Midcent compared
Honest comparisons with every writing tool that matters. Each page includes where the other tool is better, because you deserve to make your own decision.
Midcent is a typewriter-style writing app — $14.99 once, local files, no AI, no account. It’s not for everyone. These pages will help you figure out if it’s for you.
The big names
Midcent vs. Google Docs
A collaboration platform vs. a writing tool. If you’ve been drafting in Google Docs because it was already open, here’s what changes when you use something built for writers.
Free competitorHas AI
Midcent vs. Notion
A Swiss Army knife vs. a fountain pen. Notion does everything. Midcent does one thing and makes it matter.
SubscriptionHas AI
Midcent vs. Obsidian
A knowledge graph vs. a writing desk. Both use local files. One organizes what you know. The other helps you write what you don’t know yet.
Free competitorAI via plugins
The writing apps
Midcent vs. Scrivener
A project manager vs. a typewriter. Scrivener gives you a cockpit. Midcent gives you a page. Two very different philosophies of what writing software should be.
No AI
Midcent vs. iA Writer
Two minimal writing apps with very different ideas about what minimal means. iA Writer perfects Markdown. Midcent brings back the typewriter.
No AI
Midcent vs. Ulysses
A $50/year subscription vs. a $14.99 one-time purchase. The savings over five years are $221. The differences run deeper than price.
SubscriptionHas AI
Midcent vs. Bear
A beautiful notes app vs. a dedicated writing desk. Both care about aesthetics. One follows you everywhere. The other gives you a reason to stay in one place.
SubscriptionNo AI
The focused tools
Midcent vs. Hemingway Editor
An editing tool vs. a drafting tool. Hemingway Editor makes your second draft better. Midcent makes sure the first draft exists.
Free competitorHas AI
Midcent vs. Draft
Two apps that believe in writing forward. Draft has Hemingway Mode. Midcent has Purist Mode. One is a feature. The other is a philosophy.
Free competitorNo AI
Midcent vs. FocusWriter & Cold Turkey Writer
Three approaches to distraction-free writing. One hides everything. One locks you in. One replaces the distraction with something worth looking at.
Free competitorsNo AI
Midcent vs. Typora
A Markdown editor vs. a typewriter. Both are beautiful. They just care about different kinds of beauty.
No AI
Every comparison on this page includes a section on where the other tool is better and whether you can use both together. We built Midcent for writers who care about tools — and writers who care about tools deserve the full picture, not a sales pitch.
Get Midcent
$14.99 on the Mac App Store. macOS. Windows coming soon.
Midcent — a quiet place to write.