Guide to writing software
Best Book Writing Software: Scrivener and Its Alternatives
Twelve writing apps compared on price, the systems they run on and what each does best, from free options to Scrivener.
The best book writing software depends on your budget and your computer. Scrivener is the long-standing choice for novelists: a one-time $59.99 gets you a binder that holds chapters and research, and a compile step that turns your draft into Word, PDF or an ebook. Manuskript, bibisco and Reedsy Studio are free, and Atticus and Dabble run on almost any device.
Each option below is listed with its price, the systems it runs on and who it suits, all checked on the maker's site on October 6, 2026. Want AI to help write the book itself? That comparison lives in our guide to the best AI for writing a book.
Book writing software compared
Book writing software by price, systems and best use
| Software | Price | Runs on | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scrivener | $59.99 once for Mac or Windows; $95.98 for both; $23.99 for iPhone and iPad | Mac, Windows, iPhone, iPad | Organizing a long draft and compiling it to Word, PDF or ebook |
| Manuskript | Free, open source | Windows, Linux | A free outliner with character and plot notes |
| bibisco | Free Community Edition; paid Supporters Edition, bought once | Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, iOS | Planning characters, places and storylines beside the draft |
| yWriter | Free on Windows | Windows; versions for Mac, Android and iOS | Breaking a novel into chapters and scenes |
| Reedsy Studio | Free; add-ons from $4.99 | Web browser | Writing and formatting an ebook and print file at no cost |
| Dabble | $19, $29 or $49 a month; 20% off yearly | Any device, with cloud sync | Plotting and writing in one place, with co-authors |
| Plottr | $60 a year or $150 once; Pro $99 a year | Windows, Mac; browser with Pro | Visual timelines and series bibles |
| Atticus | $147 once | Windows, Mac, Linux, Chromebook, browser | Writing and formatting ebook and print files in one app |
| Novelcrafter | $4 to $20 a month, plus your AI provider | Web browser | Planning with a Codex, plus AI you connect yourself |
| Ulysses | $5.99 a month or $39.99 a year | Mac, iPad, iPhone | Focused writing on Apple devices |
| Google Docs | Free with a Google account | Web, phones, tablets | Sharing chapters with beta readers for comments |
| River | Free plan; $14, $36 or $100 a month | Web; apps for Mac, Windows, Linux | AI help for each step, with every result saved as a document |
Prices in US dollars from each maker's site, checked October 6, 2026. Prices change, so check before you buy.
Scrivener: price, licence and what you get
Scrivener keeps a whole book in one project. The binder holds chapters, scenes and research, the corkboard and outliner let you move scenes around, and compile turns the draft into Word, PDF, ePub or Kindle files (Scrivener overview). Literature & Latte says Scrivener contains no AI.
As of October 6, 2026, a licence costs $59.99 for Mac or Windows, $95.98 for both, and $23.99 for iPhone and iPad. You pay once per platform, minor updates are free, and the next major version will be a paid upgrade with a discount for owners. The free trial counts 30 days of actual use, so writing two days a week stretches it to about fifteen weeks (Scrivener download page).
Scrivener doesn't run on Linux, Android or in a browser, and it takes time to learn. If either matters to you, the alternatives below are worth a look.
Free Scrivener alternatives
- Manuskript: free and open source, with an outline, notes on characters and plots, word count goals and a distraction-free mode. It has packages for Windows and Linux.
- bibisco: a free Community Edition for planning characters, locations and storylines next to your chapters. The paid Supporters Edition adds more tools.
- yWriter: free on Windows, written by a novelist and built around chapters and scenes. It won't write or suggest anything for you, by design.
- Reedsy Studio: free in a browser, with ePub and print-ready PDF export. Paid add-ons for outlining and writing stats start at $4.99 a month.
- Google Docs: free, familiar, and simple to share with beta readers and co-writers who want to leave comments.
Paid alternatives, by what you need
- Write anywhere, with co-authors: Dabble keeps your book in sync across devices and costs $19, $29 or $49 a month, or 20% less when you pay yearly. A 14-day trial needs no card.
- Plot visually: Plottr lays out timelines and series bibles, costs $60 a year or $150 once, and advertises that it uses no AI.
- Write and format in one app: Atticus costs $147 once and exports ePub and print-ready PDF on Windows, Mac, Linux and Chromebook.
- Write on Apple devices: Ulysses syncs between Mac, iPad and iPhone for $5.99 a month or $39.99 a year.
- Plan with AI: Novelcrafter costs $4 to $20 a month, plus whatever your AI provider charges. The AI writing tools guide compares it with Sudowrite.
Getting your book out: compile and export
Whatever you write in, you'll need a finished file at the end. Scrivener compiles to Word, PDF and ePub, and ePub works for Kindle, since Amazon's KDP accepts ePub and Word files for ebooks. Atticus and Reedsy Studio both export ePub and print-ready PDF. Apps without ebook export give you a Word file to format yourself or hand to a formatter.
Sending your book to agents instead? They want a Word file in standard manuscript format, and the manuscript format template comes set up that way.
Where River fits
River doesn't replace Scrivener: it has no corkboard and no one-click ePub compile. It's a set of free tools and templates for each step of a book, and every result lands as a document you can edit and export to Word or PDF.
Start a novel from one sentence with the AI novel writer, plan it with the book outline generator or the novel outline template, and keep names and facts straight in a story bible. Then write in whichever app on this list suits you.