Scrivener icon
Scrivener icon

Scrivener

 257 likes

Tailored for extensive writing, this tool offers flexible structure and organization, integrates project outlines, supports various formats, and allows reorganization through drag and drop, ensuring research materials are within reach for efficient work.

Scrivener screenshot 1

License model

Country of Origin

  • GB flagUnited Kingdom

Platforms

  • Mac
  • Windows
  • iPhone
  • iPad
  • PlayOnLinux - PlayOnMac
  • Wine
3.3 / 5 Avg rating (20)
257likes
20comments
0news articles

Features

Suggest and vote on features
  1.  Corkboard
  2.  Document compiler
  3.  Character database
  4.  Scene Management
  5.  Visual Organization
  6.  Split files into sections
  7.  Support for scripting
  8. LaTeX icon  Support for LaTeX
  9.  Multi-document View
  10.  Integrated Search
  11.  Folders
  12.  Word counter
  13.  Outline mode
  14. Microsoft Word icon  Export to Word
  15.  Distraction-free Writing
  16.  Quotas support
  17.  iPhone/iPod sync
  18.  Outliner
  19.  Write in separate docs
  20.  Export to EPUB
  21.  Export to PDF
  22.  Screenwriting

 Tags

Scrivener News & Activities

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Recent activities

  • App icon
    POX added Scrivener as alternative to Scriptorium
    22 days ago
  • App icon
    SwP_Creator added Scrivener as alternative to Storywriter Pro
    about 1 month ago
  • Colorwav3-Studio liked Scrivener
    about 1 month ago
  • App icon
    abuldoukh added Scrivener as alternative to Doccera
    3 months ago
  • App icon
    s3rdia added Scrivener as alternative to Govel
    4 months ago
  • SethPutnamLives reviewed Scrivener  
    4 months ago

    Things started out well, but over time as MacOS got more inaccessible, so too did Scrivener. Do not get me wrong, as a tool to write actual novels and make things that are meant to be read for pleasure, it is a great tool.

    The trouble starts when you try to put together a draft that you can send to an editor, an agent, or Odin forbid, a publisher. For starters, the text in such boxes as the indicators for fonts and sizes is far too small. Scrivener keeps telling us that they can only use what...

  • cmcrossno liked Scrivener
    6 months ago
  • App icon
    Korwin added Scrivener as alternative to Kindle Create
    6 months ago
  • Ola updated Scrivener
    8 months ago
  • lccrsk91 liked Scrivener
    9 months ago
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Scrivener information

  • Developed by

    GB flagLiterature & Latte Ltd
  • Licensing

    Proprietary and Commercial product.
  • Pricing

    One time purchase (perpetual license) ranging between $51 and $52.
  • Rating

    Average rating of 3.3 (20 ratings)
  • Alternatives

    108 alternatives listed
  • Supported Languages

    • English
    • French
    • German
    • Italian
    • Japanese
    • Korean
    • Portuguese
    • Chinese
    • Spanish
    • Swedish
    • Russian

AlternativeTo Categories

Office & ProductivityNews & BooksAudio & MusicVideo & MoviesBusiness & Commerce

Apple AppStore

  •   Updated Sep 29, 2023
  •   4.21 avg rating
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Our users have written 20 comments and reviews about Scrivener, and it has gotten 257 likes

Scrivener was added to AlternativeTo by altebk on Apr 17, 2009 and this page was last updated Oct 12, 2024.

Comments and Reviews

   
 Post comment/review
Comment summary: Scrivener is praised for its robust writing and organization features, particularly for long-form and fiction writers. However, many users criticize the disparity between Mac and Windows versions, noting a lack of timely updates and certain features on Windows. Concerns are also raised about its steep learning curve, referencing issues, and problematic licensing. Despite grievances, Scrivener remains a favorite for those investing time to learn its complexities, especially among Mac users.
Top Positive Comment
d20art
Jan 13, 2016
2

Scrivener is a specialized word processing and file management system for writers. It allows you to develop a new work, or import an existing work, and break it up into manageable parts. While designed primarily for fiction writing, I have also used it on a manual that required little advanced formatting.

I could not find a comparable product on Windows, however it should be said that the Mac OS X version is far more advanced than the Windows version - with features unimplemented on Windows. The Windows version is being actively developed but L&L hasn't really made much of an attempt to 'catch up' the Windows version. Despite this negative, I haven't found a better platform for writing fiction on Windows.

Scrivener does not have sophisticated formatting tools - but it does have some. It has everything you'd expect from a word processor, plus a whole lot more. However a major omission is two column formatting, which is necessary for a lot of publishing.

Top Negative Comment
William Chambers
Aug 14, 2018
18

Windows users are third class citizens and never get updates within two years of Mac users. Any criticism of this policy on their forums results in locked threads, never admitting any wrong or responsibility to their customers. It's some of the most anti-consumer practices I've seen, especially for such a dedicated, niche customer base.

Disa Marnesdottr
Jan 29, 2020

This. We're in January of 2020, and they have missed yet another deadline. They don't give one single, solitary firetruck about Windows users.

shall
Sep 23, 2020

Agreed. I'm starting to think Version 3 for Windows will get here around the same time as Version 4 for Mac. The Windows version is already sliding behind features for the Mac version with excuses like "Well, the Mac OS lets us easily hook into this feature, so the Windows version just won't have it at all." Here we are in September and a simple "Find & Replace" operation in the Windows version absolutely explodes ("whole word" replaces even partial words). If you want to spend money on something and be disrespected, choose Scrivener for Windows.

C.A.
Aug 6, 2022

If Windows users are 3rd class then what are Linux users?

SethPutnamLives
Feb 15, 2025
0

Things started out well, but over time as MacOS got more inaccessible, so too did Scrivener. Do not get me wrong, as a tool to write actual novels and make things that are meant to be read for pleasure, it is a great tool.

The trouble starts when you try to put together a draft that you can send to an editor, an agent, or Odin forbid, a publisher. For starters, the text in such boxes as the indicators for fonts and sizes is far too small. Scrivener keeps telling us that they can only use what Apple lets them, but if browsers like Brave can make successful efforts to boost font sizes, it behoves everyone to try.

And Scrivener's text editor can zoom in to increase the size of the text you are working on just fine.

Which brings us to the compile feature. Because you cannot see the indicator for the font face clearly, and because the interface of the compile feature is like a 1999 era Windows networking box, it is like pulling teeth to even get the document to have page breaks in the right places. Then, partly because you can never tell what font the editor thinks you want in the document, the compile has inconsistent formatting.

Reading back the document whilst prepping it for an agent, you find the compile and Scrivener have decided to make some parts a different colour, randomly, without any clue as to why.

Scrivener has always had problems, including an interface that makes finding functions very difficult. But version three makes life far more difficult for authors than it already is. Literature And Latte are also incredibly unresponsive to cries for help, and as already hinted, deflective of complaints about serious issues with the program. They need to go back to the drawing board and rebuild version four from the ground up.

green856
Jan 11, 2024
1

Expensive as hell for what it is, a glorified text editor that once you pay for it, locks you in by making it extremely tedious to migrate.

I'd recommend either Manuskript or Obsidian with a few plugins.

C.A.
Aug 6, 2022
1

Note: it's still possible to find the scrivener.appimage for Linux as of August 2022

LysanderArta
Dec 3, 2021
0

If you are writer it's a good piece of software, it has some sortfalls but - who doesn't.

It certainly focuses on Mac vs Windows.

robyellow95
Feb 11, 2021
1

When the hell is this going to update for Windows?! It's starting to look its age

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7 of 20 comments

What is Scrivener?

GROW YOUR MANUSCRIPT YOUR WAY Tailor-made for long writing projects, Scrivener banishes page fright by allowing you to compose your text in any order, in sections as large or small as you like. Got a great idea but don't know where it fits? Write when inspiration strikes and find its place later. Grow your manuscript organically, idea by idea.

SEE THE FOREST OR THE TREE Whether you plan or plunge, Scrivener works your way: hammer out every last detail before typing a word, or carve out a draft and restructure later. Or mix your methods and do a bit of both. In Scrivener, everything you write is integrated into an easy-to-use project outline. So working with an overview of your manuscript is only ever a click away, and turning Chapter Four into Chapter One is as simple as drag and drop.

RESEARCH WITHIN REACH Need to refer to research? In Scrivener, your background material is always at hand, and you can open it right next to your work. Write a description based on a photograph. Transcribe an interview. Take notes about a PDF file or web page. Or check for consistency by referencing an earlier chapter alongside the one in progress.

GETTING IT OUT THERE Once you're ready to share your work with the world, compile everything into a single document for printing, self-publishing, or exporting to popular formats such as Word, PDF, Final Draft or plain text. You can even share using different formatting, so that you can write in your favorite font and still satisfy those submission guidelines.

MORE FEATURES:

  • Familiar Text Editing
  • Formatting Presets
  • Import: Word documents, plain text files, Final Draft scripts, images, PDF documents, movies, sound files and web pages.
  • Corkboard
  • Outliner
  • Templates and Icons
  • Scriptwriting
  • Tools for Non-Fiction
  • View Documents Side by Side
  • Full-Screen Writing
  • Metadata
  • Collections
  • ...and more!

Linux appimage available at https://www.wayoflinux.com/blog/scrivener-returns

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