A Ulysses Alternative That Also Runs on Your Other Computer.
Ulysses is a Markdown-based writing app for Mac, iPad and iPhone, and writers love it for good reason. Shiro runs on Mac, Windows and Linux, stores every local project as Markdown files, and is built around one long book. If everything you own is made by Apple and Ulysses suits you, stay where you are.
| Shiro | Ulysses | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free on your computer. Cloud is optional, see the pricing page. | $5.99 a month or $39.99 a year in the US, and local prices may differ. Free trial. Also sold through Setapp. |
| Platforms | Mac, Windows, Linux, and a web app for cloud projects. No phone or iPad app yet. | Mac, iPad, iPhone |
| Where your book lives | Plain Markdown files in a folder on your disk, or Shiro Cloud if you move a project there | Its library, synced through iCloud. External folders can hold Markdown files, with some limits. |
| Sync between devices | Shiro Cloud, for projects you move there | iCloud |
| Built-in AI | Optional: local model, your own key or hosted. Can be turned off. | Not stated on their site. A built-in proofreader suggests grammar and style fixes in more than 20 languages. |
| Export | EPUB, PDF, Word, Markdown, HTML, plain text, with Kindle presets and a pre-upload checklist | Text, HTML, EPUB, PDF, DOCX |
| Publish to a blog | No | Direct to WordPress, Ghost, Medium and Micro.blog |
Checked on the makers’ own websites in November 2026. Prices are in US dollars and change; tell us if we’ve fallen behind.
Choose Ulysses If
- Every device you own is made by Apple, and you want native apps on all of them, iPad and iPhone included. Shiro has no phone app yet.
- You like writing in markup, with the asterisks there on the screen.
- You write for the web as well as for print, and want to publish straight to WordPress, Ghost, Medium or Micro.blog.
- You keep all sorts of writing in one library and prefer that to one project per book.
Choose Shiro If
- You use Windows or Linux, or you’d like to keep that door open.
- You want plain Markdown files as the normal way of working, with notes, goals and automatic backups still there.
- You’re writing a long book, and want a board, a plot grid, a timeline and a World beside the draft.
- You publish yourself, and want Kindle presets and a check before upload, or an optional AI that can run on your own computer.
Markdown by Default, or by Choice
Both apps come from the same conviction, that a writer should be looking at words instead of a toolbar. The difference is what those words are stored in.
Ulysses keeps your writing in its library and syncs it through iCloud. It also has external folders, which can hold local or cloud folders, with Markdown as the default file type on a Mac. Its help pages are clear about the trade-offs: no embedded local images, no notes or sheet goals there, and no automatic backup. That’s a real option. If plain files are all you’re after and you like Ulysses otherwise, try it before you change apps.
In Shiro, that folder is how every local project works, with nothing given up. A chapter is Manuscript/09 The Long Way Back.md, notes sit in Notes/, and goals, snapshots and backups carry on as usual. Change a file in another editor and Shiro merges it. The folder is yours, and it’s there on Mac, Windows or Linux.
One difference may matter more than it sounds. Ulysses puts your markup on the page. Shiro writes Markdown to disk but shows you styled text as you type, so a word in italics looks like a word in italics. Some people find asterisks restful, and they’d miss them.
A Library of Sheets and a Project per Book
Ulysses treats your writing as a library, and novels, articles and shopping lists can all live there. Shiro thinks in books. Each project has a Board of chapters and scenes, with a plot grid and a timeline, and a World that tracks who knows what and which town is how far from which, or a Research lens for non-fiction, with PDFs and citations.
Shiro also has an AI, which you can turn off, and which can run on your own computer. Ulysses’s home and pricing pages don’t mention generative AI, and its proofreader offers grammar and style suggestions. We didn’t check what technology sits behind that, so we’ll leave it there.
At the end, Ulysses exports text, HTML, EPUB, PDF and DOCX. Shiro’s Publish lens makes EPUB, print PDF and Word too, with Kindle presets and sixteen checks before upload. We didn’t see Ulysses claim anything specific about KDP.
Where Ulysses Is Ahead
On Apple devices, it’s at home. Native apps on Mac, iPad and iPhone, syncing through iCloud, for a writer who wants to pick up the same sentence on the sofa. Shiro has no phone or iPad app yet, and on a Mac it’s a newcomer next to something this polished.
If you also write for the web, Ulysses publishes straight to WordPress, Ghost, Medium and Micro.blog, and Shiro doesn’t. Its proofreader covers more than 20 languages, where Shiro’s spelling and grammar stay with English and French. And its distraction-free drafting is a large part of its appeal. Shiro has a focus mode and nooks to write in, but nobody should change apps for the sake of a quieter screen.
The Crossing, Which Takes Less Than Ten Years
Shiro has no Ulysses importer, so you bring the text across as Markdown. On a Mac, move your sheets into an external folder, where they’re saved as Markdown files, then import that folder into Shiro. Folders become the binder, and any front matter is kept. Notes and sheet goals don’t live in external folders, so copy what you need first.
If you’re not on a Mac, or you’d rather not touch your library, export a DOCX from Ulysses, which Shiro imports and splits by headings, page breaks or a marker line. Read a chapter or two afterwards, and keep your Ulysses library until you’re sure.
The Questions People Ask
Is there a Ulysses for Windows?
Not according to its site, which lists Mac, iPad and iPhone. If you’ve moved to Windows or Linux and miss writing in plain text, Shiro runs on both, and on Mac.
Can Shiro import from Ulysses?
There’s no Ulysses importer. Bring your text across as Markdown: keep the sheets in an external folder on your Mac, where Markdown is the default file type, then import that folder into Shiro. A DOCX export from Ulysses works too.
Does Shiro have an iPhone or iPad app?
Not yet. Shiro runs on Mac, Windows and Linux, with a web app for cloud projects. If you write on an iPad, Ulysses is the one built for it.
How much does Ulysses cost?
$5.99 a month or $39.99 a year in the US, and it says local prices may differ. There’s a free trial, and it’s also sold through Setapp.
Sources: Ulysses home page, Ulysses pricing, External folders, Exporting from Ulysses