10 Best Mac Apps for Writing I have Used

We curated a list of the best Mac apps for writing. Read on to find out the detailed review below!

I spend a lot of time writing, be it articles for my website, or my personal works, it is something I love doing. Writing apps are some of the most important tools for any writer.

I have struggled with many poor writing apps which made writing feel more of a chore and not something enjoyable. This led to me checking out many writing apps on my MacBook and I was pleasantly surprised. Check out our Best Mac Apps for Writing.

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I am happy to tell you that there are many amazing writing apps that can make writing an absolute blast. These apps are some of my favorite writing apps. They are loaded with features, that take some load off you.

They have beautiful themes and a clean User Interface (UI), that makes writing fun and engaging. And all these apps come with a distraction-free mode to keep you writing for hours at a stretch. Read on to discover some of the Best Mac Apps for Writing.

After having reviewed all the best Mac Apps for Writing based on UI/UX, price, features, function, and much more; my team and I zeroed in on 10 that really stood out. These 10 were further put through a series of stress tests to determine the best. We found out that;

Top MAC Apps For Writing

Scrivener is the best Mac app for writing. It also offers pre-written templates for poetry, short stories, blogs, and more. Most importantly, it offers the user amazing features such as drag and drop, to organize parts/sections of writing. Additionally, it also a 30-day free trial to check it out

Best Mac Apps for Writing	Best for
Apple Pages	Word document creation
Bear	Note taking
Scrinever	Scripts and Books
Ulysses	Novel writing
Storyist	Novel writing
Write! App	Documents
iA Writer	Professional documents
OmniOutliner	Script Writing
Byword	Short Form Writing
Mellel	Writing Complicated Documents

Apple Pages

Apple’s own Word processing app is Pages. It is a Microsoft Word alternative made by Apple for Apple devices. This makes it the perfect companion for writers on Mac like me. 

The app is simple and intuitive to use, allowing me to focus on what I write. Pages can be used to create beautiful documents thanks to a strong feature set. 

The app works across all Apple devices and syncs all your work, so you can pick from where you left no matter which device you’re on.

My favorite feature of Pages is that I can use the Apple Pencil to write, draw and annotate documents. This is an advantage over the other Writing apps on this list. Overall, Pages is a fleshed-out Writing app that writers would love to work with. 

Pros 

1. Loads of features. 
2. Simple, elegant interface. 
3. Free to download and use. 
4. Excellent support for different formats. 

Cons 

1. There is no collaboration feature so hard to get opinions from others. 

Bear 

Bear is another elegant writing app for Macs, that combines both form and function allowing users to create the best material.

The Bear app is great for writing, taking notes, and creating documents. The app features a Markup editor and support for inline images.

One of Bear’s strengths is its ability to export to popular formats like HTML, Docx, PDF, MD, and more. You can add takes, footnotes, and more to spruce up your documents.

The app works great for note-taking as well as long documents. It’s a true all-in-one writing app for beginners and professionals. You can use it on iPhones, iPad, and Macs.

Best is easily one of the best writing apps on Mac. You can get it for just $14.99 dollars a year. If you are a professional, this should be a worthy investment.

Pros 

1. Feature rich. 
2. Intuitive interface. 
3. Good value for money. 
4. Good support for different formats. 
5. Excellent for note-taking and documents

Cons 

1. There is no collaboration feature so hard to get opinions from others. 

Scrivener

Scrivener is one of the most feature-rich and well-rounded writing apps for Mac. Scrivener will have you covered to work on anything from a blog to research papers to novels. Simple but intuitive UI combined with some of the most useful features makes it one of the best writing apps for Mac. With a one-time purchase of 49.99$ for Mac, it offers tremendous value for your money. It’s one of the Best Mac Apps for Writing!

• A drag and drop tool to organize parts/sections of writings within a bigger project like a novel or screenplay. 

• It also offers prewritten templates for poetry, short stories, blogs and more. This makes it easier to start working on a topic. There is a full-screen mode for distraction-free writing. 

• You can export to virtually any format like Word, ODT, PDF, txt, RTF, EPUB and more.  If you want to work across multiple platforms, Scrivener supports, Mac, Windows and iOS too. It also has a 30-day free trial to check it out. 

Pros 

1. Loads of features. 
2. Very good user interface. 
3. Good value for money. 
4. Excellent support for different formats. 
5. Students and teachers can get a price discount. 

Cons 

1. There is no collaboration feature so hard to get opinions from others. 

Check out the latest MacBook on Amazon!

Ulysses

This Apple exclusive writing app is also one of the best writing apps ever for your Mac. It only works on Mac and iOS devices, which makes it a great option in you are already in the Apple ecosystem. It supports Apple’s iCloud, has tons of features and is guaranteed to provide you with a great writing experience. It only has a subscription model, which some may like and some may not, but regardless, of the features it offers, it is well priced at 4.99$/month or 39.99$/year.   

• Ulysses comes with an excellent single library that houses all of your documents for an efficient workflow process.  It features a version history option, so you can jump between different versions of your writings. It’s one of the Best Mac Apps for Writing!

• It also has a distraction-free mode that will help your work better without distractions.  Great support for different export formats, you can export it to almost any format, including Rich Text, PDF, HTML, Docx, EPUB and more. You can also directly publish to WordPress or Medium. 

• Cloud support to iCloud or Dropbox can also help you with collaboration with others. Paid subscription model with discounts on yearly packages. Discounts for students and teachers too. 

Pros 

1. Best customer service of all the apps in this list.
2. Exclusive and well implemented into Apple ecosystem. 
3. One of the best export format support.
4. Clean and functional user interface. 
5. 14-day free trial allows you to check the app.
6. Hefty discounts for students and teachers. 
7. Good cloud connectivity with support for iCloud and Dropbox. 

Cons 

1. No pre-made templates (but you can create your own). 
2. The subscription model can end charging more in the long run. 

Storyist

Storyist is probably the closest alternative to Scrivener, you can replace scrivener with Storyist and you will be able to find all the features on here too. Right from the UI to most features, they are so similar to Scrivener.

It is not a bad thing at all that Storyist is similar to Scrivener. Storyist feels a little cleaner and more colorful which makes using it a joy too. At a one-time fee of 48.50$, there’s very little to complain about and a lot to love about Storyist. It’s one of the Best Mac Apps for Writing!

• Extra tools like the Goal tracker and the Outliner make writing even more fun and challenging experience. Looks clean, minimalistic and simple, with some very cool themes. 

• Distraction-free writing experience available which will aid you in writing. Special story development tools to add visual cues for your novel.  Stats tracking lets you work and maintain your project in a better way. 

Pros 

1. Beautiful writing app with clean UI.
2. Easy to keep track of projects. 
3. Good support for export formats. 
4. Outliner tool helps in creating a plot, characters, objectives easily. 
5. Very good for storytelling. 
6. Available for both Mac and iOS 

Cons 

1. Not the best app for blogging/article writing. 
2. No collaboration option. 

Write! App

Write! App is another beautiful and clean writing app for Macs. It features two great distraction-free writing options to help you work better. It is like a lite version of Scrivener. Coming in at just under 25 dollars, makes it a great deal. It has a great set of features for its price and is one of the best writing apps you can find for Macs. 

• Two distraction-free writing options, you can use the Full-Screen mode or Focus Mode. It has a Full-Screen mode blocks out everything except your work and interface. It also has a Focus Mode that goes one step further by only giving you access to the sentence and paragraph you are working on. 

• Cloud sync from Write! App allows you to access your files from any device which is a great feature. This app has multi-language support. Up to 35 languages.  

• Easy and convenient to take notes quickly. Very good collaboration feature that will help you get pointers from others.  

Pros 

1. Relatively cheap and so offers good value. 
2. Beautiful and a pleasant user interface. 
3. Two very good distraction free writing modes. 
4. 7-day money-back guarantee. 
5. Collaboration feature works well is very useful. 
6. Spell checking for up to 35 languages. 
7. Cloud sync and publishable URL. 

Cons 

1. Export options are not as robust as the best writing apps for Mac. 
2. No version history, it only saves the latest version of your write up. 
3. No free trial and cloud version costs extra, which is a bummer.  
4. Only desktop options available, so you can’t work on iOS devices.  

Check out the latest MacBook on Amazon!

iA Writer

iA Writer is a simple but effective writing tool for your Mac. It is easy to use and it is a writer first app, doesn’t have all the bells and whistles of most other apps on this list. Coming in at 29.95$ for the Mac version it is one of the better value writing apps for Mac.  

• A clean and minimalistic interface for just writing, this limits distractions. It supports other platforms including iOS, Android and Windows for a better range of working capabilities. 

• Features a Focus Mode to help you write more effectively as it fades out everything. It features templates to give you a jump start. 

• It is integrated with iCloud and Dropbox for seamless cloud connection. You can also publish to WordPress, Medium or as an HTML page. 

Pros 

1. Clean interface. 
2. Focus mode. 
3. 30-day trial and relatively cheap. 
4. Cloud sync support. 
5. Direct publishing support. 
6. Compatible with different devices and operating systems.  

Cons 

1. Only two export option, PDF and Docx. 
2. Poor customer service experience. 
3. Windows version is cheaper than Mac version which makes it’s a slightly worse deal.  

OmniOutliner

OmniOutliner is a paid tool for Mac and iOS that lets you create events or take notes and can be used to arrange the same points until it becomes a complete working project. Ideal for bloggers, freelance writers or video creators, this tool helps building scripts a piece of cake.

Files can be exported in CSV, Plaintext, HTML, Word, OPML or PowerPoint, so whatever you create using OmniOutliner can be used on various other platforms as well.

One good thing about OmniOutliner is that it offers a distraction-free mode which basically restricts notifications and pop-ups from appearing on your window while the app is open. You can also choose to have your team work on the same document and changes will sync in real-time

There’s also a free 14-day trial period that you can take advantage of and use the app before actually purchasing it.

Pros 

• Loads of unique features to choose from
• Makes script writing and planning easier
• Really intuitive interface and fluid workflow

Cons 

• Expensive to own
• Available only for Mac and iPad users

Byword

Now here’s a simple but effective markdown app for focused writing that’s available to Mac users. Byword uses a simple interface that starts with a blank document and all you’ll have to do is simply start writing.

There’s not much going on with the app and because it features a minimal design, it has become one of the most popular apps for writing. Documents written in the Byword app on Macs will sync between the iPhone or iPad using iCloud.

Files can be exported in either PDF or HTMl and there’s also a built-in option available that lets you post what you’ve written directly onto platforms such as WordPress, Tumblr, Medium and Evernote.

Pros 

• Offers distraction free writing with support for markdown language
• Inexpensive and the subscription is a one time cost
• Can publish content directly to popular blogging websites

Cons 

• Ideal for short form writing
• Lacks additional features and tools
• Does not have writing templates
• Troubleshooting the app requires knowledge of the macOS terminal

Mellel

Mellel is a reliable word processor that is designed to handle long and complicated documents, manuscripts and more. 

It comes with a set of proprietary tools that let you easily write or modify any document and there’s even an outline section that can be used to navigate through an entire document with ease.

You will be able to write everything from a simple paragraph to a full-fledged document and there’s no limit to the number of words that can be written. 

The app supports functions such as special characters, tables, images, text boxes, annotations, adding comments and you can also change the theme or style of your document while you’re in the middle of writing.

Pros 

• The app has an advanced section
• Lets users change the language of their documents
• Can collaborate with other writers or a team

Cons 

• Not ideal for everyday use and not as fluid as Apple Pages

Honorable Mentions

These are some good writing apps that are worth checking out if you are interested in more or want more variety: 

• Typora 
• ProWritingAid

Final Thoughts

If you are a budding writer or a professional writer, no matter who you are, you will need a good writing app for the best writing experience. You will need the best writing app to get your thoughts out into the world.

The writing apps in this list are some of the bests you will find for your Mac. You won’t be disappointed with any, but you can choose them based on the features you need for writing. These are all excellent for their price and are feature-rich to keep you engaged in writing.  

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