Ghost Blogging: iA Writer vs Ulysses
What Ulysses can do, that iA Writer does not?![Ghost Blogging: iA Writer vs Ulysses](/content/images/size/w2000/2020/12/00-Header-1-3.jpg)
It is no secret that my blogging platform of choice is Ghost.
For the past two years, I have been using Ulysses for all my writing needs but lately, Ulysses is predominately used for MereCivilian.
However, each year, I seek non-subscription based alternatives. I am finding that my list of subscriptions is forever growing. Therefore, I go through exercises like this where I scrutinize and evaluate my subscription apps. Today, its Ulyssesβs turn.
Spoiler Alert, I couldnβt find an alternative and as such renewed my subscription for another year. The closest alternative is iA Writer.
What Ulysses can do, that iA Writer does not?
- Drag and drop images: it has become muscle memory for me to drag images from the Photos app to Ulysses. iA Writer does not support this.
- Publish on MereCivilian Blog: iA Writer uploads the article as draft. There are no other options. Meanwhile Ulysses provides:
βββ Title
βββ Schedule post
βββ Post image
βββ Post URL
βββ Add Tags: retrieves all existing tags from website
βββ Except:
βββ Action: open Ghost or do nothing
ββThe following image shows what Ulysses does:
![](https://merecivilian.com/content/images/2020/12/Image-5-12-20--5-50-pm-3.png)
- Handling Hyperlinks: As evident by the two images below, iA Writer shows the actual links while Ulysses hides it. Visually, I prefer Ulysses in this regard as it keeps my writing clean. iA Writer, ironically feels cluttered.
![](https://merecivilian.com/content/images/2020/12/92B7ED36-D741-4D75-9486-87C52323B6C4_1_105_c-2.jpeg)
![](https://merecivilian.com/content/images/2020/12/B52724FD-A21D-4A49-8744-73A60AD8DEC2_1_105_c-2.jpeg)
I accept the above may not be deal breakers for some but each time, I switch to iA Writer, I miss these specific features. These are first world problems because, had I not used Ulysses previously, iA Writer would perfectly suit my needs.
Perhaps, next year there may be an alternative. Until then, I gladly pay for Ulysses and as such, has earned my subscription.