Do you work as a full-time or part-time writer? Alternatively, are you a student planning to produce essays, dissertations, or a thesis? A writing app, whether professional or not, will be more than a great buddy to you as a writer. Scrivener and its variants are unique go-to tools for authors, offering everything from grammatical correction to language improvisation and style checks, among other things.
What is Scrivener?
Scrivener is a popular writing programme designed specifically for novelists, screenwriters, students, lawyers, and other types of writers.
Pros
- The app is best for professionals with advanced proofreading and writing tools.
- It comes with its organizational content feature and storyboard equipment.
- Scrivener offers more than 12 templates.
- It is compatible with both Android and iOS devices.
- You can enjoy its 30-days free trial too (subject to terms and conditions).
- Scrivener 3 is now available on macOS devices at a 45% discount for existing customers and $49 for newcomers.
Cons
- Users have been complaining about the complexity of the sharing mechanism.
- Also, the utility is more convenient for professionals or one with a steeper learning curve as compared to novices.
- Also, it doesn’t support Grammarly, which is quite significant given how many users rely on Grammarly for proofreading.
- Users have also shown dissatisfaction concerning the lack of compatibility between Mac and Windows OS.
Here Are 7 Best Scrivener Alternatives in 2021 for Windows, Android, and Mac:
1. ProWritingAid
ProWritingAid is the best grammar checker and writing-style editor available today, and it deserves to be at the top of the Scrivener alternatives list for 2021. Let’s have a look at why ProWritingAid is so special.
Features of ProWritingAid:
- It offers world-class grammar and writing-style checking along with in-depth reporting, all to enhance your writing output.
- The software is designed to provide suggestions, inputs, such as videos, articles, quizzes, to make your writing seemingly interactive.
- Reasonable pricing
- GDPR-compliant with strict privacy controls.
- It provides an excellent API.
- There is a free version, as well.
ProWritingAid Pricing:
ProWritingAidPremium+ is available for $66 per year. You can use the premium version to get the most out of it, including plagiarism checks up to 50 times each year.
This strategy is ideal for scholarly reasons. The Lifetime edition is also available for a one-time payment of $199.50.
2. Manuskript
Manuskript is a popular word processing application for writers to generate their first draught, edit and develop it, and transform it into a masterpiece. It is known as the greatest open-source (free) Scrivener alternative.
Features of Manuskript:
- It is best for those writers who like to keep their work sorted and organized.
- The app allows a distraction-free mode wherein you can set your goal in terms of word count or hours of writing before you can take a break with a ‘full stop’.
- The Snowflake method acts as your novel assistant, helping you create your characters, vivid plot details, etc.
- It enables you to keep track of your notes concerning every character, plot details, and events in your story.
- The tool is available on Mac, Android, and Windows.
Manuskript Pricing:
Manuskript is a free alternative to Scrivener. You can, however, contribute to the open-source writing tool’s developers.
3. Bibisco
Do you want a writing programme that’s easy to use and doesn’t take up a lot of time, like Scrivener? If that’s the case, Bibisco is the best novel writing software available today.
Features of Bibisco:
- You can sort your pages, scenes into chapters quickly.
- It helps you to export novels in pdf, epub, and doc format.
- Bibisco also enables you to write in a distraction-free mode as a genuine text editor.
- You can review your multi-paged novel with a glance. The app allows you to analyze characters, plots, their length, and distribution throughout the plot in a timeline.
- Bibisco speaks multi-languages, viz. Brazil, Portuguese, Russian, Dutch, etc.
- Bibisco supports numerous platforms, such as Windows, macOS, and Linux.
Bibisco Pricing:
Bibisco’s Community edition is free, but the Supporters edition costs money.
4. Quoll Writer
Quoll Writer, a free alternative to Scrivener, is the finest platform for screenwriters and authors because of its comprehensive features and simple design. It’s all about being able to write for long periods of time.
Features of Quoll Writer:
- Its primary focus is on words and long writing content with an option to switch to full-screen writing.
- Quoll Writer is an open-source Scrivener alternative.
- The tabbed interface is simple and lets you keep track of long stories with numerous characters.
- Quoll Writer also offers easy chapter management, move them, link them, record goals, add descriptions to tag them.
- Scenes and plot outlines help in the easy annotation of the content.
- The Problem Finder feature allows detecting errors and writing issues intelligently.
- Easy sharing across apps and devices.
- It also offers statistics and targets to have figurative progress update.
Quoll Writer Pricing:
Quoll Writer is a free alternative to Scrivener.
5. Final Draft
For professional screenwriters and filmmakers, Final Draft is the best writing tool. It has its own research facilities and note-taking procedure as an open-source Scrivener alternative.
Features of Final Draft:
- Regular updates are available on its official site. The Final Draft 11 is now available for download.
- Final Draft is a handy tool for professionals, students, teachers, and bloggers.
- The Final Draft Mobile version is handy on iPhone and iPad and thus, accessible easily.
- The software automatically translates your formats into an industry-standard script, thus, easing the work of writers.
- Final Draft offers real-time collaboration among your peers across the globe.
- Affordable educational pricing available for students, at nearly 50% off.
- Final Draft 11 can be installed on Windows 10 and macOS 10.12 Sierra or higher versions.
Final Draft Pricing:
Enjoy the 30-day free trial or buy the Final Draft 11 at $149.99 only as per your needs.
6. Zoho Writer
Zoho Writer, one of the best Scrivener replacements, runs seamlessly on both desktop (Windows, Mac, Linux) and mobile (iOS, Android) devices. The templates allow you to generate attractive papers in only a few minutes.
Features of Zoho Writer:
- Real-time collaboration with your teammates.
- Easy-to-use UI that lets you write inspirational, minimalistic to exceptional content.
- Two simplistic features, Night Mode and Focus Mode help in keeping your focus on the current paragraph intact.
- Auto-saving
- Locking sensitive information and hiding your changes by restricting your collaboration until you are ready.
- Zia- the AI-driven, smart writing assistant will help you throughout the write-up.
- It offers a wide range of templates.
- Automated paperwork with bulk signature and merging other source documents.
- Share to your WordPress blog anytime you wish.
- You can work offline on any browser and not just Google Chrome.
Zoho Writer Pricing:
Zoho Writer pricing is not disclosed on the website. So, we assume that it is a free alternative to Scrivener.
7. Google Docs
Google Docs is a popular writing tool that comes as part of the Google apps and is one of the most trustworthy cloud-based Scrivener alternatives for Android, iOS, Mac, Windows, and Linux platforms. You can take advantage of its many capabilities, such as voice typing and automatic proofreading.
Features of Google Docs
- An online tool just like Scrivener and Zoho Writer with thousands of fonts and dozens of clear formatting options.
- Tag someone, comment, and assign the work to your team directly.
- Voice typing and offline writing mode
- More suitable for novices, story writers, and students who need a handy, go-to-app for writing.
- Google Docs is available for anyone who has a Gmail account.
- It has a 4.3 rating on the Google store.
Google Docs Pricing:
The app is totally free. Download it from Google Play or App Store for Mobile devices. You can also enjoy its all features on the Desktop by logging into your Gmail account.
