Scrivener vs Storyist

Last updated: October 21, 2023
Scrivener and Storyist are both powerful writing software applications designed to assist authors in the process of creating and organizing their written works, but they have key differences in terms of their features, interface, and platform compatibility. Firstly, Scrivener is known for its robust set of writing and organizing tools. It offers a flexible and customizable interface that allows authors to break their work into sections, organize research materials, and view their work in various ways. Scrivener provides features such as outlining, note-taking, and the ability to easily rearrange and restructure content. It supports multiple file formats and allows authors to export their work into various file types, making it suitable for a range of writing projects. Scrivener is available for Windows, macOS, and iOS platforms, providing a consistent writing experience across different devices.

On the other hand, Storyist is a writing software application that emphasizes the integration of writing and story development tools. It offers features such as outlining, character and plot development, and scriptwriting capabilities. Storyist provides a clean and intuitive interface, making it easy for authors to navigate and focus on their writing. It also includes tools for organizing research materials, tracking revisions, and setting writing goals. Storyist is available for macOS and iOS platforms, ensuring a seamless writing experience across Apple devices. It offers seamless synchronization between devices through iCloud, allowing authors to work on their projects from anywhere.

Another key difference lies in their pricing models and accessibility. Scrivener is available as a one-time purchase software, meaning users pay an upfront fee to own the application permanently. It offers a free trial period for users to test the software before making a purchase. Storyist, on the other hand, follows a subscription-based pricing model. It offers both monthly and annual subscription plans, allowing users to access the software as long as they maintain an active subscription. This pricing model provides flexibility for users who prefer a subscription-based payment structure.
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Scrivener
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.
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Storyist
A powerful writing environment for novelists and screenwriters. Storyist provides a rich text editor with support for comments, images, headers, footers, and style sheets so you can create properly formatted manuscripts. Works on Mac and iPad
Scrivener vs Storyist in our news:

2022. Storyist adds support for right-to-left languages



The new version of Mac OS software for novelists and screenwriters Storyist 4.2.6 has been released, featuring several improvements. One of the updates is the inclusion of a Writing Direction menu item in the Format > Text menu, which enables users to set the direction for a paragraph for right-to-left languages like Arabic and Hebrew. Additionally, users can now apply strikethrough to selected text by going to Format - Font - Show Fonts, clicking the Strikethrough button, and selecting the desired appearance. Lastly, the compatibility of the software with Apple Books has been enhanced, allowing for ePub exports that contain restricted HTML characters in the title or author metadata fields to no longer trigger warnings when read in the Apple Books app.


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.


2019. Storyist 4 adds content-aware dark mode



The new versions of Ebook Formatting software Storyist 4 for macOS and iOS have been released and come with a host of new features and usability enhancements. Storyist 4 for macOS now includes a content-aware dark mode, Quick Navigation for easy project navigation, and Enhanced PDF Export for swift PDF assembly and export. The update also features an updated outliner, more flexible full-screen view, and improved performance, animation, and usability. Storyist 4 for iOS has been based on the Files app, allowing users to edit files where they're stored and to use 3rd party cloud storage solutions such as Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox, and Box. Users can organize files with nested folders and tags and access recently-edited files across multiple cloud storage providers. Additionally, files can be shared with others through iCloud file sharing.


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.


2017. Ebook editor Storyist adds Blurb ebook templates



The latest version of Storyist for Mac, version 3.5, has been released. This version includes a highly requested feature: the ability to create PDFs for print using the book templates in Storyist. With the new book editor, users can add front matter, specify verso/recto pages, and set trim size, margins, and bleed to create a print-ready PDF. Additionally, Storyist has collaborated with Blurb, a well-known self-publishing platform, to offer book creation and distribution tools that allow users to easily print and sell their work. The software includes print-optimized templates that can be used to quickly create attractive Blurb Trade Books. Storyist can create ePub and Kindle ebooks for reading in your favorite ebook reader or publishing on iBookstore or Amazon.com.