Skip to content
Scrivener app icon
#6in Novel Writing

Scrivener

D Tier
Weak
57
4.25.4K ratings
$23.99price
3.1ysince update
Productivity
category
Books
category
4+age rating
10languages
Made for iPhone
Made for iPad

What is Scrivener?

Writing app for long manuscripts with outlining, research storage, and export to Word, PDF and plain text.

Scrivener is a productivity app for writing long manuscripts. It lets users compose text in sections of any size and in any order, with outlining tools integrated into the text sections. Research material can be kept alongside the draft, and finished work can be compiled or exported to formats such as Word, PDF, Final Draft or plain text.

Pricing. Scrivener is $23.99 to download on the App Store.

Good for

  • Drafting a long manuscript out of order
  • Keeping research and reference material beside the draft
  • Exporting a finished manuscript to Word or PDF

Screenshots

1 / 5
Made Scrivener?Claim this page, for free: your own one-liner, a Visit link, a private report of the visits it gets and the Verified mark.
Claim

Why this app is in D tier

57/100The average of 4 parts, with no weights
Rating75
Ratings77
App Store search rank75
Update recency0

D tier follows from that score within this list. The full explanation, as data.

Scrivener scores 57 out of 100: rating 75, rating count 77, App Store search rank 75, update recency 0. The four parts are averaged and D tier follows from that score within this list.

Description

“The biggest software advance for writers since the word processor.” - Michael Marshall Smith, bestselling author

Typewriter. Ring-binder. Scrapbook. Scrivener combines all the writing tools you need to craft your first draft, from nascent notion to final full stop.

Tailor-made for creating long manuscripts, Scrivener banishes page fright by allowing you to compose your text in any order, in sections as large or small as you like. Got a great idea but don’t know where it fits? Write when inspiration strikes and find its place later. Grow your manuscript organically, idea by idea.

Read more

Whether you plan or plunge, Scrivener works your way: meticulously outline every last detail first, or hammer out a complete draft and restructure later. Or do a bit of both. All text sections in Scrivener are fully integrated with its outlining tools, so working with an overview of your manuscript is only ever a tap away, and turning Chapter Four into Chapter One is as simple as drag and drop.

Need to refer to research? In Scrivener, your background material is always at hand. Write a description based on a photograph. Reference a video or PDF. Check for consistency with an earlier chapter. On the iPad, open two documents side-by-side; on the iPhone, flip between research and writing with just two taps.

Once you’re ready to share your work with the world, simply compile everything into a single document for printing, or export to popular formats such as Word, PDF, Final Draft or plain text. You can even share using different formatting, so that you can write in your favorite font and still keep your editor happy.

FEATURES

Get Started

  • Interactive tutorial project
  • Keep each manuscript and supporting materials in a self-contained project
  • Import Word, RTF, Final Draft and plain text files
  • Easily split imported text into separate sections

Get Writing

  • Write your manuscript in sections of any size
  • View all sections as a single text using the “Draft Navigator” (iPad only)
  • Quickly navigate sections using the “binder” sidebar
  • Format with fonts and presets
  • Comments, footnotes, links and highlights
  • Simple bullets and lists
  • Insert images
  • Pinch-zoom to resize text
  • Full-screen mode (iPad only)
  • Typewriter scrolling mode keeps typed text center-screen (iPad only)
  • Write a screenplay using scriptwriting mode
  • Live word and character counts
  • Set word and character count targets
  • Find and replace
  • Customizable keyboard row provides quick-access buttons for formatting, navigation and punctuation
  • Comprehensive keyboard shortcuts for external keyboard users
  • Dark mode

Find Your Structure

  • Write in any order and reorganize later
  • Write a synopsis for any text section and see it in the outline
  • Expand, collapse and drill down into sections of your project
  • Rearrange sections as index cards on the corkboard (iPad only)
  • Project-wide search
  • Track ideas using labels and status
  • Apply custom icons to your sections

Refer to Research

  • Import research material such as image, PDF and media files
  • View research files or other sections right alongside your writing (iPad only)
  • Every section has its own notes area for jotting down ideas
  • Supports multitasking split screen mode (supported devices only)

Share Your Work

  • Compile to a single document for sharing or printing
  • Use different formatting in your exported or printed document
  • Export to Word, RTF, Final Draft, PDF or plain text
  • Convert rich text to Markdown for sharing with Markdown apps
  • Create and email zipped backups of your projects

Work Anywhere

  • Use Dropbox to sync between devices and with the macOS and Windows versions of Scrivener*
  • Copy projects between devices via iTunes
  • Requires a Dropbox account (not compatible with iCloud).

SUPPORT

You can contact us at ios.support@literatureandlatte.com, visit our forums at http://www.literatureandlatte.com/forum, or find us @scrivenerapp on Twitter.

Compare

Top Novel Writing

Recently Updated

Questions about Scrivener

Can I write sections out of order?

Yes. You can compose text in any order, in sections as large or small as you like, and reorganize them later.

Can I import existing files?

You can import Word, RTF, Final Draft and plain text files, and split imported text into separate sections.

Is Scrivener free?

No. Scrivener is $23.99 to download.

Is Scrivener right for me?

Scrivener is built for drafting a long manuscript out of order, keeping research and reference material beside the draft, exporting a finished manuscript to word or PDF. It sits in the novel writing list on AppTierList.

Is Scrivener worth it?

Scrivener is D tier, ranked #6 of 7 novel writing apps with a score of 57 out of 100, from a 4.2 App Store rating across 5,390 ratings. 5 apps rank above it in the same list.

How does Scrivener compare to AI Story Generator?

Scrivener is D tier at 57; AI Story Generator is C tier at 61. AI Story Generator ranks higher. Scrivener is $23.99 to download, AI Story Generator is free to download, with in-app purchases.

How often is Scrivener updated?

Scrivener was last updated over a year ago, on 2023-09-29, which holds its tier down.

Alternatives

Categories

All the facts

Ranking

Lists
Novel Writing (D tier, #6) · Book Writing (D tier, #8)
Tier
D (Weak)
Score
57 / 100
Rank in list
#6 of 7
Ranking certainty
settled

Ratings

App Store rating
4.2 out of 5, every App Store country
Ratings
5,390

App

Price
$23.99 (USD)
App Store category
Productivity
Current version
(1132 days ago)
Size
28 MB
Requires
iOS 12.0 or later
Age rating
4+
Languages
10
Runs on
iPhone, iPad

Links

Developer pages
Website · Support · Privacy policy
Maker
not verified
App Store data read

App Store data read · ranking