bibisco
Focus: character development and story timeline. Shares novel writing and fiction with novelWriter. Freemium (novelWriter: Free). Same 4.5 rating.
Desktop AppFree planWindows, macOS
4.5Visit
Desktop App
novelWriter
A free, open-source plain text editor built for writing novels.
Rating
4.5 / 5
Pricing
Free
Difficulty
Intermediate
Works on
Windows, Linux, macOS
Built with love by Shushant Lakhyani. Building bestproductivityresources.com
What is novelWriter?
novelWriter is a free and open-source editor for novels and other long projects made of many smaller documents. It uses a Markdown-like syntax and stores your project as plain text files for robustness, so your writing is never locked into a special format. A metadata syntax lets you add comments, synopses and cross-references between files, and your text and notes stay organised in one project. It runs on Linux, Windows and macOS, though on macOS it now has to be installed as a Python package because the DMG downloads were discontinued. It is released under the GPL v3 license.
Pros: what novelWriter does well
- Projects saved as plain text files
- Comments, synopses and cross-references between files
- Free and open source under GPL v3
Cons: where it falls short
- macOS install now needs a Python environment
- No built-in cloud sync
Who novelWriter is for
Novelists who want a distraction-free editor and future-proof files.
Who can skip it
Writers who prefer a word processor with rich formatting.
novelWriter alternatives
Not sold on novelWriter? These do a similar job, and each card says what it has in common.
Manuskript
Focus: outliner and snowflake method. Shares novel writing and fiction with novelWriter. Rated 4.4 (novelWriter: 4.5).
Desktop AppFreeWindows, Linux
4.4Visit
mdBook
Focus: documentation, books and static site. Shares markdown with novelWriter. Same 4.5 rating.
Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.5Visit
Zola
Focus: static site, blog and website. Shares markdown with novelWriter. Same 4.5 rating.
Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.5Visit
Bear
Focus: apple, tags and minimal. Shares markdown with novelWriter. An iOS app, not a desktop app. Freemium (novelWriter: Free). Adds iOS. Rated 4.6 (novelWriter: 4.5).
iOS AppFree planiOS, macOS
4.6Visit
UpNote
Focus: notes, notebooks and journal. Shares markdown with novelWriter. A mobile app, not a desktop app. Freemium (novelWriter: Free). Adds iOS and Android. Rated 4.6 (novelWriter: 4.5).
Mobile AppFree planiOS, Android
4.6Visit
Free alternatives to novelWriter
Want to spend nothing? These free picks cover similar ground.
Jekyll
Focus: static site, blog and website. Shares markdown with novelWriter. A framework, not a desktop app. Same 4.5 rating.
FrameworkFreemacOS, Windows
4.5Visit
Hugo
Focus: static site, blog and documentation. Also in Writing and Organization, like novelWriter. Rated 4.7 (novelWriter: 4.5).
Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.7Visit
LibreOffice
Focus: office suite, word processor and spreadsheets. Also in Writing and Organization, like novelWriter. Same 4.5 rating.
Desktop AppFreeWindows, macOS
4.5Visit
Story Skills
Focus: writing, storytelling and ai agents. Shares markdown and fiction with novelWriter. An AI tool, not a desktop app. Rated 4.2 (novelWriter: 4.5).
AI ToolFreeCross-Platform
4.2Visit
Pandoc
Focus: document converter, command line and open source. Shares markdown with novelWriter. Adds Offline. Rated 4.8 (novelWriter: 4.5).
Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.8Visit
massCode
Focus: code snippets, developer notes and http client. Shares markdown with novelWriter. Rated 4.6 (novelWriter: 4.5).
Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.6Visit
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