The Best Open Source Ulysses AlternativesTop Text Editors & Novel Authoring Tools like Ulysses

The best open source alternative to Ulysses is Zettlr. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 100 alternatives to Ulysses and many of them is open source so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting open source alternatives to Ulysses are CherryTree, Manuskript, Dendron and FocusWriter.

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Ulysses alternatives are mainly Note-taking Tools but may also be Todo List Managers or Novel Authoring Tools.  Other popular filters includes Free + Novel Authoring. Filter by these or use the filter bar below if you want a narrower list of alternatives or looking for a specific functionality of Ulysses.
Ulysses iconUlysses
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Ulysses is a text editor for creative writers. Used by bloggers, poets, students and published novelists all over the world, it offers an integrated environment to brainstorm, draft, revise and even submit text on a...

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Ulysses alternatives page was last updated Nov 13, 2024
  1. Zettlr icon
     212 likes

    From idea to publication in one app: Zettlr accompanies you while writing your blog post, newspaper article, term paper, thesis, or entire book.

    159 Zettlr alternatives
    Zettlr Main Window (dark mode)

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Flathub

    Properties

    1.  Privacy focused

    Features

    1.  Support for MarkDown
    2.  Zettelkasten note method
    3.  File Tagging
    4.  Multiple export options
    5. Zotero icon  Zotero integration
    6.  Note organization
    7.  Link files
    8.  Built-in themes
    9.  Ad-free
    10.  Syntax Highlighting
    11.  Works Offline
    12.  Hierarchical Structure
    Zettlr iconUlysses Icon

    Zettlr VS Ulysses

    Is Zettlr a good alternative to Ulysses?
     
    • Zettlr is the most popular Open Source & free alternative to Ulysses.

    • Zettlr is Free and Open SourceUlysses is Paid and Proprietary
    • Zettlr is Privacy focusedUlysses is not according to our users
  2. CherryTree icon
     309 likes

    A hierarchical note taking application, featuring rich text and syntax highlighting, storing data in a single xml or sqlite file.

    64 CherryTree alternatives
    CherryTree screenshot 1

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • PortableApps.com

    Top CherryTree Features

    1.  Hierarchical Structure
    2.  Tree structure
    3.  Infinite hierarchical depth
    4.  Includes images in notes
    5.  Outliner
    6.  Tree view
    7.  Tree Style Tabs
    8.  Syntax Highlighting
    9.  Portable
    10.  Works Offline
    11.  Support for MarkDown
    12.  Code Formatting
    CherryTree iconUlysses Icon

    CherryTree VS Ulysses

    Is CherryTree a good alternative to Ulysses?
     
  3. Manuskript icon
     158 likes

    Manuskript is an open-source tool for writers, with outliner, character management, plot development, distraction-free editor, etc.

    107 Manuskript alternatives
    Manuskript screenshot 1

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Snapcraft
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak

    Top Manuskript Features

    1.  Outliner
    2.  Tree structure
    3.  Tracking of plots
    4.  Distraction-free Writing
    5.  Tracking of characters
    6.  Ad-free
    7.  Works Offline
    8.  No registration required
    9.  Dark Mode
    10.  No Tracking
    11.  Support for MarkDown
    12.  File Versioning
    Manuskript iconUlysses Icon

    Manuskript VS Ulysses

    Is Manuskript a good alternative to Ulysses?
     
  4. Dendron icon
     63 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.

    187 Dendron alternatives
    Dendron screenshot 1

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Visual Studio Code

    Properties

    1.  Privacy focused

    Features

    1.  Local Storage
    2.  Support for MarkDown
    3.  Hierarchical Structure
    4.  Block reference
    5.  Graph view
    6.  VSCode
    7.  Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
    8.  Backlinks
    9.  Quick reference lookup
    10.  Publishing
    11.  Tagging
    12.  Bidirectional links
    Dendron iconUlysses Icon

    Dendron VS Ulysses

    Is Dendron a good alternative to Ulysses?
     
  5. FocusWriter icon
     204 likes

    Simple but configurable and themeable, distraction-free text editor for writers. Open-source and available across desktop platforms.

    92 FocusWriter alternatives
    FocusWriter screenshot 1

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    • PortableApps.com

    Properties

    1.  Distraction-free
    2.  Lightweight
    3.  Support for Themes

    Features

    1.  Distraction-free Writing
    2.  Daily progress tracker
    3.  Fullscreen support
    4.  Skin customization
    5.  Auto-saving
    6.  Ad-free
    7.  Works Offline
    8.  Spell Checking
    9.  No registration required
    10.  Portable
    11.  Writing statistics
    12.  Multiple languages
    FocusWriter iconUlysses Icon

    FocusWriter VS Ulysses

    Is FocusWriter a good alternative to Ulysses?
     
  6. Marknote icon
     16 likes

    Marknote lets you create rich text notes and easily organise them into notebooks. You can personalise your notebooks by choosing an icon and accent color for each one, making it easy to distinguish between them and keep your notes at your fingertips.

    78 Marknote alternatives
    Marknote screenshot 1

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Linux
    • Flathub
    • Windows

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight
    2.  Privacy focused

    Features

    1.  Support for MarkDown
    2.  Ad-free
    3.  Save as Markdown
    4.  Notebook
    5.  KDE
    6.  No Tracking
    7.  Works Offline
    8.  WYSIWYG Support
    9.  No registration required
    10.  Spell Checking
    11.  Dark Mode
    12.  Note Manager
    Marknote iconUlysses Icon

    Marknote VS Ulysses

    Is Marknote a good alternative to Ulysses?
     
  7. Blinko icon
     8 likes

    Open-source note-taking tool offering AI-enhanced retrieval with RAG technology, secure self-hosted data storage, Markdown support, and transparent community collaboration on GitHub for efficient, private, and effortless note management.

    34 Blinko alternatives
    Blinko screenshot 1

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Self-Hosted
    • Docker

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight
    2.  Privacy focused

    Features

    1.  Full-Text Search
    2.  Support for MarkDown
    3.  No Tracking
    4.  Ad-free
    5.  Natural Language Processing
    6.  AI-Powered
    7.  Idea management
    8.  Notebook
    Blinko iconUlysses Icon

    Blinko VS Ulysses

    Is Blinko a good alternative to Ulysses?
     
    • Blinko is the most popular Self-Hosted alternative to Ulysses.

    • Blinko is Free and Open SourceUlysses is Paid and Proprietary
    • Blinko is Lightweight and Privacy focusedUlysses is not according to our users
  8. MarkFlowy icon
     9 likes

    Modern markdown editor application, Build fast and efficient workflows.

    51 MarkFlowy alternatives
    MarkFlowy screenshot 1

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight
    2.  Distraction-free

    Features

    1.  Write files in markdown
    2.  Works Offline
    3.  Dark Mode
    4.  No registration required
    5.  Support for MarkDown
    6.  Live Preview
    7.  WYSIWYG Support
    MarkFlowy iconUlysses Icon

    MarkFlowy VS Ulysses

    Is MarkFlowy a good alternative to Ulysses?
     
  9. Notepack icon
     14 likes

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

    334 Notepack alternatives
    Markdown support

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight
    2.  Privacy focused

    Features

    1.  Note organization
    2.  Knowledge Management
    3.  Support for MarkDown
    4.  Ad-free
    5.  Dark Mode
    6.  Works Offline
    7.  No Tracking
    8.  WebDAV Sync
    Notepack iconUlysses Icon

    Notepack VS Ulysses

    Is Notepack a good alternative to Ulysses?
     
  10. novelWriter icon
     21 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.

    49 novelWriter alternatives
    Screenshot of older version

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Qt

    Properties

    1.  Privacy focused
    2.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Dark Mode
    2.  No registration required
    3.  Tree structure
    4.  Spell Checking
    5.  Support for MarkDown
    6.  No Tracking
    7.  Works Offline
    8.  Live Preview
    9.  Ad-free
    10.  Full-Text Search
    11.  Hierarchical Structure
    12.  Outline organization
    novelWriter iconUlysses Icon

    novelWriter VS Ulysses

    Is novelWriter a good alternative to Ulysses?
     
10 of 25 Ulysses alternatives