Scrivener
Document creation software
Screenwriting software
Performing arts software
- Features
- Ease of use
- Ease of management
- Quality of support
- Affordability
- Market presence
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$23.99 one-time
Free Trial
Free version unavailable
Small
Medium
Large
- Arts, entertainment, and recreation
- Media and communications
- Education and training
What is Scrivener
Scrivener is a long-form writing application used to plan, draft, and organize documents such as novels, non-fiction books, academic writing, and scripts. It targets individual writers, students, and teams that need structured outlining and research management alongside drafting. The product combines a binder-based project structure, corkboard/outliner views, and integrated research storage, then compiles drafts into export formats for submission or publishing.
Project-based writing organization
Scrivener structures work as projects with a binder that breaks a manuscript into sections, scenes, or chapters. It provides corkboard and outliner views to rearrange and track content at a granular level. This supports iterative drafting workflows that are less well served by form-centric document tools focused on templates and field-based assembly.
Integrated research and notes
Scrivener lets users store research files, web pages, images, and notes inside the same project as the draft. Split-screen editing supports referencing research while writing. This reduces reliance on separate file folders or external note apps when producing long documents.
Flexible export via Compile
The Compile feature exports a project into common formats (e.g., DOCX, PDF, EPUB, and plain text) with configurable structure and formatting. Users can maintain a writing-friendly layout during drafting while producing submission-ready outputs at export time. This is useful when different stakeholders require different deliverable formats.
Limited real-time collaboration
Scrivener is primarily designed for single-author workflows and does not provide native, real-time multi-user coauthoring. Collaboration typically requires file sharing and manual merge practices, which can introduce version-control overhead. Teams that need concurrent editing and approval workflows may find this limiting.
Not a contract automation tool
Scrivener focuses on drafting and organizing narrative content rather than generating documents from structured data. It does not provide template-driven document assembly, clause libraries, or automated field population typical of document automation platforms. Users needing repeatable business document generation may require additional tools.
Learning curve and complexity
The interface exposes many views and configuration options (binder, corkboard, outliner, compile settings) that can take time to learn. Compile customization in particular can require experimentation to achieve consistent formatting across outputs. Users seeking a minimal, word-processor-style experience may find it overfeatured.
Plan & Pricing
| Plan | Price | Key features & notes |
|---|---|---|
| Scrivener (macOS) — Standard licence | $59.99 (one-time) | Full desktop version for macOS (requires macOS 11+). 30-day trial available (macOS/Windows). Cross-grade discounts apply when buying the Windows version. |
| Scrivener (Windows) — Standard licence | $59.99 (one-time) | Full desktop version for Windows (requires 64-bit Windows 10+). 30-day trial available (macOS/Windows). Cross-grade discounts apply when buying the macOS version. |
| Scrivener (iOS & iPadOS) | US$23.99 (one-time, App Store) | iPhone/iPad app sold via the Apple App Store. No demo/trial available for iOS due to App Store limitations; sync via Dropbox. |
| Cross-grade price (macOS↔Windows) | $37.95 (one-time) | Discounted price available if you already own the other desktop platform licence (mac↔Windows). |
| macOS + Windows (bundle) | Discounted bundle available via the Literature & Latte store (price shown at purchase) | Store offers a discounted bundle (separate licence for each platform). Official store page does not display a fixed bundle MSRP on the main product page. The vendor notes that buying all three platforms (macOS, Windows, iOS) can cost $121.93 using available cross-grade/discounts. |
| Educational licence (macOS / Windows) | Discounted — exact amount not listed on current product page | Literature & Latte offers an educational licence/discount purchasable via their store; the product page lists the education option but does not show a fixed discounted price on that page. |
Seller details
Literature & Latte Ltd.
London, United Kingdom
2006
Private
https://www.literatureandlatte.com/scapple/overview
https://x.com/literaturelatte
https://www.linkedin.com/company/literature-latte/
