When comparing Magnet vs Byword, the Slant community recommends Byword for most people. In the question“What are the best power user tools for macOS?” Byword is ranked 33rd while Magnet is ranked 51st.
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Pros
Pro Keyboard centric
Easy to learn keyboard shortcuts.
Pro Intuitive handling
Just drag the window to one of the sides of the screen and it snaps there. This is especially useful for those who can't be bothered remembering the shortcuts.
Pro Cheap
At $0.99, it is not that expensive.
Pro Mouse controllable
Supports dragging a window along the edges of the screen to activate.
Pro Do not have to learn or remember keyboard shortcuts
Pro It's often on sale
For example, at the writing of this pro it's currently at $1.
Pro Up to six external displays supported
Pro Word count support
Pro A dark theme is available
Pro Can publish directly to external services
Pro Can export to html, pdf, rtf
In addition to plaintext, Byword can export to HTML, PDF, RTF.
Pro Exemplary Markdown support
Byword de-emphasizes the syntax itself, while emphasizing its effects. It appropriately adds style, like italic and bold, to text that's designated by markdown and dims the syntax so it does not getting in the way of comprehension. Additionally, there are commonly used hotkeys (⌘b, ⌘i, etc) that can be used to apply style without having to know the syntax or having to type it out each time.
Pro Includes features that speed up writing
For example, while authoring a bulleted list hitting return automatically prepares a new bulleted line.
Pro Available for all Apple devices
Byword is available on a Mac, an iPhone and an iPad.
Pro Syncs using iCloud and Dropbox
Documents can be synced using iCloud or Dropbox from within the editor for use across all devices.
Pro Live update support
Cons
Con Cannot setup custom sizes and window positions
Unfortunately, you can only move windows to preset positions.
Con Can only be purchased from the App Store
Magnet is only available in App Store.
Con Can't hide the menu bar icon
It would've been nice to be able to hide the icon so it doesn't clutter the menu bar.
Con Interference when switching between folders
Default Folder-X app "warns" that Magnet App may interfere with it's ability to switch between folders in Open and Save dialogue boxes.
Con Causes cursor bugs in IntelliJ IDEs
Unfortunately, Magnet causes the caret to bounce around in IntelliJ IDEs, this is very annoying.