The best free alternative to Scrivener is Zettlr, which is also Open Source. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 100 alternatives to Scrivener and loads of them is free so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting free alternatives to Scrivener are Manuskript, Dendron, Rentry.co and Story Architect (STARC).
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.
Germany
EU
Open-source software offering a hierarchical outliner, distraction-free editor, character management, plot tools, Snowflake method support, section multi-organization, customizable writing workflows, cross-platform availability, and export to standard formats.
FranceEU
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.
Rentry.co is a markdown pastebin and publishing service with preview, custom urls and editing. Fast, simple and free.
United States
A smooth yet powerful writing experience for devoted authors. With only wanted features and native workflow it runs faster than all your previous apps combined.
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.
Australia
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.
Combines Markdown writing, live preview, and powerful design controls with instant exports in ePub, PDF, and HTML formats. Open format Markdown file storage, no vendor lock-in, customizable themes, and full privacy with local or iCloud storage on Mac.
Brazil
Ellipsus is a collaborative writing tool purpose-built for creative writers. Designed for seamless collaboration and fearless creativity, Ellipsus makes it easier than ever to write, edit, and share stories—with anyone and on any device.
GermanyEU
The only app you'll need to write your novels and build your worlds. Organize your thoughts and cross-reference anything at any time.
United States
yWriter is a writing tool that uses "scenes" as a unit of text and allows you to associate that text with all manner of story elements (characters, locations, items) as well as place it and rearrange it within the context of chapters.
Australia
Free offline worldbuilding and story creation tool with dozens of templates, complex tagging options, document linking, and project-wide search. Template examples: characters, places, events, religions, currencies, magic, species, languages.
