Scrivener Alternatives for Mac

There are many similar layout features compared to Scrivener. It also has a few features Scrivener seems to be missing or doesn't define clearly such as an outline process. However, it is very early development and has many bugs to work out.

Much more efficient than Scrivener because it's way easier to use and everything is where you expect it to be. The worldbuilding tool is simple but enough and it incorporates the snowflake method flawlessly. But you can ignore it just as easily if you wish. The only aspect where it's lacking compared to Scrivener is in the compile options, but you can always compile as docx and use a text editor to get the standard manuscript format right.

It's a very efficient alternative to Scrivener. It does not require long, lengthy tutorials. If there's one thing I don't like, it's that it's pretty slow. It lags a lot. Another is that it's not an app. And it's hard to look for it if you forgot where you stored it. The third is you can't add images and it's not very customizable like Scrivener is. Those are probably the only three things I don't like. Otherwise, it's extremely easy to use :)

I own Scrivener for Windows and iOS, but my favorite writing machine is a Linux laptop, so here I am. I like that Manuskript closely parallels Scrivener features, throws in a good timeline function that Scrivener doesn't have, but is a lighter, less feature-congested utility. I'm having a great time writing with Manuskript.

Manuskript is very much like a free lightweight version of Scrivener; does not have all the whistles and bells but it has a similar interface and workflow. Also has a timeline tracking tool which Scrivener currently does not have

A intuitive tool that is not overloaded. A basic wordprocessor and a binder. Feels a lot like pen and paper.

Even if it is in the early stages, it is smarter than Scrivener. The way it handles revisions is simple and amazing; the Timeline is rough yet great -- and something Scrivener doesn't have; the tracking of characters, locations, plots and every other item in the story is easy and effective. Plus, it is still in development and hasn't reached its full potential. I have been using Scrivener for year, but I am enjoy this opensource baby much more.

It is actually a better alternative to Scrivener because of its clear, organisation features. I wish I would have discovered this before I purchased Scrivener. Bibisco is much easier to use: You don't need lengthy tutorials to read just to get started. Hands down this is better.

simple and very useful to know your characters!

Bibisco keeps getting in the way. No, dude. I don't want to outline your way. Not only does it insist to make you fill in stuff you don't want to, it doesn't even offer a way to disable it!

Too strict in his structure and the same time not thorough enough so that the boxing in would by uselful

I used bibisco briefly a few years ago, and I remember it being packed to the brim with useful features. It's great for fiction writers because it gives them a variety of fields for defining their character. I felt the software was a bit too bulky for what I wanted, though. The best thing about bibisco is that it's 100% free, which is nice if your funds are limited, or if you aren't making a profit from your writing.

Laughably bad. Scrivener has the good sense to stay out of your way when you know what you're doing bibisco not only got in the way constantly (no, follow OUR tutorial!) it also insisted on doing it in, I kid you not, two inch caps. Is this some kind of joke?

Bibisco is free, has a very good design and structure that help to create a fiction book outline . The text editor is quite simple and working is quite intuitive.

it's free, it's easy to use and intuitive. The only thing that would make ywriter better is if it had an option to sync to other devices or such. Seriously, this is so much better than scrivener!

For some reason, this reminds me of my high school notebooks: Flipping through pages trying to find crap.

I hated it. It kept trying to force me to follow its workflow (invented by the author, I think), and I use a different one. Scrivener suits my workflow, and yWriter does not. It is still on my hard drive, however, just in case.

Written and maintained by a novellist/software developer, yWriter is free to use, has a no-frills UI, supports cloud saving/device sync via Dropbox and Google Drive, takes automatic backups, and has an Android app (my main dealbreaker with Scrivener).

Free, reliable, logical layout. It also has a phone app that can sync with the desktop app if you use a cloud drive. Lots of other great features.

In my traipsing about the world of effective writing applications, like many, I blindly downloaded and attempted to utilize Scrivener. As noted, this was an attempt and, to better, expound, it was a failed attempt as Scrivener lacks a WYSIWYG approach. yWriter, however, is an absolute gem providing all of the necessary development tools broken down in a logical format that follows the lifecycle of story development from inception to completion.

have not the same versatility

Zettlr is more of a general note-taking app, and doesn't have the author-oriented features of Scrivener

Doesn't really serve the same purpose in the same way.

Zettlr is a fantastic alternative to Scrivener - give it a go. It's brilliant.

MS Word is a nice text editor, but it really doesn't have the ability to make ebooks that stand out like Scrivener does. Scrivener is a complete author's workshop.

Scrivener is not a word processor. Microsoft Word is nothing but.

Word has none of the benefits Scrivener brings for organisation, research, collecting and so forth. They couldn't be much more different really.

MS Word is a word processor, not an authoring tool. It has no knowledge of scenes, let alone characters or locations or items. It has very limited ability to handle text that is about the document but not part of the document and attaches to no specific point, or multiple specific points, in the document.

Primarily oriented towards "scripts" for film, play, etc. Might be useful for (non)fiction writing but does not share the wider array of tools found in Scrivener.