Reviews of Paper: Writing App, Notes

By: Mihhail Lapushkin App

List of user reviews and ratings for Paper: Writing App, Notes

Total ratings

4.70 (Rating count: 1,640)

Receive review notifications

Get notified when new reviews are posted so you can respond quickly.

See reviews on Apple App Store

View and respond to reviews directly on the store page.

Visit

Review summary

Reviewers repeatedly praise Paper for its elegant, distraction-free writing environment, cross-device consistency, and the blend of WYSIWYG editing with access to markdown. The app is writing-focused, with a refined UI, customization, auto-saving, offline use, and solid export options. However, pricing is a frequent gripe: the subscription model is expensive and many features are gated behind it. A subset report occasional save glitches where work can be lost.

Pros

Elegant, distraction-free UI with strong customization to shape your writing workspace.
Consistent experience across Mac, iPad, and iPhone.
Dual-mode editing: WYSIWYG interface with access to the markdown source.
Focused, writing-oriented workflow (not a cluttered note-taking app) that’s simple and effective.
Reliable auto-save/offline writing and solid exporting/sharing options (PDF, printing, iCloud sync).

Cons

Expensive pricing and a subscription model that gates many features behind a paywall.
Occasional data loss or save glitches where work disappears or isn’t saved.
Free tier too limited, making the value feel paywalled for many critical features.

Upgrade to see all 56 reviews

User Reviews

Recent rating average: 3.50

All time rating average: 4.70

Upgrade to see all 56 reviews

13% (7)

Date	Author	Comment
2026-06-26	👁*****	It’s actually a great app although sometimes it can be super annoying with like it trying to have you sign up but other than that it’s really fine Ish I just don’t like the ads
It’s actually a great app although sometimes it can be super annoying with like it trying to have you sign up but other than that it’s really fine Ish I just don’t like the ads
2026-06-17	CO*****	It’s so simple and easy for me to use and honestly great for making poems or stories!!! LOVE IT!!👏
It’s so simple and easy for me to use and honestly great for making poems or stories!!! LOVE IT!!👏
2026-06-13	Ki*****	I literally LOVE this app! I’m the kind of person who really loves to write stories and fanfics for fun just to share with myself and close friends, and this app is clean, clear, and very aesthetic feeling, I love how the little bar that shows you where u r writing (idk what it’s called 😭) does little spins and falls asleep if you leave it alone for long enough. All that said, I really recommend this app for people who enjoy writing, journaling, and planning. It’s simple and I have hardly ever seen any ads from it. Thank you for this amazing app!!! ✨✨✨
I literally LOVE this app! I’m the kind of person who really loves to write stories and fanfics for fun just to share with myself and close friends, and this app is clean, clear, and very aesthetic feeling, I love how the little bar that shows you where u r writing (idk what it’s called 😭) does little spins and falls asleep if you leave it alone for long enough. All that said, I really recommend this app for people who enjoy writing, journaling, and planning. It’s simple and I have hardly ever seen any ads from it. Thank you for this amazing app!!! ✨✨✨
2026-05-25	Oh*****	It’s always starting with opening a document but doesn’t let you make one, no open a new document no create a new. Awful
It’s always starting with opening a document but doesn’t let you make one, no open a new document no create a new. Awful
2026-05-24	Cu*****	It is actually a really good app I can’t complain I feel it could be a little bit clearer of where the the documents are but overall it is very good and please give more professionalism with your response to your review like don’t say you’re insane like you did to that one guy please because you literally said “sir, you’re insane” 🙄. but great app! 😌
It is actually a really good app I can’t complain I feel it could be a little bit clearer of where the the documents are but overall it is very good and please give more professionalism with your response to your review like don’t say you’re insane like you did to that one guy please because you literally said “sir, you’re insane” 🙄. but great app! 😌
2026-05-09	Ca*****	I love it a lot. I’ve written a few stories in it and they look really good. I wanna know if there’s a way to save it onto photos or something like that. I LOVE IT SO FAR!!
I love it a lot. I’ve written a few stories in it and they look really good. I wanna know if there’s a way to save it onto photos or something like that. I LOVE IT SO FAR!!
2026-05-05	pa*****	Honestly, Paper is almost the perfect markdown app (see feature request at the end). 🙂 I love it. Believe me, friends, I have tested all the markdown (and rtf) apps in the app store trying to find the right one. I’m picky, and I want certain features and certain controls for the user interface. There are only two that fit my brief on Mac: Paper and Typora. There is only one that fits it on iPad and iPhone: Paper. I love it so much I actually paid the developer for the Mac version (warning: cost is pricey!), not least because he very kindly does not lock any useful features behind a paywall. In a subscription-based world, this is truly a breath of fresh air. I will happily pay for software that I really plan to use for a while. I regard that as a good investment, and I think that devs deserve to be paid, especially the indie devs. But I hate the subscription model, because I hate the corporate abuse of the subscription model. Thank you, Mihhail, for doing something decent and kind, whilst still trying to earn your living. Things I love: 1. It’s not a note-taking app. Those have their place. I use Obsidian for note-bundling. But for just writing documents, I want a simple document-based interface that lets me save anywhere and access from anywhere. 2. You can work in WYSIWYG mode, but still get at the markdown code. 3. It’s aesthetically pleasing, and has a smooth workflow, and it’s designed to be so: well-thought-out, beautifully presented. 4. It lets you tweak your settings till you have the workspace that you want, not the workspace that the dev thinks you ought to want. Then it gets out of your way. Coming from a world where word processors (and even .md editors) constantly think they know what you want better than you do (looking at you, Microsoft!), Paper lets me just get back to me and my words. 5. The dev likes to put little touches of finesse in his visual presentation and app settings. On his website, he says he’s not sure if anyone really notices. I certainly do. (The “Nitpicking” menu says all you need to know!) 6. Works the same across Mac, iPad, and iPhone. 7. Future proof. I’ve been avoiding .doc and .docx for close to 30 years. But I’m currently working in an MS-centric environment and Pages was becoming a faff. I needed something that would just work, provide legible, convertible documents that weren’t dependent on a particular software package. RTF is a good option, but old and creaky. Markdown mostly fits the bill. If this dev quits developing, my stuff is safe. Things I don’t love: 1. Honestly, there’s not much I have to say here. And that says something about the app. I can usually find any number of little niggles that irritate me. I haven’t found any here. 2. However — and here’s the feature request! — please, please, please, Mihhail, would you consider implementing colour text rendering in Preview mode? This is a feature that Typora and ia Writer both do, and for my purposes (liturgy writing with a lot of red rubrics) it makes a big difference seeing coloured text instead of <span style="color:#9f201c">make this text red.</span>. I’ve already given this 5 stars, but add that feature, and this will truly be the perfect markdown app. 😀
Honestly, Paper is almost the perfect markdown app (see feature request at the end). 🙂 I love it. Believe me, friends, I have tested all the markdown (and rtf) apps in the app store trying to find the right one. I’m picky, and I want certain features and certain controls for the user interface. There are only two that fit my brief on Mac: Paper and Typora. There is only one that fits it on iPad and iPhone: Paper. I love it so much I actually paid the developer for the Mac version (warning: cost is pricey!), not least because he very kindly does not lock any useful features behind a paywall. In a subscription-based world, this is truly a breath of fresh air. I will happily pay for software that I really plan to use for a while. I regard that as a good investment, and I think that devs deserve to be paid, especially the indie devs. But I hate the subscription model, because I hate the corporate abuse of the subscription model. Thank you, Mihhail, for doing something decent and kind, whilst still trying to earn your living. Things I love: 1. It’s not a note-taking app. Those have their place. I use Obsidian for note-bundling. But for just writing documents, I want a simple document-based interface that lets me save anywhere and access from anywhere. 2. You can work in WYSIWYG mode, but still get at the markdown code. 3. It’s aesthetically pleasing, and has a smooth workflow, and it’s designed to be so: well-thought-out, beautifully presented. 4. It lets you tweak your settings till you have the workspace that you want, not the workspace that the dev thinks you ought to want. Then it gets out of your way. Coming from a world where word processors (and even .md editors) constantly think they know what you want better than you do (looking at you, Microsoft!), Paper lets me just get back to me and my words. 5. The dev likes to put little touches of finesse in his visual presentation and app settings. On his website, he says he’s not sure if anyone really notices. I certainly do. (The “Nitpicking” menu says all you need to know!) 6. Works the same across Mac, iPad, and iPhone. 7. Future proof. I’ve been avoiding .doc and .docx for close to 30 years. But I’m currently working in an MS-centric environment and Pages was becoming a faff. I needed something that would just work, provide legible, convertible documents that weren’t dependent on a particular software package. RTF is a good option, but old and creaky. Markdown mostly fits the bill. If this dev quits developing, my stuff is safe. Things I don’t love: 1. Honestly, there’s not much I have to say here. And that says something about the app. I can usually find any number of little niggles that irritate me. I haven’t found any here. 2. However — and here’s the feature request! — please, please, please, Mihhail, would you consider implementing colour text rendering in Preview mode? This is a feature that Typora and ia Writer both do, and for my purposes (liturgy writing with a lot of red rubrics) it makes a big difference seeing coloured text instead of <span style="color:#9f201c">make this text red.</span>. I’ve already given this 5 stars, but add that feature, and this will truly be the perfect markdown app. 😀
2026-04-29	Ch*****	This is actually an elegant app. The two stars are for being overpriced. I didn't realize until after I purchased a one year subscription for my iPad that I have to purchase another subscription to use it on my Macbook. That would be a total of $198 per year! There are far more capable writing apps that work across all my devices at less than half the price. Way too expensive.
This is actually an elegant app. The two stars are for being overpriced. I didn't realize until after I purchased a one year subscription for my iPad that I have to purchase another subscription to use it on my Macbook. That would be a total of $198 per year! There are far more capable writing apps that work across all my devices at less than half the price. Way too expensive.
2026-04-09	Ma*****	[x]
[x]
2026-03-14	go*****	Hi everyone, if you care about who exactly you are supporting behind businesses, please do not support this app from an owner who lacks empathy and a moral compass. Who thinks it’s okay to say “I can’t make it more clearer than that” to not only a client but a person. I downloaded this app, looking for a better alternative to pages on iPhone. After downloading the app, some of files were already on the app. It did not ask me for any permissions, I did not choose the files myself, the files were just already there right after downloading. If you have an iPhone just stick with pages because this was stress for no reason. Now I have to wonder about what data this app has stored from my iPhone without my permission. Instead of the owner explaining gently how the files got there without me selecting them, the owner chose to be arrogant, callous, condescending, and…. wicked.
Hi everyone, if you care about who exactly you are supporting behind businesses, please do not support this app from an owner who lacks empathy and a moral compass. Who thinks it’s okay to say “I can’t make it more clearer than that” to not only a client but a person. I downloaded this app, looking for a better alternative to pages on iPhone. After downloading the app, some of files were already on the app. It did not ask me for any permissions, I did not choose the files myself, the files were just already there right after downloading. If you have an iPhone just stick with pages because this was stress for no reason. Now I have to wonder about what data this app has stored from my iPhone without my permission. Instead of the owner explaining gently how the files got there without me selecting them, the owner chose to be arrogant, callous, condescending, and…. wicked.