novelWriter vs Scrivener

Struggling to choose between novelWriter and Scrivener? Both products offer unique advantages, making it a tough decision.

novelWriter is a Office & Productivity solution with tags like writing, novels, authoring, creative-writing, distractionfree.

It boasts features such as Chapters, scenes, characters, locations, notes for organizing stories, Distraction-free writing mode, Exports to common ebook formats, Word count statistics, Spell checking, Auto-save and version control, Themes and fonts customization, Tagging system for easy searching and filtering, Project templates and pros including Free and open source, Good for organizing complex stories, Minimalist interface focused on writing, Cross-platform availability.

On the other hand, Scrivener is a Office & Productivity product tagged with writing, authoring, drafting, outlining.

Its standout features include Corkboard view to visualize story structure, Outliner to organize scenes and chapters, Annotations and comments to provide feedback on drafts, Split screen to view multiple documents, Templates for common formats like novels and screenplays, Revision tracking to compare draft changes, Export to common formats like PDF and ePub, and it shines with pros like Powerful tools for planning and organizing long documents, Flexible interface to suit different writing styles, Great for collaborating with editors and co-authors, Robust formatting and export options, Helpful for drafting and revising.

To help you make an informed decision, we've compiled a comprehensive comparison of these two products, delving into their features, pros, cons, pricing, and more. Get ready to explore the nuances that set them apart and determine which one is the perfect fit for your requirements.

novelWriter

novelWriter

novelWriter is an open-source tool for creative writing, geared towards novels. It provides features like chapters, scenes, characters, locations, notes, and more to help authors organize and write their stories. It offers distraction-free writing mode and exports to common ebook formats.

Categories:
writing novels authoring creative-writing distractionfree

NovelWriter Features

  1. Chapters, scenes, characters, locations, notes for organizing stories
  2. Distraction-free writing mode
  3. Exports to common ebook formats
  4. Word count statistics
  5. Spell checking
  6. Auto-save and version control
  7. Themes and fonts customization
  8. Tagging system for easy searching and filtering
  9. Project templates

Pricing

  • Open Source

Pros

Free and open source

Good for organizing complex stories

Minimalist interface focused on writing

Cross-platform availability

Cons

Limited compared to full word processors

Steep learning curve

Lacks collaborative features


Scrivener

Scrivener

Scrivener is professional writing software used by authors to plan, organize and write long documents like novels and screenplays. It has features like corkboard, outliner, annotations, and split screen to help write drafts and revisions.

Categories:
writing authoring drafting outlining

Scrivener Features

  1. Corkboard view to visualize story structure
  2. Outliner to organize scenes and chapters
  3. Annotations and comments to provide feedback on drafts
  4. Split screen to view multiple documents
  5. Templates for common formats like novels and screenplays
  6. Revision tracking to compare draft changes
  7. Export to common formats like PDF and ePub

Pricing

  • One-time Purchase

Pros

Powerful tools for planning and organizing long documents

Flexible interface to suit different writing styles

Great for collaborating with editors and co-authors

Robust formatting and export options

Helpful for drafting and revising

Cons

Steep learning curve

Overwhelming interface for new users

Limited cloud sync and collaboration features

Windows and Mac only, no Linux or mobile versions

Can be slow with very large documents