcraft
    • Google Chrome
    • Flathub
    • PortableApps.com
    • F-Droid
    • Cloudron
    • Homebrew
    • Chocolatey
    • Termux
    • Mozilla Firefox
    Desktop and mobile apps
     
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    1
    Comments about Joplin as an Alternative to iA Writer
    diver_down
    Positive
    0

    FOSS and (most importantly!) works on ALL platforms. Ubuntu, Manjaro, iOS, Android, Windows, MacOS... it will sync effortless between them. Oh, and it's also E2EE which is mandatory for good security practices as far as I'm concerned. Thanks L.C. <3

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    iA Writer Icon
    Joplin icon

    • Most users think Joplin is a great iA Writer alternative.

    • Joplin is the most popular Web-based, Windows, Android & Mac alternative to iA Writer.

    • Joplin is the most popular Open Source & free alternative to iA Writer.

    • Joplin is Freemium and Open SourceiA Writer is Paid and Proprietary
    • Joplin is MinimalisticiA Writer is not according to our users
  2. Typora icon

    Typora

     325 likes
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    A minimalist Markdown editor offering cross-platform synchronization, live preview, and seamless export/import in various formats like PDF, DOCX, and LaTeX. Features include distraction-free Focus and Typewriter modes, file management with tree and articles panels, and content organization through an outline panel.

    174 Typora alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Pay once
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Electron
    Typora screenshot 1
     
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    6
    56
    Comments about Typora as an Alternative to iA Writer
    Top Positive Comment
    Guest
    2

    Very nice interface, themes, markdown support is awesome. Exactly what I was looking for. I thought it was impossible to find a quality software of this type on Windows.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Alec Kinnear
    Positive
    0

    Typora is great if you like to write in preview mode. iAWriter is better if you prefer to see Markdown in the edit window and have access to a preview window (old WordPerfect paradigm). Both are excellent apps. Typora is great for Markdown tables.

    arximughal
    Positive
    -5

    It's free and opensource and packed with a lot of useful features. I just love writing in Typora.

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    3 of 6 comments
    iA Writer Icon
    Typora icon

    • Almost everyone thinks Typora is a great iA Writer alternative.

    • Typora is the most popular commercial alternative to iA Writer.

    • Typora is Paid and ProprietaryiA Writer is also Paid and Proprietary
    • Typora is Minimalistic and CustomizableiA Writer is not according to our users
  4. Zettlr icon

    Zettlr

     245 likes
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    Unified writing platform offering note-taking, easy citations with Zotero integration, LaTeX/Word templates, snippets, themes, dark modes, code highlighting, multi-language support, and knowledge management with Zettelkasten for seamless writing from notes to books.

    175 Zettlr alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Flathub
    Zettlr Main Window (dark mode)
     
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    1
    Comments about Zettlr as an Alternative to iA Writer
    Guest
    Negative
    1

    iA Writer is for writing longer texts. Zettlr is for note taking.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    iA Writer Icon
    Zettlr icon
    • Zettlr is Free and Open SourceiA Writer is Paid and Proprietary
  5. Ad
    Screenshot
    Typora icon
    Typora

    A minimalist Markdown editor offering cross-platform synchronization, live preview, and seamless export/import in various formats like PDF, DOCX, and LaTeX. Features include distraction-free Focus and Typewriter modes, file manag...

    https://typora.io
    Learn More
  6. Simplenote icon

    Simplenote

     604 likes
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    Made by the company behind WordPress, Simplenote enables users to take notes, lists, and ideas. These notes are stored on the cloud and are accessible across multiple devices.

    111 Simplenote alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    Simplenote screenshot 1
     
  7. ghostwriter icon

    ghostwriter

     109 likes
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    ghostwriter is a feature-rich text editor using Markdown syntax which makes it suitable for note-taking, document redaction, simple HTML website creation and much more.

    136 ghostwriter alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Snapcraft
    • Flathub
    • Haiku
    ghostwriter screenshot 1
     
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    1
    8
    Comments about ghostwriter as an Alternative to iA Writer
    NA0341
    Positive
    0

    Fast, lean, open source, many useful features, well integrated with different Markdown parsers - Hemmingway mode. Although for anything beyond just writing I'd suggest something more advanced - like Obsidian.

    iA Writer Icon
    ghostwriter icon

    • Almost everyone thinks ghostwriter is a great iA Writer alternative.

    • ghostwriter is Free and Open SourceiA Writer is Paid and Proprietary
  8. QOwnNotes icon

    QOwnNotes

     96 likes
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    Plain text notepad with markdown support and todo list manager for Linux, Mac OS X and Windows, that works together with the notes application of ownCloud.

    261 QOwnNotes alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Flathub
    • PortableApps.com
    • Qt
    QOwnNotes main screen
     
  10. Mark Text icon

    Mark Text

     120 likes
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    Open-source Markdown editor on Mac, Windows, and Linux offering real-time preview, clean interface, and various themes. Supports math expressions, exports HTML/PDF, allows image pasting, and more.

    103 Mark Text alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    GitHub Flavored Markdown
     
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    1
    Comments about Mark Text as an Alternative to iA Writer
    Guest
    Positive
    1

    Interface is great, and you can edit the font from the preferences.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    iA Writer Icon
    Mark Text icon
    • Mark Text is Free and Open SourceiA Writer is Paid and Proprietary
  11. FocusWriter icon

    FocusWriter

     207 likes
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    Simple but configurable and themeable, distraction-free text editor for writers. Open-source and available across desktop platforms.

    98 FocusWriter alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    • PortableApps.com
    FocusWriter screenshot 1
     
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    18
  12. Dendron icon

    Dendron

     71 likes
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    Dendron is an open-source, local-first, markdown-based, note-taking tool built on top of VSCode. It supports all the usual features you would expect like tagging, backlinks, a graph view, split panes, and so forth.

    202 Dendron alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Visual Studio Code
    Dendron screenshot 1
     
  13. Foam icon

    Foam

     52 likes
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    Foam is a personal knowledge management and sharing system inspired by Roam Research, built on Visual Studio Code and GitHub.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Self-Hosted
    • Visual Studio Code
    Foam screenshot 1
     
  14. Marknote icon

    Marknote

     21 likes
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    Marknote lets you create rich text notes and easily organise them into notebooks. You can personalise your notebooks by choosing an icon and accent color for each one, making it easy to distinguish between them and keep your notes at your fingertips.

    97 Marknote alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Flathub
    Marknote screenshot 1
     
12 of 117 iA Writer alternatives