Calmly Writer is a free distraction writing app.
The app’s design is minimal and neat. Plus, their website is upfront about what it can do (and more importantly — what it can’t).
I also like that you don’t need to download any app on your phone or computer. The only app it offers is for ChromeOS.
Our content marketing agency produces over 300+ articles/month, so we use many writing tools on a daily basis.
Let’s dive a little deeper and find out how Calmly stacks up against other premium and free writing apps. Is Calmly Writer a good editor and grammar checking software?
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Our Verdict
It’s better to skip this app for now. You lose nothing. There are many free options out there like Write! App which provides similar benefits, with a few extras to make it a better (paid) value.
Calmly Writer Limited Features
PROS
- Simple and very easy to use
- Blocks all the on-screen distractions
- Wide range of export options
- Works on all devices
CONS
- No storyboard and writing templates
- Cannot create and save previous versions of the content
- Can’t share documents and collaborate with others
Grammarly Best All-Around
PROS
- 86% out of 86% accuracy
- 16+ billion database
- 150k+ word limit
- 5 devlice limit
- Includes plagiarism
- 1-hour response
CONS
- Only supports English
- Expensive without our link
Grammarly Premium Walkthrough Video
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Calmly Writer Pros
When you compare Calmly Writer with other free writing tools like Write! App, Zoho Writer or Google Docs, it seems to fade away in a few fronts.
Most apps are designed to help you in your writing process i.e. as a text editor or a grammar checker. And they are pretty complete when it comes to formatting your text and boast some of the best editing tools out there.
But that doesn’t mean this app has nothing to offer. Though the list is small, here are all the benefits you get to experience while using Calmly Writer.
#1 Simple and very easy to use
Using the app is a breeze. As I mentioned earlier, there’s no need to download an app. Just head over to Calmly Writer’s website and click the big blue button saying “Open Calmly Writer.” The user interface is pretty cool.
And when you open the software, it’s just a white space where you can type your words. Whenever you start an article — or need a blog topic generator idea — Calmy Writer can be useful.
No technical tantrums, no tutorials needed.
#2 Blocks all the on-screen distractions
The biggest asset of Calmly Writer is its ability to provide users a distraction-free environment to write. Even in its normal mode, it doesn’t show you any menu unless you click on the lotus icon on the top right side of the screen.
Things get even better when you toggle the “Full-Screen Mode” on. It completely hides all the icons and the menu bar. So you can do what you’ve come for: write and only write. The software makes the writing experience smoother and editing quicker.
Besides this, you also get the power of “Focus Mode” which is quite handy for editing and formatting stuff.
It greys out the entire document keeps focused on the current line or paragraph you’re working on (depends on your choice).
#3 Wide range of export options
Calmly Writer imposes no limitation on the number of formats you can export your document as. It supports all the popular file formats like Docx, PDF (print version), plain text, HTML, and Markdown.
Unfortunately, you can’t export your documents directly to e-readers.
#4 Works on all devices
Since Calmly is a web-based app, you can get access to it from any device, whether you’re using an Android phone, iPhone, iPad, Mac computer, or a Windows PC.
And because it automatically stores all your data in Google Drive, your files are accessible from anywhere, anytime you want. It also eliminates any possibility of data loss or damage.
Calmly Writer Cons
The cons section is filled with all the advanced features Calmly Writer lacks that you can easily find in any premium writing software like Scrivener or Final Draft.
So here are they:
#1 No storyboard and writing templates
The only objective of Calmly Writer is to provide a distraction environment to write. Other than that, it doesn’t do anything special.
There is no storyboard or any tool like “Keep” that assists you in note-taking. Neither has any pre-designed writing template in its deposit.
It sounds subtle. But just like the experts from our MasterClass review can attest, it’s the details that make all the difference!
#2 Cannot create and save previous versions of the content
Of course, it keeps your content in the cloud, and any changes you make get automatically saved, but Calmly Writer is unable to lock the previous versions of your content separately.
#3 Can’t share documents and collaborate with others
Calmly Writer is not made for teams. There’s no way you can share your files with others or invite people to work with you on the same file.
Calmly Writer pricing plans and payment options
Calmly Writer is free. There are no hidden costs, either.
Do I recommend Calmly Writer?
Yes and no.
I would say yes IF ONLY you’re looking for a free and easy to use a word processor like Microsoft Word.
But again, there are many free options out there like Write! App which provides similar benefits, with a few extras to make it a better (paid) value.
If you are on the market for an app that allows you to export from Google Docs to WordPress in 1-click, then we recommend checking out Wordable. It will not only clean and properly format your HTML, but also compress images, open links in a new tab, automatically set featured images, or create a table of contents, and lots more.
So it’s better to skip this app for now. You lose nothing.
