Alternatives to Scrivener

A writing app for drafting and organising long documents such as novels, screenplays and theses. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.

Replacements

Listings that take over the same core job as Scrivener.

  • Ulysses

    A focused writing app for Mac, iPad and iPhone with project management, sync and export.

    PaidProprietarymacOSiOS

    Ulysses is a paid, distraction-free writing app with a library for large projects and grammar checking, but it runs only on Mac, iPad and iPhone, with no Windows version.

  • Manuskript

    Plan and draft long writing projects on your desktop.

    FreeOpen sourceWindowsmacOSLinux

    Manuskript is a free, open source desktop app for Windows, macOS and Linux that keeps outlines, characters and chapters together, focusing on drafting rather than final layout.

  • novelWriter

    Write novels as a collection of manageable text documents.

    FreeOpen sourceWindowsmacOSLinux

    novelWriter is free and open source on Windows, macOS and Linux, storing a novel as readable text documents with lightweight markup instead of a visual word processor layout.

  • Reedsy Studio

    A browser-based writing app for authors that formats a manuscript into a finished book as you write.

    FreemiumProprietaryWeb

    Reedsy Studio runs in the browser with an account, formatting the book while you write and offering real-time collaboration, with some features as paid add-ons.

  • Atticus

    A book writing and formatting tool for producing print books and ebooks on any desktop platform.

    PaidProprietaryWindowsmacOSLinuxWeb

    Atticus combines writing and book formatting in one paid app for Windows, Mac, Linux and Chromebook, with templates and e-reader previews aimed at self-publishing.

  • Notebooks

    A writing, notes and task app for Mac and iOS that organises documents in nested books.

    PaidProprietarymacOSiOS

    Notebooks is a one-time purchase for Mac and iOS that keeps notes, long documents and tasks in nested books and exports to PDF and ebook.

Also worth comparing

These listings name Scrivener as their own alternative, so the relationship runs both ways.

  • Effie

    A minimalist writing app combining notes, outlines and mind maps, with an optional AI assistant.

    FreemiumProprietaryWindowsmacOSAndroidiOS

    Scrivener is a paid app for drafting long manuscripts with research and notes in one project on macOS, Windows and iOS, with no Android version or mind maps.

Similar software

Related functionality, not a direct replacement.