Scrivener AlternativesOnly Open Source apps categorised as Novel Authoring Tools for Windows

There are many alternatives to Scrivener for Windows if you are looking for a replacement. The best open source Windows Novel Authoring Tool alternative is Manuskript. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 100 alternatives to Scrivener and 12 are open source and Novel Authoring Tools available for Windows so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting open source Windows Novel Authoring Tool alternatives to Scrivener are Zettlr, bibisco, Quoll Writer and novelWriter.

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Scrivener alternatives are mainly Novel Authoring Tools, but if you're looking for Note-taking Tools or Story Writing Tools you can filter on that. Other popular filters include Android, Linux, Free, Online, Windows, Open Source and iPad. These are just examples - use the filter bar below to find more specific alternatives to Scrivener.
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Alternatives list

  1. Manuskript icon
     171 likes

    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.

    132 Manuskript alternatives

    Cost / License

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Snapcraft
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
     
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    10
  2. Zettlr icon
     258 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.

    205 Zettlr alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Flathub
    • PortableApps.com
     
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    3
  3. bibisco icon
     87 likes

    Desktop application for novel structuring, offering chapter and scene management, distraction-free text editing, detailed timeline, character interviews, multilingual support, export to publishing formats, revision history, relationship diagrams, and writing goal tracking.

    66 bibisco alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Electron
    • Node.JS
     
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    7
  4. 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.

    93 Quoll Writer alternatives

    Cost / License

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Mac
    • Linux
     
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    5
  5. novelWriter icon
     29 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.

    Cost / License

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Qt
    • Python
     
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    1
  6. 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.

    53 Story Architect (STARC) alternatives

    Cost / License

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Chrome OS
    • AppImageHub
    • Flathub
    • Android
     
  7. 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.

    44 Fantasia Archive alternatives

    Cost / License

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
     
  8. oStorybook icon
     26 likes

    oStorybook is a free, open source novel-writing software for creative writers, novelists and authors which will help you to keep an overview of multiple plot-lines while writing texts.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
     
  9. Kindling icon
     4 likes

    Free, open-source writing app for plotters. Import your outline from Scrivener, Plottr, yWriter, or Obsidian — then draft with your scene beats, character notes, and story structure visible alongside your prose. No AI, no subscription, no cloud.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
     
  10. Nulis icon
     15 likes

    Nulis makes the process of outlining your stories, articles, or books easy, fun, and convenient.

    Cost / License

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
     
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    1
  11. Skribisto icon
     6 likes

    Skribisto is born from the ashes of Plume Creator , keeping the goals while adopting more recent ways to think an application.

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
     
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