Ulysses

What it is for

Ulysses is an Apple writing-studio desk: you keep Writing Projects / Hiker's Handbook in the Library, open The Captain's Project, and the app is US$39.99/yr (or US$5.99/mo). Use it when the job is a manuscript you start at a public $, not when you need Obsidian’s $0 Bases table + Sync $4.

Soft-note: US$39.99/yr or US$5.99/mo; free trial; Family Sharing; student discount. Distinct from Obsidian, Craft, and iA Writer.

What makes it unique: the cover is Ulysses’ official Library (Writing Projects / Hiker's Handbook / Manuscript / In Review / Material / Scrapped Ideas, sheets The Captain's Project / The Corral) from ulysses.app/assets/start/en/screenshot-library@2x.png — not a wordmark. The Hiker's Handbook row itself is ops of the Library.

Key features

• Library — groups + sheets on one desk (cover still; product). One desk. Cover Hiker's Handbook sits here.
• Sheet list — The Captain's Project / The Corral on the cover (cover). A sheet, not a $39.99 meter.
• Filters — In Review / Material / Scrapped Ideas (cover). A filter, not Subscribe.
• Editor — distraction-free page (product; editor still). A page, not Enterprise.
• Export — PDF / Word / ePub and more (product; pricing). An export, not SSO.
• Apple sync — Mac / iPhone / iPad library (product). A sync, not a trial tile.

Download / Subscribe are CTAs (not desks). US$39.99 / US$5.99 stay in Pricing. There is no AI extra to drop.

Who it's for

Best fit: Apple writers who will run the free trial while they file a first Hiker's Handbook sheet — then US$39.99/yr (or US$5.99/mo), not iA Writer Mac US$49.99 first unless they want a one-time Focus Mode page, and not if they need Windows / a free-forever vault.

Pricing

Verified 2026-10-23 (Asia/Shanghai) from ulysses.app/pricing plus ulysses.app (“Free trial on all devices” / “$39.99/year” / “$5.99/month”; Family Sharing; student discount). Soft-note: subscription after the trial.

• Yearly — US$39.99/yr.
• Monthly — US$5.99/mo.
• Trial — free, fully functional, syncs (homepage). The pricing page does not force a day count in the hero we fetched — do not invent a 14-day $0 unless a SKU prints it.
• Family Sharing and a student price are listed. Do not invent the student $ if the page hides the number.

Limitations / costs

• Subscription after the trial. There is no one-time Ulysses SKU on the pricing page we fetched.
• Apple ecosystem. Mac / iPhone / iPad — not a Windows studio.
• A writing library, not Obsidian’s $0 Bases vault. For that table see Obsidian.
• The product is not OSS. We omit a GitHub CTA rather than invent a product repo.

Alternatives

• Obsidian — a local Bases table when you want the app at $0 / Sync $4, not a subscription Library.
• Craft — a hosted All Docs home when you want Starter $0 / Plus $8, not Hiker's Handbook sheets.
• iA Writer — Focus Mode when you want Mac US$49.99 once, not Ulysses US$39.99/yr.

Official tutorial

Official Ulysses channel (channel id UCNlA28DdeEQEq8ViQEmu-GA) video: Getting Started With Ulysses | Ulysses Tutorial (oEmbed author: Ulysses; author_url @ulysses5734). First-party intro; the Library still is the cover. We searched @UlyssesApp (404), @ulyssesapp (404), @Ulysses (404), and the official id above. Help also points at the same Getting Started path.

Written path: ulysses.app plus pricing and Getting Started.

Website

https://ulysses.app/

Source

Catalog row curated for AI Tools Nav. Cover is Ulysses’ official Library still (Writing Projects / Hiker's Handbook / The Captain's Project) from ulysses.app/assets/start/en/screenshot-library@2x.png. Dollars checked on ulysses.app/pricing (US$39.99/yr or US$5.99/mo; free trial; Family Sharing). Tutorial oEmbed author: Ulysses (@ulysses5734). No invented GitHub.

Last verified

2026-10-23 (Asia/Shanghai) editorial check.