Ulysses Review, Pricing & Features

Ulysses is a distraction-free Markdown writing app for Mac, iPad, and iPhone. See its features, subscription pricing, and who it is built for.

Category
Productivity
Pricing
subscription, from $5.99/month
Verified
Not yet
Last updated
July 19, 2026
Founded
2003
Headquarters
Germany
iOSFree TrialMac

What Is Ulysses

Ulysses is a writing application built exclusively for Mac, iPad, and iPhone, designed for authors working on long-form content such as novels, articles, blog posts, and academic papers.

It is developed by The Soulmen, a small independent software studio based in Germany, with the app's development history dating back to 2003.

Rather than organizing work as loose files, Ulysses stores writing in a searchable library of sheets and groups, and uses a Markdown-based syntax so writers can format text without leaving the keyboard or seeing visual clutter.

Key Features

The library system organizes drafts into groups and sheets with tags, filters, and full-text search, making it easier to manage book-length projects with many chapters or a large archive of articles.

Ulysses supports a lightweight Markup syntax for headings, emphasis, links, and footnotes, along with goal-setting for word or character counts, a typewriter mode, and customizable themes for distraction-free writing.

Export and publishing options include PDF, ePub, Word (.docx), HTML, and direct publishing integrations with WordPress and Medium, alongside seamless iCloud sync across Mac, iPad, and iPhone.

Pricing

Ulysses is subscription-based at 5.99 dollars per month or 49.99 dollars per year, covering use across all supported Apple devices with a single account, and includes a fully functional free trial.

Verified students and educators receive a discounted 34.99 dollar annual rate, and users who purchased Ulysses before its 2017 switch from one-time pricing to subscriptions retain a grandfathered renewal rate around 30 dollars per year.

Key Features

Pros & Cons

Pros

  • Clean, distraction-free writing environment purpose-built for long-form authors
  • Reliable iCloud sync across Mac, iPad, and iPhone under one subscription
  • Flexible export options including direct publishing to WordPress and Medium
  • Library-based organization scales well for book-length or multi-article projects
  • Discounted education pricing and Family Sharing support

Cons

  • Mac and iOS only, no Windows, Android, or web version
  • Subscription-only pricing since 2017, no current one-time purchase option
  • Markup syntax has a learning curve for writers used to rich-text editors
  • Not designed for real-time multi-user collaboration
  • Limited usefulness outside the Apple ecosystem for cross-platform teams

Pricing

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Ulysses used for?

Ulysses is a distraction-free writing app for drafting long-form content like novels, articles, and academic papers on Mac, iPad, and iPhone.

Is Ulysses available on Windows?

No, Ulysses is exclusive to Apple platforms and has no Windows, Android, or web version.

How much does Ulysses cost?

Ulysses costs 5.99 dollars per month or 49.99 dollars per year, with a discounted 34.99 dollar annual rate for students and educators.

Who makes Ulysses?

Ulysses is developed by The Soulmen, a small independent software studio based in Germany.

Did Ulysses used to be a one-time purchase?

Yes, Ulysses switched from a one-time purchase to a subscription model in August 2017, offering grandfathered discounted pricing to existing customers.

Can I sync Ulysses between my Mac and iPhone?

Yes, a single Ulysses subscription covers Mac, iPad, and iPhone with iCloud sync between devices.

Does Ulysses support Markdown?

Ulysses uses its own lightweight Markup syntax, a variant of Markdown, for formatting text.

Can Ulysses publish directly to WordPress?

Yes, Ulysses supports direct publishing integrations with WordPress and Medium.

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