Writing Apps: The 5 Best Writing Apps for Writers of All Levels
Writers are disorganized AF. Tell me I’m wrong.
And it’s no wonder. You get this great idea and all you want to do is get down somewhere solid in the two seconds before you forget it.
All you want to do is write.
At some point, though, you’ve got to come down off that creative high and figure out exactly where you’ve ended up - and if you know where you’re going next.
Picking a useful writing app from a lemon is like buying a used car. Maybe it’s what the owner says it is, but maybe you end up on side of the highway because your hood inexplicably came unlatched at 75 MPH.
Y’know. In theory.
And if you end up with a lemon, you’re probably going to end up shelling out more resources than you ever wanted.
And still don’t know where you are.
Fear not. I have kicked every figurative tire out there and found 5 that stand out. Check out this lineup:
(And by “tires” I mean writing apps. I’m talking about writing apps. Keep up, kids.)
What to look for in a writing app
What features do you really need in a writing app?
Need, mind you, not want or “really cool” or “I’m going to convince myself I need it even though I know better.”
This is largely going to come down to you and your style/process as a writer. TBH, most writing software is more or less the same. The main things you’re going to be looking for are value for money and practical functionality.
I’m a sucker for a sleek UI. I also love reports, metrics, charts, and all sorts of fancy things that make me feel like I’m doing something.
Realistically, though, I know those things are all just distractions and they don’t impact my actual writing process one bit (except as a distraction I can justify).
You might find those stats really useful for staying on track, though, and if that’s the case - cool. Just make sure you aren’t using them as a way to procrastinate.
Overall, I checked out 30-some different apps that claimed to be somewhat writing-adjacent. A good number I eliminated at the start because they either focused solely on the editing process or were ebook formatting apps.
Some of the apps in this list have those features as well, but their primary use is putting words on paper. You know what I mean.
ome of the apps in this list have those features as well, but their primary use is putting words on paper. Text on screen. You know what I mean.
Things I graded by:
Web-based or not
Cost
Features
Usability
Practicality
Truthfulness in marketing
Not going to call them out, but all of the features one app promised for free were... not. And the free version kinda sucked. (*cough* AutoCrit *cough*)
Let’s not dwell.
Writing app #5: Ulysses
Ulysses gets a lot of praise, and it’s probably earned it.
The “but” is that it’s only available for Mac devices. I tried it out on my iPad and, to be honest, it was just too cluttered to really do anything with it using that screen size.
On a desktop Mac, it probably would’ve been easier, but it also started up with quite a few example documents which I hate. Example documents are the worst.
It does save everything to iCloud, which is useful if you work across devices and in multiple locations but it only saves on iCloud so if you’re having any syncing issues, you can’t get to your docs.
Ulysses also lost a few points for being a subscription service. Granted, Ulysses isn’t as pricey as some of its competitors but if you use it long-term (like more than a year), you’re going to end up paying far more than the software is actually worth.
Ulysses features
Ulysses offers a free 7-day trial followed by a choice of two price plans:
$5.99/month
$39.99/year
*If you happen to be in the UK, the price point is also £5.99 and £39.99, so that’s fun.
With those plans, you get:
Unified iCloud library for all projects, notes, etc. written in Ulysses app
Built-in proofreading and editing assistant
Export as ebook, DOCX, PDF, and HTML
Publish directly to Wordpress, Ghost, Medium, et al directly from the app
Distraction-free editor
Writing app #4: NovelPad
Novelpad almost had me.
It’s got that sleek look I was talking about earlier. All the bells and whistles, but neatly tucked away in an unobtrusive menu bar. Dark mode.
And the text editor is so smooth.
But.
Like Ulysses, Novelpad is web-based and requires syncing. While you can work offline, to save your work, you have to rely on being able to reconnect at some point. Novelpad does temporarily save your changes on your device but personally I don’t like putting “temporary” and “work” in the same context.
Second, while it is more universally accessible than Ulysses, the price point is also higher and subscription-based. For something that costs over $100 a year, I want a little more control over what I’m getting.
Novelpad Features
Novelpad gives you a 14-day free trial with full features. After that, you’re still able to access your novels on Novelpad, but you can’t make any changes.
Payment comes with two options:
$15/month
$120/year (saving 33%)
And you do get an awful lot for that:
Automatic backups
Work online/offline
Import from Word, OpenOffice, and Markdown
Contextual reminder notes
Character, location, & plot organizers
Goals and analytics
Discord writing community
Spelling and grammar with ProWritingAid
But, like I said, that’s a high price point for sync-only saves.
Writing app #3: Bibisco
Bibisco is cool, primarily because they have a mostly-functional* free version.
*By “mostly-functional” I mean that there are additional paid features, but they’re more frills than needs.
Bibisco is also incredibly easy to learn. You’ve got all your standard organizational and writing tools, and it only takes a few minutes to figure out. And if you get stuck, there’s more than enough to get you started.
The only real downside to Bibisco is that the paid features aren’t marked, so you get a pop-up every time you click on one.
Even more irritatingly, there’s a 5 second wait period before you’re allowed to move on.
I do really like the app and considered switching from my long-term app, but the pressure to put money down rankles me.
It lost points for rankling me.
Bibisco features
Bibisco comes with a free version, but, as I mentioned, several features are only available to paid customers.
The lack of those features is more annoying than anything, but if you want to upgrade to the Supporter Edition, you can grab it for a one-time payment of $47.00.
*UK friends, be prepared for an additional $10 VAT charge.
If you feel like splurging a bit, the Supporter Edition comes with features like:
Mind maps
Timeline
Unlimited notes
Profile pictures for characters, places, & objects
Prologue, epilogue, & parts
Ability to move scenes to another chapter
Sequel creation
*The standard project/characters/locations are included in both versions but it seemed redundant to list all of those.
Writing app #2: The Novel Factory
The Novel Factory offers a free 30-day trial with no credit card info and I am definitely using it.
It’s desktop-based - which, you might have noticed, is a big thing for me - and has a similar aesthetic to Novelpad in terms of layout and organization.
The Novel Factory offers the standard suite of tools:
Character, location, and item library
Plot and subplot tracker
Stats and goals
Text editor
It also has an area for developing your premise and synopsis, as well as a “Novel Roadmap,” which - especially for new writers - walks you through putting together a novel step-by-step.
I’ve opted to use my trial to test out the Roadmap because I’m curious and I like to be told what to do. Plus it has pictures. So even an experienced writer who needs that much, much sought after organization can benefit from all The Novel Factory has to offer.
The Novel Factory features
While The Novel Factory ticks a lot of boxes for me, take a wild guess as to why it’s only #2 on this list.
That’s right. It requires a subscription.
For what you get, it’s not the most exorbitant price, but it’s not exactly cheap either. The Novel Factory has three payment plans, and you can choose to pay monthly or annually:
Basic: 1 novel, 50MB storage, & all features for $7.50/month or $75/year
Standard: Unlimited novels, 500MB storage, & all features for $20/month or $198/year
Premium: Unlimited novels, 5GB storage, & all features for $60/month or $600/year
I have absolutely no idea why anyone would want or need the Premium plan, but to each their own. I imagine, though, that the Basic plan is more in line with the majority of customers.
So, what you’re getting for your money:
Sections for characters, planning, locations, etc.
Plot manager/virtual corkboard
Character development prompts
Plot templates for popular genres
Plot point tracker
The Novel Roadmap
Character viewpoint synopses
Premise/synopsis builder
Stats
Writing app #1: Scrivener
I am absolutely, 100% not the least bit biased about this, but I’ve been using Scrivener since the Windows version was still in beta (2006-ish?).
Still, to stick by an app for nearly 20 years has to stand for something, right?
The thing I appreciate most about Scrivener is that it’s both stripped down and fully-featured. I can hide all those fascinating and time-stealing reports from myself if I want to, but I can also look over them if I really do need to know how many words of my manuscript would be on a single paperback page. (No, seriously, it’ll count that for you.)
It also comes with pre-structured templates for what you’re writing - but there aren’t millions to sift through looking for the right one.
There are four sections:
Fiction
Non-Fiction
Scriptwriting
Miscellaneous
And from there you can choose more specific structures like an APA-style paper, novel with parts, or recipe collection.
It has all the standard tools for keeping track of characters and plots, exporting to other programs, setting goals, etc.
There is a little bit of a learning curve to it, and even after all this time, I’m still discovering new things (in my defense, they do also keep updating it).
That said, it comes with an interactive tutorial, user manual, and video tutorials built right in, plus more on their site and in the community forum.
And just to show I’m unbiased, here are the downsides:
I hate the text editor. Seriously. I almost never use it except when editing. I don’t know why I don’t like it. I just don’t. So there you go.
You also have to buy a separate license for each device you want to use it on, which is a pain (and kind of expensive) if you want to do that.
And, like I mentioned earlier, it does take a minute to get the hang of, so if you’re looking for something you can just jump into and get started, it might not be the app for you.
Scrivener features
Scrivener falls into the one-time payment category:
$49.99 for Windows/Mac (student & academic discounts as well)
$19.99 for the iOS
*UK, you’re shafted again: £49.99 and £19.99 respectively. The company is even in Cornwall! Where’s the loyalty?
They’ve also partnered with programs like NaNoWriMo in the past, so you can get further discounts by participating in that. NaNoWriMo is actually how I was introduced to it, so overall, between the NaNo discount, being a student, then being an academic, I’ve paid very little for Scrivener over the past two decades.
No, that has absolutely nothing to do with why I like it.
Most of the software upgrades are free, and if there’s a major overhaul, existing users get 45% off the upgrade price.
What you get:
Corkboard
Outliner
Text editor
Stats & goals
Full-screen writing
Side-by-side viewing
Pre-made & custom templates
When it comes to decision time
All of these apps are just tools for you to use. They might make it easier, but none of them will do the heavy lifting for you.
It’s also important to keep in mind that for every way these apps can help, they can also become another distraction from doing any actual writing.
At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter whether you’re using the shiniest, newest, most expensive software to write with or a notebook you picked up from the Dollar Store. You’re the one who has to keep yourself motivated and committed.
Choose what works best for you.
Which writing app has your heart? Champion your fav in the comments, and may the best app win!
