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Final Draft vs Scrivener
Last updated: October 21, 2023
Final Draft and Scrivener are both popular software tools used by writers, but they differ significantly in their features and intended purposes.
Firstly, Final Draft is primarily designed for screenwriters and focuses on the specific needs of writing scripts. It offers industry-standard formatting templates and features, making it easier for screenwriters to adhere to screenplay conventions. Final Draft provides tools for script analysis, collaboration, and revision tracking, enabling writers to efficiently manage the entire screenwriting process. While it does offer some organizational features, its main strength lies in its formatting capabilities and its alignment with the requirements of the film and television industry.
On the other hand, Scrivener is a versatile writing tool that caters to a broader range of writing projects. It is commonly used by authors, novelists, researchers, and non-fiction writers. Scrivener excels in its organizational features, allowing users to break their writing into smaller, manageable sections, such as chapters or scenes. It provides a virtual corkboard for visual planning, the ability to create and arrange index cards, and a comprehensive outlining tool. Scrivener also offers tools for research organization, note-taking, and integration with reference materials, making it an excellent choice for writers who engage in extensive research or require complex organizational structures.
Another significant difference between Final Draft and Scrivener is their pricing models. Final Draft is a premium software and comes with a higher price tag. It offers regular updates and customer support, which is essential for professional screenwriters. On the other hand, Scrivener is more affordable and offers a one-time purchase option, making it a cost-effective choice for writers on a budget. Scrivener's pricing structure allows for lifetime access to the software and includes free updates for major releases. This makes it an attractive option for writers who prefer a one-time investment without ongoing subscription costs.
Firstly, Final Draft is primarily designed for screenwriters and focuses on the specific needs of writing scripts. It offers industry-standard formatting templates and features, making it easier for screenwriters to adhere to screenplay conventions. Final Draft provides tools for script analysis, collaboration, and revision tracking, enabling writers to efficiently manage the entire screenwriting process. While it does offer some organizational features, its main strength lies in its formatting capabilities and its alignment with the requirements of the film and television industry.
On the other hand, Scrivener is a versatile writing tool that caters to a broader range of writing projects. It is commonly used by authors, novelists, researchers, and non-fiction writers. Scrivener excels in its organizational features, allowing users to break their writing into smaller, manageable sections, such as chapters or scenes. It provides a virtual corkboard for visual planning, the ability to create and arrange index cards, and a comprehensive outlining tool. Scrivener also offers tools for research organization, note-taking, and integration with reference materials, making it an excellent choice for writers who engage in extensive research or require complex organizational structures.
Another significant difference between Final Draft and Scrivener is their pricing models. Final Draft is a premium software and comes with a higher price tag. It offers regular updates and customer support, which is essential for professional screenwriters. On the other hand, Scrivener is more affordable and offers a one-time purchase option, making it a cost-effective choice for writers on a budget. Scrivener's pricing structure allows for lifetime access to the software and includes free updates for major releases. This makes it an attractive option for writers who prefer a one-time investment without ongoing subscription costs.
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Final Draft is the choice screenwriting software of studios and production companies worldwide. Streamlined screenwriting and editing while collaborating.
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Scrivener is the go-to app for writers of all kinds, used every day by best-selling novelists, screenwriters, non-fiction writers, students, academics, lawyers, journalists, translators and more. Scrivener won't tell you how to write—it simply provides everything you need to start writing and keep writing.
Final Draft vs Scrivener in our news:
2021. Scrivener 3 for Windows gets simple and beautiful interface
The latest version of Scrivener 3 is now available on Windows, bringing with it a variety of new and improved features. The update includes a modernized and simplified interface, a redesigned and more flexible Compile feature, and a full styles system in the text system. Other enhancements include the ability to view index cards on colored threads, improved ebook export, and the addition of Writing History to track daily writing progress. Custom Metadata has also been improved, allowing for checkboxes, dates, and list boxes to be added to the Inspector and outliner. Additional features include enhanced outlining, a new Quick Search tool, progress bars, and a Dark Mode, among others. The Bookmarks feature also replaces Project Notes, References, and Favorites, making it easier to access frequently used documents. Furthermore, the Dialogue Focus feature allows users to easily locate all dialogue within their text.
2019. Scrivener for iOS adds support for many more screen types
The latest version of Scrivener for iOS, version 1.2, is now available to download from the App Store and offers support for iOS 13, improved compatibility with a wider range of screen types, and seamless integration with iOS 13's dark mode. Alongside these enhancements, existing features of the app include the ability to write and organize your manuscript in sections of any size, view all sections as a single text, navigate sections quickly using the binder sidebar, format with fonts and presets, and use comments, footnotes, links, highlights, simple bullets, and lists. Additionally, the app allows you to insert images, resize text with pinch-zoom, use full-screen and typewriter scrolling modes (iPad only), write a screenplay using scriptwriting mode, check live word and character counts, set targets for word and character counts, find and replace text, and customize the keyboard row and shortcuts for external keyboard users.
2018. Scrivener for macOS adds Dark mode and Scriptwriting
Scrivener 3.1 is a major update for macOS that introduces a number of new features and enhancements. One notable addition is full support for dark mode on macOS 10.14, which allows you to take full control over colors and UI in each mode. Scrivener 3.1 also offers scriptwriting improvements, such as support for "MORE" and "CONT'D" when compiling for PDF and printing, dual dialogue support, and an option to not split sentences across pages in scripts. Enhancements to Compile include the ability to include a cover image when compiling to PDF, improved options for compiling for print-on-demand services, and direct formatting for Epub 3 and Kindle KF8 formats. Additionally, a new "focus mode" is available to fade out everything except the current line, sentence, or paragraph as you write.
2017. Scrivener 3 for macOS gets Compile feature
Scrivener 3 is now available for macOS starting at $59.99. Scrivener 3 is a significant update that not only introduces new and exciting features but also enhances and simplifies the existing ones. The update includes several notable improvements such as a modernized interface, a more flexible and easier-to-use Compile feature, and a full styles system in the text system that is more powerful with the new Compile. Additionally, users can view index cards on colored threads to track different storylines and filter Corkboard and outliner. Other enhancements include improved metadata, the ability to track daily writing progress with Writing History, and the new Quick Search tool to find any document quickly. The Bookmarks feature replaces Project Notes, References, and Favorites, allowing users to access frequently used documents easily. Furthermore, users can now use "Dialogue Focus" to locate all dialogue within their text and export rich text to MultiMarkdown or Pandoc. Scrivener 3 also broadens support for technical formats via Markdown output and custom post-processing. The macOS version has extensive Touch Bar support and a rewritten 64-bit codebase that makes Scrivener faster, more stable, and future-ready.