10 Best Apps for Writing a Book in 2026: Free and Paid Apps Ranked

Scrivener is the app most novelists end up in, because a novel is not one long document but dozens of scenes that move. The binder holds chapters, research and notes beside the manuscript, the corkboard turns scenes into index cards you can reorder by dragging, and snapshots save a version before every rewrite. Compile then turns the whole project into Word, PDF, EPUB or a print-ready file.

The price is the honest advantage: $59.99 once per desktop platform, with no subscription and free updates inside Scrivener 3. The catches are real too. A licence covers one platform, so Mac plus Windows costs $95.98 as a bundle, syncing between devices runs through Dropbox, and Compile takes an afternoon to learn. Buy it when the book is long and the structure matters.

Reedsy Studio is the free option that goes furthest: it is a browser app where you draft in chapters, invite an editor to comment with tracked changes, and export a typeset EPUB and a print-ready PDF when the book is done. The core writing, formatting and export features are free, and Reedsy says they will stay free, so a first novel can go from blank page to a file KDP accepts without spending anything.

The trade-off is control. The app runs in the browser only, with no offline mode and no desktop app, and formatting means three templates and four trim sizes rather than the open-ended control Atticus offers. Planning boards and advanced goals need the paid Craft or Outline add-ons. Start here if the budget is zero and the book is a standard novel or memoir.

Atticus was built by authors who were tired of paying twice: once for drafting software and again for a formatter. It combines a clean chapter-by-chapter editor with genuinely professional formatting, offering 17 chapter themes, 1,500 fonts and custom theme building, then exports EPUB and print-ready PDF files with proper headings, drop caps and front matter. One payment covers unlimited books on Windows, Mac, Linux and Chromebook.

The price is $147 once, with all future updates included and a 30-day money-back guarantee. That pays for itself on the first book if you would otherwise hire a formatter, but it is a lot to spend when all you need is somewhere to write. Drafting is good but shallower than Scrivener, and updates have slowed. Buy it when you publish your own books and want the formatting done in-house.

Dabble is what Scrivener would look like if it lived in the cloud and looked modern. The Plot Grid maps plotlines against chapters so you can see the whole story structure while you draft, story notes stay attached to scenes, and everything syncs automatically across web and desktop. Goals, stats, focus mode and versioning come with the entry Writer plan, and co-authoring lets a writing partner work in the same manuscript.

Writer costs $19 a month, or $15 a month billed annually, which is $180 a year. That is the catch: three years of Writer costs $540, against $59.99 once for Scrivener, and there is no ebook or print formatting, so publishing still needs another app. Grammar checks and track changes wait for the $29-a-month Author plan. Pick Dabble when plotting in the cloud matters more than owning the software.

Google Docs is the simplest way to write a book with other people. It is free with a Google account, saves every keystroke automatically, and lets an editor or beta reader comment, suggest changes and edit at the same time as you. Version history records every change, so a bad edit can be undone weeks later, and the file opens on any device in a browser, with voice typing and offline mode through Chrome.

The limit is structure. A novel is one long document, so chapters need separate files or a single giant document, and there is no corkboard, plot grid or story bible, and no book-specific export or formatting. Exports to Word, PDF and EPUB cover the move to another app when the draft is done. Use Docs when collaboration is the job and the manuscript is straightforward.

Ulysses is the quietest desk in this list. A three-pane layout holds your library, your manuscript and your editor, and Markdown keeps formatting out of your way while you write. Writing goals show a small ring that fills as you hit a daily chapter target, files sync over iCloud, and the app publishes straight to WordPress, Ghost and Medium. Built-in grammar and style checking covers more than 20 languages.

The subscription is $5.99 a month or $39.99 a year, covering all your Apple devices with Family Sharing for up to five household members. The catch is the platform wall: Ulysses runs on Mac, iPad and iPhone only, with no Windows, Android or web version, and the app turns read-only if the subscription lapses. Pick it when you live on Apple devices and want the calmest place to write.

Novlr is built around a belief that finishing a book is a habit problem, not a software problem. Writing goals, streak tracking, sprints and analytics sit front and centre, alongside a plot grid for planning and notes pinned beside the manuscript. Focus and typewriter modes keep the page quiet, and the free plan covers two projects with sync, which is enough to test the workflow seriously before paying.

Starter costs $8 a month billed annually, which is $96 a year, with ten projects and 30-day version history. Studio at $16 a month adds unlimited projects, a proofreader and priority support. The grammar checker sits on Studio, the app runs in a browser with only brief offline cover, and Novlr has committed to never adding generative AI. Choose it when daily momentum is what your first draft is missing.

Plottr does one thing and refuses to do anything else: it helps you plan the book before you write it. Scene cards sit on a colour-coded timeline with one row per plotline, so arcs and subplots stay visible across a novel or series. More than 30 templates cover the Hero's Journey, Three Act structure and other frameworks, and outlines export to Word and Scrivener, so the plan drops straight into your drafting app.

The base plan costs $60 a year or $150 for a lifetime licence, with a 30-day free trial. Pro at $9.99 a month adds the web app, cloud sync and real-time collaboration, which the base plan lacks. Plottr is a companion, not a replacement: you still need a writing app for the manuscript itself. Buy it when the outline is where your books usually fall apart.

LivingWriter combines the visual organisation of a plotting tool with a full drafting environment and an AI writing assistant. Boards arrange chapters, scenes, characters and research in one view, story structure templates cover everything from the Hero's Journey to screenplay formats, and the AI assistant helps with outlining, revision and breaking through blocks. It syncs across web, desktop, iOS and Android, and integrates with Google Drive, Grammarly and Canva.

The free plan covers your first book with basic PDF export, a genuine way to test the workflow. Pro costs $19.99 a month or $149 a year, and Pro + AI at $199 a year adds unlimited AI requests. The free plan exports PDF only, there is no Linux app, and AI help costs extra. Pick it for one cloud app covering planning, drafting and AI help.

Microsoft Word is the app every editor, agent and publisher already accepts, a real advantage when the manuscript leaves your desk. Track changes, OneDrive autosave and version history protect the file, and the same files open on Windows, Mac, web, iOS and Android. Microsoft 365 Personal adds 1 TB of storage and Copilot AI help.

Personal costs $9.99 a month or $99.99 a year, up from $69.99 before the 2025 price rise, so the familiar app now costs as much as a dedicated writing tool. As a book app it is thin: no binder, corkboard, plot grid or story bible, and a long manuscript in one file gets slow, with navigation by headings alone. Use Word when the book must pass through editors who work in Word, not when structure is the problem.