A ZenPen alternative: the Inka writing app
ZenPen is a minimal editor in the browser. The Inka writing app is also in the browser, and then it adds a room, mixable sound, and a timer. If all you wanted was a bare Markdown page, ZenPen is the closer match.
What we could see
On 10 October 2026, zenpen.io loaded with the line "Minimal Distraction, Maximum Zen". Markdown, HTML and plain text are not editing modes there: they are the formats you pick before you copy the text out. ZenPen also has a target word count for the session. We saw no price, no timer, and no ambient sound, and nothing that asks who you are.
ZenPen is open source, MIT licensed, by Tim Holman, and its README says it saves your work through HTML5 local storage. The code has not changed in years, which for a one-page editor is not a fault.
Side by side
| Inka writing app | ZenPen | |
|---|---|---|
| Where | The browser, at app.writeinka.com. | The browser, at zenpen.io. |
| The page | Prose, four fonts, a sheet behind the words. | One bare page. Markdown, HTML and plain text are its copy-out formats. |
| Around the page | Rooms, mixable sounds, a timer, Spotify. | Not described on the page we loaded. The pitch is minimal. |
| Price | Free to write. Pro is optional. | Not stated in what we could read. Check the site. |
| Word goal | A free daily goal, a streak, and seven days of stats. A target on one piece is Pro. | A target word count for the session you are in. |
| Getting it out | Copy, a .txt file, a .docx file, or a Google Doc. | Copy to the clipboard as Markdown, HTML, or plain text. |
| Where the draft sits | Browser storage as you type, with optional sign-in sync. | HTML5 local storage, per their README. |
| AI writing | None. | Not mentioned in what we could read. |
Who should stay with ZenPen
Stay if you want the smallest possible browser editor and you write in Markdown or HTML. Inka is more furniture: a room, a dock, a sound panel. That is the opposite of zen for some people, and Ink Room plus sound off is only a partial answer.
Use Inka if the blank minimal page is itself the thing you cannot start on, and a rain room or a timer is what gets the first sentence out. You will not get Markdown. The difference in getting the work out is simple: ZenPen hands you text on the clipboard, and Inka hands you a file, a .txt or a .docx, or a real Google Doc. Export is free.
Questions
Is ZenPen shut down?
No. The site loaded on 10 October 2026. It is open source, MIT licensed, by Tim Holman, and it has not changed in years.
Does the Inka writing app have a Markdown mode?
No.
Is this page neutral?
No. We make Inka. The ZenPen column is only what their homepage showed us.
Which one stores the draft?
Both keep it in your browser. ZenPen's README says HTML5 local storage. Inka saves on the device as you type, and syncs between devices if you sign in.
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.
Open Inka
Open Ink Room with the sound off for ZenPen's bareness, or turn the rain on if you would rather not.