FocusWriter Alternatives for Windows

There are many alternatives to FocusWriter for Windows if you are looking for a replacement. The best Windows alternative is Zettlr, which is both free and Open Source. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 100 alternatives to FocusWriter and many of them are available for Windows so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting Windows alternatives to FocusWriter are ghostwriter, QOwnNotes, Dendron and iA Writer.

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Alternatives list

  1. Zettlr icon
     253 likes

    Unified writing platform offering note-taking, easy citations with Zotero integration, LaTeX/Word templates, snippets, themes, dark modes, code highlighting, multi-language support, and knowledge management with Zettelkasten for seamless writing from notes to books.

    201 Zettlr alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Flathub
    • PortableApps.com
     
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    1
    Zettlr vs FocusWriter Comments
    liricospina
    Positive
    -2

    This program does not work in any other version of Mac OS but the very latest, which by all accounts is still to be avoided. (Apparently. working remotely has made the macsters overzealously productive in an attempt to remain useful and banish boredom, at mac users' expense.)

    • Zettlr is Free and Open SourceFocusWriter is also Free and Open Source
    • Zettlr is Privacy focusedFocusWriter is not according to our users
  2. ghostwriter icon
     113 likes

    ghostwriter is a feature-rich text editor using Markdown syntax which makes it suitable for note-taking, document redaction, simple HTML website creation and much more.

    143 ghostwriter alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Snapcraft
    • Flathub
    • Haiku
     
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    2
    ghostwriter vs FocusWriter Comments
    javillalba
    Positive
    0
    • Full screen distraction-free.
    • Open Source license.
    • Word count and progress stats.
    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Krakra
    Positive
    0

    very nice tool - i like it much more than Write and use it as alternative to it.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    • ghostwriter is Free and Open SourceFocusWriter is also Free and Open Source
    • ghostwriter is Privacy focusedFocusWriter is not according to our users
  3. QOwnNotes icon
     99 likes

    Plain text notepad with markdown support and todo list manager for Linux, Mac OS X and Windows, that works together with the notes application of ownCloud.

    289 QOwnNotes alternatives

    Cost / License

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Flathub
    • PortableApps.com
    • Qt
     
  4. Dendron icon
     71 likes

    Dendron is an open-source, local-first, markdown-based, note-taking tool built on top of VSCode. It supports all the usual features you would expect like tagging, backlinks, a graph view, split panes, and so forth.

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Visual Studio Code
     
  5. iA Writer icon
     96 likes

    The key to good writing is not that magical glass of Bordeaux, the right kind of tobacco or that groovy background music. The key is focus. What you need to write well is a spartan setting that allows you to fully concentrate on your text and nothing but your text.

    125 iA Writer alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Paid
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • iPhone
    • iPad
     
  6. WriteMonkey icon
     129 likes

    Writemonkey is a Windows zenware writing application with an extremely stripped down user interface, leaving you alone with your thoughts and your words.

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
     
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    1
    WriteMonkey vs FocusWriter Comments
    callyw
    Positive
    1

    WriteMonkey has the same ability to customize the writing window and fonts It does have more features, with markdown support, for example, but it offers the same full screen distraction-free writing experience. It is also free and can be run as a portable app like FocusWriter.

    • WriteMonkey is Freemium and ProprietaryFocusWriter is Free and Open Source
  7. Quoll Writer icon
     41 likes

    Focus on your words not the interface. Quoll Writer is a writing application that helps you focus on your words. Clean and uncluttered. Feature rich. Features are where you would expect them to be.

    88 Quoll Writer alternatives

    Cost / License

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Mac
    • Linux
     
  8. novelWriter icon
     28 likes

    novelWriter is a Markdown-like text editor designed for writing novels and larger projects of many smaller plain text documents. It uses its own flavor of Markdown that supports a meta data syntax for comments, synopsis and cross-referencing between files.

    76 novelWriter alternatives

    Cost / License

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Qt
    • Python
     
  9. Heynote icon
     19 likes

    Block-organized, privacy-focused scratchpad for developers with language-specific syntax highlighting and auto-formatting, supporting JavaScript, JSON, Markdown, notes, API responses, and daily planning, all in a persistent local buffer with minimalist interface.

    61 Heynote alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
     
  10. Daino Notes icon
     9 likes

    Offers fast, distraction-free note-taking via a high-performance editor with real-time Markdown, local-first storage, image support, Kanban task boards, intuitive drag-and-drop, keyboard shortcuts, configurable themes, fast search, and cross-platform access.

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
     
  11. Notepack icon
     16 likes

    Privacy oriented, without vendor lock in note organizer, todo list desktop application. Work offline with text, markdown and pdf files.

    Cost / License

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
     
  12. Q10 icon
     58 likes

    Q10 is a simple but powerful text editor designed and built with writers in mind.

    38 Q10 alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Windows
     
12 of 47 FocusWriter alternatives