Index
What writing software costs, and what it does with your book.
58 tools still trading, with the price we found, where each one keeps your manuscript, and whether it generates text. Every figure was read on the vendor's own pages in 2026.
How to read this. Prices are the entry-level list price in the currency the vendor published, excluding tax unless stated, and ignoring any sale that was running. Where a tool has several tiers, the note gives the next figure and the review gives the full table.
Where a cell says "not recorded", our review of that tool does not state the answer, and we would rather say so than infer it.
| Tool | For | Price | Licence | Your text lives | Generative AI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aeon Timeline | Timelines | USD 65 owned permanently, with one year of updates; later years USD 35 | One-off | Desktop | Not recorded |
| Arc Studio | Screenwriting | USD 99 per year Pro; Essentials is USD 69 per year, and a free plan allows two scripts | Free tier plus paid | Cloud | Optional Opt-in OpenAI features; generative add-ons are bought as credits |
| Atticus | Formatting and drafting | USD 147 one-time, unlimited books and pen names | One-off | Hybrid | Not recorded |
| AutoCrit | Fiction editing reports | USD 30 monthly Pro; USD 15 per month billed annually | Free tier plus paid | Cloud | Optional The alpha and beta reader features are generative |
| bibisco | Drafting and organisation | USD 69 Supporters Edition, one-time; Community Edition is free | Free tier plus paid | Desktop | None |
| BlurbBio | Drafting with AI analysis | USD 10 per month Writer, 40 AI credits; Author is USD 20 with 100 | Free tier plus paid | Cloud | Optional Analysis is central; sentence generation and Refine are on request |
| Bunsho | Continuity checking | USD 15 per month Storyteller, 50,000 credits; Saga is USD 29 and Quill without AI USD 8 | Free tier plus paid | Desktop | Optional Checks run on request; Director Mode drafts scenes you approve |
| Campfire Writing | Worldbuilding | USD 12 monthly Standard; a capped free tier exists | Free tier plus paid | Cloud | Not recorded |
| Clean Draft Studio | AI editing and continuity, unreleased | Not recorded Unreleased; the vendor says pricing will be announced before launch | One-off | Desktop | Core Announced: model-suggested edits, each reviewed before it applies |
| Dabble | Drafting and organisation | USD 19 per month, Writer plan | Subscription | Cloud | None Vendor states any future AI would be opt-in |
| EPOS-AI | Editing with manuscript memory | USD 99 per month Studio, including 2,250,000 words of editing a month | Subscription | Cloud | Core |
| Fictionary | Structural editing | USD 19 monthly StoryTeller; USD 168 annually | Subscription | Cloud | Analysis only AI scene feedback; the vendor says it generates no text |
| Final Draft | Screenwriting | USD 249.99 one-time list price, shown at USD 199.99 on offer; or USD 99.99 per year | One-off | Desktop | Not recorded The product pages do not mention generative features |
| Grammarly | Grammar and style | USD 30 per member monthly, Pro; USD 144 annually | Free tier plus paid | Cloud | Optional Blends rule-based and generative features |
| Hemingway Editor | Readability | USD 19.99 desktop, one-time; Editor Plus is USD 100 annually or USD 25 monthly | Free tier plus paid | Hybrid | Optional The desktop application excludes the Plus AI features |
| Journzy | Continuity checking | Not recorded Free in an invite-only private beta; launch pricing goes to the waitlist first | Subscription | Cloud | Analysis only Checks and suggests; the vendor says it never writes for you |
| Kindle Create | Formatting | Free | Free | Desktop | Not recorded |
| LanguageTool | Grammar and style | GBP 59.90 annual, as served to a UK reader | Free tier plus paid | Cloud | Optional Core checking is rule-based; Premium adds AI paraphrasing |
| LivingWriter | Drafting and organisation | USD 30 per month Pro; the free tier caps one manuscript at 25,000 words | Free tier plus paid | Cloud | Optional Assistance requests are metered by plan |
| Loreon | Story bible and AI agents | USD 10 Starter pack of 1,000 credits; no subscription, and the editor is free | Free tier plus paid | Cloud | Core Agents can ghost-write chapters from your outline |
| Manuscript (getmanuscript.app) | Drafting with AI editorial reports | USD 79 lifetime at launch, rising to USD 99 after 500 users | One-off | Desktop | Optional Your own key; Prose Pass proposes tracked edits |
| Marlowe | Manuscript analysis | USD 19.95 per month Pro, four reports; USD 159 a year or USD 29.95 a report; Basic is free | Free tier plus paid | Cloud | Analysis only Analytical AI from Authors A.I.; it writes nothing |
| Milanote | Visual planning boards | USD 9.99 per month Individual, billed annually, or USD 12.50 monthly; free for 100 items | Free tier plus paid | Cloud | Not recorded No text generation found; image background removal only |
| Myra Create | Drafting and worldbuilding | USD 10 per month Pro, or USD 100 a year; the free plan allows three projects | Free tier plus paid | Cloud | Optional Plan my book generates story beats on Pro |
| Neural Novelist | AI writing workspace | USD 9 per month with your own model key; managed plan USD 19 per month | Subscription | Cloud | Core Twelve task-specific assistants on Gemini, OpenAI, Claude or GLM |
| Notion | Notes and research | USD 10 per seat per month Plus, billed annually; full Notion AI starts at Business, USD 20 | Free tier plus paid | Cloud | Core Sold as an AI workspace; drafting is built in |
| NovelCanon | Drafting with consistency checks | USD 7 per month Manuscript, billed monthly, or USD 60 a year; AI needs your own API key | Free tier plus paid | Cloud | Optional Continue and rewrite run on your own API key |
| NovelContinuity | Continuity tracking | USD 20 per month Simple, 15 scan credits; private beta, access by application only | Subscription | Cloud | Optional Advanced drafts profiles, summaries and a synopsis |
| Novelcrafter | Drafting with optional AI | USD 4 per month, Scribe; AI needs your own API key | Subscription | Cloud | Optional The subscription includes no AI usage at all |
| Novelium | Continuity checking | USD 19 per month Pro; the free tier allows 10,000 analysis words a month | Free tier plus paid | Cloud | Analysis only A model reads the text; the vendor says it never writes |
| NovelPad | Drafting and organisation | USD 15 per month or USD 89 once for the desktop-only licence | Subscription | Hybrid | None Nothing in it drafts prose, per the vendor |
| Novilot | Continuity checking and story bible | USD 19 per month Writer, 100 AI credits; a USD 9 pack adds 40 credits | Free tier plus paid | Cloud | Optional Optional autocomplete and chat beside an AI checker |
| Novlr | Drafting and organisation | USD 8 per month Starter, on annual billing; a free tier exists | Free tier plus paid | Cloud | None Vendor has committed to never adding it |
| Obsidian | Notes and research | Free Sync is USD 4 per user per month billed annually | Free tier plus paid | Hybrid | Not recorded |
| PerfectIt | Consistency and house style | USD 10 per month Professional, or 115 billed annually; the Mac version checks in the cloud | Subscription | Hybrid | None Checks against a style sheet you define |
| PlotForge | Series bible and AI drafting | USD 12 per month web Starter, or USD 79 once for Desktop; a free tier exists | Free tier plus paid | Hybrid | Core AI words metered on every web plan; Voice Engine on Pro |
| PlotLens | Story bible and continuity | USD 15 per month Plus, 300 validations a month; Pro is USD 29 | Free tier plus paid | Cloud | Analysis only A language model reads the text; the vendor says it does not write your book |
| Plottr | Plotting and timelines | USD 60 annually for the offline core, or USD 150 lifetime | Subscription | Desktop | None The official page states the core app has no generative AI |
| ProWritingAid | Grammar, style and reports | USD 30 monthly Premium; USD 120 annually, USD 399 lifetime | Free tier plus paid | Cloud | Optional Rephrase, Sparks and Chapter Critique are generative |
| Publisher Rocket | Keyword and category research | USD 199 one-time, against a crossed-out USD 299; recheck before buying | One-off | Desktop | Not recorded |
| Reedsy Studio | Drafting and formatting | USD 4.99 monthly Craft add-on, Outlining USD 7.99; core writing and formatting are free | Free tier plus paid | Cloud | Not recorded |
| Scribeist and Mythos | AI writing studio | USD 12 per month Hobby; a full-featured free tier exists | Free tier plus paid | Cloud | Core |
| Scrivener | Drafting and organisation | USD 59.99 per desktop platform; iOS sold separately | One-off | Desktop | None The vendor states it contains no AI |
| SerialForge | Web serial workspace | Not recorded proposed Creator price of USD 15 per month; the vendor calls its prices a validation signal and nothing is on sale yet | Free tier plus paid | Cloud | Core AI chapter drafting is planned; the current checker demo uses none |
| Show Me My Book | Done-for-you canon bible | GBP 99 one-off per book, done for you; USD 99 | One-off | Cloud | Analysis only AI analyses and catalogues the book; never writes prose, per the vendor |
| ShyEditor | AI writing studio | USD 10 per month Pro, with 500 AI Assistant credits a month | Free tier plus paid | Cloud | Core |
| Story Bible Ultimate | Story bible wiki | USD 9.99 per month Pro; the free Preview tier allows one story | Free tier plus paid | Cloud | Optional An AI assistant on Pro; entries are written by hand |
| Storybible | AI writing workspace | Not recorded 14-day trial; no editable free plan | Subscription | Cloud | Core Background AI analysis is part of writable access |
| StoryHelm | Series continuity checking | USD 19 per month Writer, or USD 14 per month billed annually; founding cohort only until public launch | Subscription | Cloud | Optional The checker only reads; Translation Studio is AI translation |
| Storyist | Drafting and organisation | USD 59.00 macOS; iOS is USD 19.00 separately | One-off | Desktop | Not recorded |
| Sudowrite | AI drafting for fiction | USD 19 per month, Hobby and Student, 225,000 credits; USD 10 billed annually | Subscription | Cloud | Core |
| The Novel Kit | Terminology and consistency | £13.99 Final Check, 7 days, ten scans; $16.99 | One-off | Not stored | None Fixed rules and pattern matching, no model reads the text |
| Vellam | Manuscript analysis | USD 9.99 one-off, 100,000 credits that do not expire; USD 25 and USD 99.99 packs | One-off | Cloud | Optional AI analysis; brainstorming and character chat on request, nothing inserted into the text |
| Vellum | Formatting | USD 199.99 Ebooks; Press is USD 249.99. Mac only | One-off | Desktop | Not recorded |
| World Anvil | Worldbuilding | USD 4.50 per month Master, annual-billing equivalent; a free tier exists | Free tier plus paid | Cloud | Not recorded |
| Worldcraft | Story bible and continuity | GBP 4.99 per month Author, founding member price; Worldsmith GBP 11.99 per month | Free tier plus paid | Cloud | Optional Every AI feature is optional; your own key can be used |
| Writers Studio (LiteStep) | Drafting and worldbuilding, Mac | USD 59 Direct edition, up to 3 Macs; App Store AI plans from USD 9.99 a month | One-off | Desktop | Optional Your own key, local Ollama, or an App Store AI plan |
| yWriter | Drafting and organisation | Free | Free | Desktop | None No generative feature, stated as a position |
| Shaxpir | Drafting and organisation | Withdrawn Shut down 5 May 2026; the archive is kept until 5 November 2026 | Subscription | Cloud | Not recorded |
What has changed
- September 2026 Novelium The USD 7 Basic tier has gone, so the first paid plan is Pro at USD 19 a month. The AI cell moves from Core to Analysis only: a model reads the manuscript and nothing in the product writes prose. Read the detail
- September 2026 Sudowrite Professional now includes 450,000 credits a month, down from 1,000,000, at the same price. The pricing page opens on annual billing, which shows the lower figures first. Read the detail
- September 2026 Marlowe Sold by Authors A.I. as a free Basic tier, a Pro subscription at USD 19.95 a month or USD 159 a year, and single reports at USD 29.95, so the row moves from One-off to Free tier plus paid. The vendor calls it analytical AI, so the AI cell moves from None to Analysis only. Read the detail
- September 2026 Hemingway Editor Editor Plus on monthly billing is now USD 25 for new subscribers, up from USD 10. The annual plan is unchanged at USD 100. Read the detail
- September 2026 Reedsy Studio The USD 4.99 tier once shown as Studio Essential is now the Craft add-on, sold beside a separate Outlining add-on. Read the detail
- September 2026 Notion Price now recorded: Plus is USD 10 per seat per month billed annually, and the full AI features start at Business. Read the detail
- September 2026 Fictionary The vendor describes its AI as scene feedback that generates no text, so the AI cell moves from Optional to Analysis only. Read the detail
- 2026 Notion Now sold as an AI workspace, with draft generation inside the page and an agent on the paid plans, so the row moves to Core. Read the detail
- 2026 Novlr The vendor states there is no AI writing or co-writing tool in the product and undertakes never to add one. Read the detail
- 2026 NovelPad The vendor states that nothing in the product offers to write for you, which settles a cell our review had left unrecorded. Read the detail
- 2026 Dabble The vendor's AI policy is written in the conditional, establishing that no generative feature ships today. Read the detail
- 2026 Publisher Rocket Listed at USD 199 against a crossed-out USD 299. Older affiliate pages still circulate a USD 97 figure that is out of date. Read the detail
- 2026 PerfectIt The vendor moved to perfectit.com; intelligentediting.com now redirects and the store sits on store.perfectit.com. Read the detail
- May 2026 Shaxpir Shut down on 5 May 2026. The emergency database archive is stated as being kept until 5 November 2026. Read the detail
Figures last checked in 2026. Vendors change prices without notice, so confirm the current figure in the seller's own checkout before buying.
Data licence. The Writing Software Price and AI Index dataset is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0). You may share and adapt the dataset with appropriate attribution: please credit The Novel Kit and link to the original index. The licence applies to the dataset only, not to this page, the site's copy, branding or images, or any third party's name or mark.
Checking a manuscript, not choosing an app?
Free to preview, no sign-up required.