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Ulysses Review: Price, Features and Score

Ulysses at a glance: $39.99 a year, on Mac and iOS. Below are its plans, what its own site says it does for an author, its score and the products to compare it with. We did not test it ourselves; the data was checked on October 7, 2026.

Prices and data checked October 7, 2026 · Author Score computed by a published formula, not paid for

Ulysses on the BookBird Author Score

Author Score · book writing software · #5 of 16 ·

Best for: Apple-only writers who like plain-text markup

BookBird Author Score7.6/10 #5 of 16 book writing software. Worked out from Ulysses’s own pages, its price and US searches for its name, not typed in. Author jobs50 pts43.8/50Each of the 8 author jobs on the book writing software list is worth an equal share of 50 points, and counts only when Ulysses’s own pages confirm it. 7 of 8 confirmed = 43.8 points. A job the vendor does not mention earns nothing.Cost25 pts21.5/25Ulysses costs $39.99 a year on its cheapest plan. Free earns 25 points; the dearest book writing software product with a US price, Dabble at $228 a year, keeps 5; prices in between fall in a straight line. $39.99 = 21.5 points.Adoption25 pts10.6/25Searches, 20 points: 1,000 a month for “ulysses app”, against Google Docs, the most searched in this category (20,400,000), on a log scale = 8.2. Trend, 5 points: down 1% (last three months against the first three of the year) = 2.4; a fall of half or more earns 0, no change 2.5, a rise of half or more 5. 75.9 of 100 points= 7.6 out of 10 The full method, with every product’s points →

Author jobs, from Ulysses’s own pages

  • Yes: Chapters and scenes you can reorder
  • Yes: Word-count goals
  • Yes: Notes beside the manuscript
  • Yes: Version history or snapshots
  • Not stated: Works offline (not stated)
  • Yes: Exports to Word (DOCX)
  • Yes: Exports a book file (EPUB or print PDF)
  • Yes: Syncs across devices

Ulysses pricing

Several ways to pay. Free trial: 7 days. The plans as Ulysses’s own site listed them on October 7, 2026, in US dollars:

  • Ulysses: $5.99 a month
  • Ulysses: $39.99 a year
  • Perpetual license: price in USD not confirmed

Prices apply to the U.S.; sold through the App Store. Monthly and yearly subscriptions include a 7-day trial; the perpetual license has none. Student pricing and Setapp also available.

What Ulysses offers

From Ulysses’s own pages, checked on October 7, 2026:

  • Markup-based, distraction-free editor
  • Long texts split into sheets that can be reorganised
  • Notes, annotations and comments attached to sheets
  • Grammar and style check in 20+ languages
  • Export to PDF, DOCX, ePub, HTML and text with live preview
  • Writing goals and deadlines
  • Automatic local backups; individual sheets can be restored
  • iCloud sync across Mac, iPad and iPhone; publishing to WordPress, Ghost, Medium, Micro.blog

Runs on: Mac and iOS. Exports: TXT, HTML, EPUB, PDF and DOCX. Launched: 2003.

Who Ulysses suits, and what its pages do not say

Best for: Apple-only writers who like plain-text markup.

Not confirmed on Ulysses’s pages when we checked: works offline. That is what the vendor states, not a test; a feature can exist without being described, and the score only credits what is.

About 1,000 people a month search Google in the US for “ulysses app”, down 1% over the past year (Google Ads data via DataForSEO).

Ulysses alternatives

SoftwareScorePrice fromBest for
Novlr8.7Free plan; paid from $8 a month (billed yearly)Writers wanting a free web app with no built-in AI
Google Docs8.3FreeAuthors sharing drafts with editors at no cost
LivingWriter7.8Free plan; paid from $179 a yearPlotters writing on web, desktop and mobile
Scrivener7.7$59.99 one-timeMac or Windows authors who want a one-time licence
Storyist7.5$19 one-timeApple users who want a one-time purchase with ebook export

Compare: All book writing software · All software for authors

Ulysses questions

How much does Ulysses cost?

$39.99 a year. Ulysses lists 3 plans; the full list is under Pricing above.

What does Ulysses run on?

Mac and iOS, according to its own site.

Is there a free trial of Ulysses?

Yes, 7 days.

What file formats can Ulysses export?

TXT, HTML, EPUB, PDF and DOCX, according to its own site.

How the score is computed: the formula, step by step. Prices and features were read from Ulysses’s own site on October 7, 2026; nobody pays to be listed.