Ulysses
Document creation software
- Features
- Ease of use
- Ease of management
- Quality of support
- Affordability
- Market presence
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$10.99 per 6 months
Free Trial
Free version unavailable
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What is Ulysses
Ulysses is a writing and document creation application focused on long-form text drafting and editing. It targets individual writers and small teams who need a distraction-reduced environment for drafting, organizing, and exporting documents such as articles, reports, and manuscripts. The product uses a Markdown-based editor with a library structure for managing projects and supports export to common formats (for example, PDF and Word). It is primarily built for Apple platforms and is offered via subscription.
Strong long-form writing workflow
Ulysses provides a structured library for grouping sheets, folders, and writing goals, which supports managing multi-part documents. Its editor emphasizes drafting and revision with features like markup-based formatting, notes, and attachments. This makes it well-suited for creating narrative or report-style documents where iterative writing is the main activity.
Flexible export and publishing
Ulysses exports to multiple formats, including PDF and DOCX, which helps move drafts into downstream review or publishing processes. It also supports style-based exports, allowing users to standardize output without manually reformatting each document. This is useful when a writing tool must hand off content into other document systems.
Apple ecosystem integration
Ulysses runs on macOS and iOS/iPadOS and supports syncing across devices for users who write on multiple Apple endpoints. It integrates with common Apple services and system features (for example, share sheets and system-wide text services). For organizations standardized on Apple hardware, this can simplify deployment compared with cross-platform stacks.
Limited document automation features
Ulysses focuses on authoring rather than automated document assembly, templates with conditional logic, or data-driven generation. It does not function as a forms-to-document pipeline or a contract/document automation platform. Teams needing repeatable, data-populated documents typically require additional tooling beyond Ulysses.
Not a PDF editing suite
While Ulysses can export to PDF, it is not designed for PDF editing, redlining, form filling, or signature workflows. Users who need to manipulate existing PDFs, manage annotations across stakeholders, or control PDF security settings will generally need a dedicated PDF workflow product. This limits its fit for PDF-centric business processes.
Apple-only platform coverage
Ulysses is primarily available on macOS and iOS/iPadOS, which can be a constraint for mixed-device organizations. Collaboration with Windows or Android users typically requires exporting files and using external sharing/review tools. This can introduce format handoff steps and reduce consistency across teams.
Plan & Pricing
| Plan | Price | Key features & notes |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly (consumer, via App Store) | $5.99 per month | Full Ulysses on Mac/iPad/iPhone; iCloud sync; updates via App Store; Family Sharing included (share with up to 5 family members). |
| Annual (consumer, via App Store) | $39.99 per year | Same features as monthly; billed annually via App Store; prices shown are for U.S. (local pricing may differ). |
| Students (in‑app verification) | $10.99 per 6 months | Student-only discounted subscription; requires enrollment verification and is applied from within the app; subscription ends automatically and can be renewed while enrolled. |
| Volume licensing (business/organizations, direct) | US$49.00 per user/year | Purchased outside the App Store via Ulysses volume licensing portal; includes use on one Mac, one iPad and one iPhone per user; billed yearly (example checkout shown). |
Notes: Consumer prices on the Pricing page point to App Store purchase links; volume licensing uses Paddle for payment and shows explicit per-user/year pricing on the official volume licensing checkout page.
Seller details
The Soulmen GbR
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https://ulysses.app/
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