A FocusWriter alternative: the Inka writing app
FocusWriter is a simple, distraction-free word processor for the desktop. The Inka writing app is a writing room in the browser. This page is written by the people who make Inka. FocusWriter is the better tool if you want files on the computer and a native program.
Where the FocusWriter details come from
Read on 6 October 2026 from gottcode.org/focuswriter. Version 1.9.1 was released on 23 July 2026 under GPL version 3. The download list on that page showed Linux, an Ubuntu package, Windows 10, a portable Windows build, and source code. If a platform or a feature has changed, their page is the one to trust.
Their description: a hide-away interface you reach by moving the pointer to the edges, themes for font, colours, and a background image, live statistics, daily goals, several documents open, spell-checking, timers, and sound effects for composed text, which is a typing sound. The current work reopens where you left it, and it recovers documents on its own. The page invites a tip. We did not see a price.
Side by side
| Inka writing app | FocusWriter | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it runs | A browser. You can install the site into its own window. | A desktop program. Their download page listed Linux and Windows. |
| Price | Free to write. Pro is $7 a month, $49 a year, or $99 once. | GPL. Their page asks for a tip, not a licence fee, as of that reading. |
| The page | One writing room. Controls fade. Three pieces free. | A word processor with themes, stats, daily goals, and multiple documents. |
| Timer | A block in the room, with ten looks and a break that changes the room. | Their feature list includes timers. |
| Sound | 19 mixable ambient beds, 8 free, each with its own volume, plus key sounds and Spotify. | Their feature list includes sound effects for composed text, which is a typing sound. Not a mixable room of rain and fire. |
| Files | Saved in the browser. Export copy, .txt, .docx, or a Google Doc. | Documents on the computer. It reloads the work in progress. |
| Writing models | None. Inka does not generate sentences. | Their 1.9.1 notes list a document policy prohibiting the use of AI. We did not read the policy text. |
Who should stay with FocusWriter
Stay if you want a free native program, files in a folder, several documents open, spell-checking, and themes you design yourself. Stay if you do not want a browser involved, and if a subscription, even an optional one, is something you would rather not see.
FocusWriter has a timer and a typing sound of its own, so neither of those is the reason to move. The real difference is the room: look at Inka if you want the draft in a browser tab with rain and a fireplace playing together, each on its own volume, a break that changes the room, and Spotify in the page. You give up a traditional multi-document word processor. Free Inka stops at three pieces.
Pick neither if you need comments and collaboration. Use a document editor for that.
Questions
Is Inka the official FocusWriter replacement?
No. FocusWriter is actively released. Version 1.9.1 is from July 2026. Inka is a different app.
Is FocusWriter free?
Their site distributes it under the GPL and asks for a tip. Confirm on their page before you rely on that.
Does FocusWriter have a timer and typing sounds?
Yes. Their own feature list includes timers and sound effects for composed text. The difference is Inka's mixable ambient beds and the room behind the page.
Does the Inka writing app open FocusWriter files?
No. Export from Inka is .txt, .docx, copy, or a Google Doc.
Who wrote this comparison?
The people who make Inka. The FocusWriter column is from their public page, not from a joint review.
Other comparisons
Six pages, one other app each, written the same way: we make Inka, and the other column is read off their own site on a dated reading.
- Google Docs
- FocusWriter — this page
- Calmly Writer
- iA Writer
- Write or Die
- ZenPen
- All comparisons on this site
Open Inka
Inka takes one browser tab and no install. Try it before you move anything over.