Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Write.as VS FocusWriter

Compare Write.as VS FocusWriter and see what are their differences

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Write.as logo Write.as

Publish a thought in seconds

FocusWriter logo FocusWriter

FocusWriter is a fullscreen, distraction-free word processor designed to immerse you as much as...
  • Write.as Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-01-19
  • FocusWriter Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-10-18

Write.as features and specs

  • Simplicity
    Write.as provides a minimalist and distraction-free writing experience, focusing solely on the content without the usual clutter of other blogging platforms.
  • Anonymity
    Users can post content anonymously, which is ideal for those who want to share thoughts without revealing their identity.
  • Privacy
    The platform emphasizes privacy, with no tracking, ads, or third-party cookies, giving users peace of mind.
  • Markdown Support
    Write.as uses Markdown for formatting, making it easy for users familiar with Markdown to format their posts quickly.
  • Speed
    The platform is lightweight and fast, ensuring a quick and seamless writing and reading experience.

Possible disadvantages of Write.as

  • Limited Features
    Due to its minimalist approach, it lacks many features found in other blogging platforms, such as custom themes, plugins, or advanced SEO tools.
  • Subscription Cost
    While Write.as offers a free version, some of the more desirable features, like custom domains and multiple blogs, require a paid subscription.
  • Customization
    Users have limited options for customizing the appearance of their blogs, which might be a drawback for those who want a highly personalized site.
  • Limited Community Interaction
    Unlike some other blogging platforms, Write.as does not have features like comments or community engagement tools out of the box.
  • Learning Curve with Markdown
    Users unfamiliar with Markdown may find it challenging to format their posts initially, requiring a learning curve.

FocusWriter features and specs

  • Distraction-Free Interface
    FocusWriter offers a clean, full-screen interface that helps minimize distractions, allowing writers to concentrate solely on their writing.
  • Customizable Themes
    The software provides multiple themes and customization options, enabling users to tailor their writing environment to their preferences.
  • Goal Setting
    FocusWriter includes goal tracking features such as daily word counts and session targets, which can help writers stay motivated and measure their productivity.
  • Cross-Platform Support
    FocusWriter is available on multiple platforms including Windows, macOS, and Linux, making it accessible to a wide range of users.
  • Minimal Resource Usage
    The application is lightweight and consumes minimal system resources, ensuring smooth performance even on older machines.
  • Auto-Save and Recovery
    FocusWriter offers auto-save and session recovery features, which protect users from losing work due to accidental closures or system crashes.
  • Free and Open-Source
    The software is free to use and open-source, fostering community contributions and allowing users to modify the software if they have the technical skills.

Possible disadvantages of FocusWriter

  • Limited Advanced Features
    FocusWriter lacks some advanced features found in other writing software, such as advanced grammar checking and extensive formatting options.
  • Basic Export Options
    The application offers limited export options primarily to plain text and Rich Text Format (RTF), which may not be suitable for all users.
  • Limited Integration
    FocusWriter does not offer extensive integration with other productivity tools and services, which could be a drawback for users who require seamless workflow management.
  • Learning Curve
    New users might face a learning curve due to the minimalistic interface and lack of in-app tutorials or guides.

Analysis of Write.as

Overall verdict

  • Overall, Write.as is a good choice for users who value simplicity and privacy in a blogging platform. It may not be suitable for those looking for advanced features, extensive customization, or robust multimedia integration, but it excels in delivering a straightforward and user-friendly writing experience.

Why this product is good

  • Write.as is a minimalist blogging platform designed to provide a distraction-free writing experience. It focuses on simplicity, privacy, and ease of use, making it appealing for users who want to write and publish content without dealing with complex features or ads. The platform supports Markdown, enables anonymous posting, and offers a clean, unobtrusive design.

Recommended for

  • Writers seeking a minimalist and distraction-free environment
  • Privacy-conscious individuals who want to blog anonymously
  • Users who prefer a simple and clean interface
  • Bloggers interested in focusing solely on content creation

Analysis of FocusWriter

Overall verdict

  • FocusWriter is generally considered a good choice for writers who prioritize a clean and focused writing workspace. Its simplicity and customization options make it suitable for those who want a straightforward tool without the distractions of more complex writing software.

Why this product is good

  • FocusWriter is a popular choice for writers who seek a distraction-free writing environment. It offers a minimalist interface that helps users concentrate on writing by hiding toolbars and menus until they are needed. It is also highly customizable, allowing users to change themes, fonts, and background images to suit their preferences. Moreover, FocusWriter includes features such as daily goals, timers, and basic statistics, which can help motivate and track writing progress.

Recommended for

    FocusWriter is particularly recommended for writers, authors, bloggers, and anyone who needs a distraction-free environment to focus on their writing tasks. It is ideal for users who prefer a lightweight, simple application and do not require advanced formatting or publishing features.

Write.as videos

Write.as & Why I Use elementary OS

FocusWriter videos

Focuswriter Review

More videos:

  • Review - FocusWriter - App Reviews
  • Review - Writing Software - FocusWriter

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Write.as and FocusWriter)
Blogging
100 100%
0% 0
Text Editors
0 0%
100% 100
CMS
100 100%
0% 0
Markdown Editor
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Write.as and FocusWriter

Write.as Reviews

25+ Medium Alternative Platforms for Publishing Articles
Write.as is a proprietary blogging platform for people who love to write and have no intentions of building a brand. Anonymous writers can hide their identity via the service, which only holds on to minimal information about its publishers. This new system weeds away marketers or those who want to build perception, so if you just enjoy the joy of writing without worrying...
Source: forgefusion.io
9 Best Medium Alternatives for Making Money With Your Writing in 2023
Write.as offers a clean, ultra-minimalistic, and ad-free user experience where the content takes center stage. Even the author can take a backseat, as one of the main features of the platform is anonymous posting without creating an account. That said, account-less posts only stay live for 1 hour.

FocusWriter Reviews

11 Best Scrivener Alternatives
Scrivener may be more complicated than FocusWriter, but if you want simplicity or minimalism, FocusWriter is worth considering. There are no elaborate formatting options or research notes to tinker around with so all you do is write.

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Write.as should be more popular than FocusWriter. It has been mentiond 60 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Write.as mentions (60)

  • ActivityPub Fuzzer: Improving Testing in the Fediverse
    There's a lot of it on the Fediverse tech circles. I find a lot of it through following the #Fediverse tag on Mastodon. Bandwagon.fm: A federated platform for musicians and fans: https://bandwagon.fm/ Bonfire: A modular server for building communities with a wide variety of services: https://bonfirenetworks.org/ write.as: "Type words, put them on the internet." https://write.as/. - Source: Hacker News / 8 months ago
  • Personal blogs are back, should niche blogs be next?
    And it's very easy to start with something that is also "social": - https://write.as - a https://writefreely.org instance that also syncs with Mastodon, so people can see/discover/subscribe/ comment on your posts without extra hassle of setting up comments or other privacy invading tools. - https://bearblog.dev - just text, very simple and quick to get started. - Source: Hacker News / 9 months ago
  • Introducing the Write.as MCP Server: Anonymous Publishing Gets AI Superpowers
    The Write.as MCP Server transforms how AI systems interact with Write.as, the minimalist blogging platform beloved for its simplicity and privacy-first approach. By implementing the Model Context Protocol (MCP), this server enables LLMs, agents, and applications to create, retrieve, and manage anonymous posts without requiring any credentials whatsoever. - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
  • Show HN: LinkedIn sucks, so I built a better one
    There's a ton of those platforms, varying from extremely unknown to fairly well established. I'm pretty sure multiple of them end up as a Show HN every year. The only thing on your list they generally don't do is domain registration, but keeping that separate is generally a good thing. Sibling mentioned bearblog.dev, I'll mention write.as[1]. [1]: https://write.as/. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • WriteFreely: An open source platform for building a writing space on the web
    I'd noticed some years back that this project seems to have started with a pretty strong anonymity story: https://write.as/ That seemed to diminish in emphasis a few years ago, stopped accepting accounts that didn't give you a credit card end of 2021, and some year recently (last year? I forgetโ€ฆ) seemed as though the warrant canary missed a couple updates. (It's up to date now, with an assertion of no warrants... - Source: Hacker News / about 2 years ago
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FocusWriter mentions (27)

  • WriterdeckOS
    Https://gottcode.org/focuswriter/#download is Qt based so that'd get you most of it, last time I compiled it the deps where Qt/SDL. - Source: Hacker News / 9 months ago
  • WriterdeckOS
    I like https://gottcode.org/focuswriter/ and have used it for years and years, you can configure the look and feel pretty extensively. Lots of ways to skin that cat (especially if like me you are a linux user) but focuswriter does everything I need, very little I don't and there is a frame/mindset shift to using the same tool for a specific task. - Source: Hacker News / 9 months ago
  • Ensล: write now, edit later
    Reminds me of the (dead) RoughDraft mac app by 43 Folders(?). There is also FocusWriter - opensource and multi-platform. https://gottcode.org/focuswriter/. - Source: Hacker News / almost 3 years ago
  • A collection of useful Mac Apps
    FocusWriter - Price: Free Distraction-free writing app for Mac that allows you to focus on your writing. Source: about 3 years ago
  • What do you people write on?
    You can get it here: https://gottcode.org/focuswriter/. Source: about 3 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Write.as and FocusWriter, you can also consider the following products

Ghost - Ghost is a fully open source, adaptable platform for building and running a modern online publication. We power blogs, magazines and journalists from Zappos to Sky News.

Scrivener - Scrivener is a content-generation tool for composing and structuring documents.

WordPress - WordPress is web software you can use to create a beautiful website or blog. We like to say that WordPress is both free and priceless at the same time.

iA Writer - Minimal Design, Maximum Focus

Medium - Welcome to Medium, a place to read, write, and interact with the stories that matter most to you.

Typora - A minimal Markdown reading & writing app.