Calmly Writer vs ghostwriter

Calmly Writer

• Writers who want a blank page and very few controls
• People who like Markdown but not seeing its syntax
• Buyers who prefer a single payment to a subscription
• Households that mix Windows, Mac and Linux computers

ghostwriter

• Linux and Windows users who want a free Markdown editor
• Writers who draft first and format later
• Bloggers who need clean HTML from Markdown

Calmly Writer

• The desktop license does not cover Android; the Android app is a separate purchase on Google Play with no trial.
• No iPhone or iPad app is listed.
• Files are local with no cloud service of its own; the site suggests saving into a Dropbox or Google Drive folder to sync.
• The free online version is a limited preview without backups, comments, writing targets or PDF export.

ghostwriter

• macOS support is unofficial and community-provided: there is no installer, so the app has to be compiled from source.
• The Windows download is offered only as a portable 64-bit build for Windows 10.
• No mobile or web version is listed.
• Export to other formats relies on processors such as Pandoc or MultiMarkdown.

Calmly Writer

WYSIWYG Markdown

Markdown is rendered as it is typed, so the syntax is never on screen: headings, tables and lists look formatted. Selecting text brings up a toolbar.

Focus mode and full screen

A focus mode and a full-screen mode, each with a keyboard shortcut, strip the window down to the text being written.

Counts and writing targets

Shows word and character counts with custom targets, plus reading time and a table of contents built from the document's headings.

Tabs, autosave and backups

Several documents stay open in tabs. Each is saved automatically and gets its own permanent backups and previous versions.

File formats

Opens and saves HTML, plain text, Markdown and its own .calmly format, imports Word .docx files and exports to .docx and PDF.

Typewriter sounds and themes

Optional typewriter sounds, smart punctuation, a customizable caret and five color themes, with an Open Dyslexic mode and right-to-left support.

ghostwriter

Live preview

Shows the Markdown document as HTML beside the editor, tuned to stay responsive on large documents. The HTML can be copied into a blog.

Focus Mode

Highlights the text around the cursor and fades the rest. It can be set to highlight the current line, sentence, paragraph or three lines.

Hemingway Mode

Disables the backspace and delete keys so that drafting cannot be interrupted by editing, in the manner of a typewriter.

Outline navigation

A sidebar outline jumps to any section of the document, in the editor and in the live preview, by mouse or with Ctrl+J and the arrow keys.

Document and session statistics

A live word count sits at the bottom of the window, and sidebar tabs show further statistics for the document and the current session.

Export through Markdown processors

Exports to other formats using Pandoc, MultiMarkdown or commonmark, and uses Pandoc to render equations with MathJax.

Calmly Writer

• Calmly Writer Online$0

  A lightweight browser version for quick edits, with no account. It lacks backups, previous versions, writing targets, comments and PDF export.

• Android app$16.99

  one-time purchase on Google Play

  The full app for Android 7.0 or later phones, tablets and Chromebooks. No trial; a 30-day money-back guarantee applies.

• Desktop license$23.90

  one-time purchase

  One license for Windows, Mac and Linux on up to three computers at once, with all future updates and a 30-day money-back guarantee.

ghostwriter

• Free$0

  The complete editor at no cost: a portable 64-bit build for Windows 10 and packages for Linux distributions, with source code for other platforms.