Ollama
AI writing assistantsRun open large language models locally for private drafting
- Stars
- ★ 184k
- Licence
- MIT
- Updated
Alternative to Sudowrite
Free and affordable alternatives to Scrivener, Final Draft and Grammarly
Open-source and affordable tools for novels, screenplays, editing, worldbuilding and formatting. Built for writers who want to keep their manuscripts, and their budget, under their own control.
All 49 tools Browse categories →
Open WebUI
AI writing assistantsSelf-hosted chat UI for local and remote LLMs
- Stars
- ★ 156k
- Licence
- BSD-3-Clause
- Updated
Alternative to Sudowrite
AppFlowy
Notes & research for writersOpen-source Notion-style workspace you can self-host
- Stars
- ★ 77.6k
- Licence
- AGPL-3.0
- Updated
Alternative to Notion
M
MarkText
Distraction-free editorsReal-time preview markdown editor
- Stars
- ★ 62.9k
- Licence
- MIT
- Updated
Joplin
Notes & research for writersOpen-source note app with notebooks, search and sync options
- Stars
- ★ 56.8k
- Licence
- AGPL-3.0
- Updated
Pandoc
Formatting & publishingUniversal document converter for manuscripts and ebooks
- Stars
- ★ 46.6k
- Licence
- GPL-2.0
- Updated
Logseq
Notes & research for writersOpen-source outliner and knowledge graph that works offline
- Stars
- ★ 45.3k
- Licence
- AGPL-3.0
- Updated
Calibre
Formatting & publishingOpen-source ebook library manager and converter
- Stars
- ★ 26.2k
- Licence
- GPL-3.0
- Updated
LanguageTool
Grammar & editingOpen-source grammar and style checker with self-hosting option
- Stars
- ★ 15.2k
- Licence
- LGPL-2.1
- Updated
Alternative to Grammarly, ProWritingAid
Zettlr
Distraction-free editorsMarkdown IDE for writers and researchers with citations
- Stars
- ★ 13.8k
- Licence
- GPL-3.0
- Updated
Anytype
Notes & research for writersLocal-first knowledge base with peer sync
- Stars
- ★ 8.9k
- Licence
- MIT
- Updated
ONLYOFFICE Docs
Grammar & editingOpen-source office editors with strong DOCX compatibility
- Stars
- ★ 7k
- Licence
- AGPL-3.0
- Updated
Alternative to Microsoft Word
Sigil
Formatting & publishingWYSIWYG and code-view EPUB ebook editor
- Stars
- ★ 7k
- Licence
- GPL-3.0
- Updated
Vale
Grammar & editingCommand-line prose linter with custom style guides
- Stars
- ★ 6.3k
- Licence
- MIT
- Updated
Alternative to Grammarly, ProWritingAid
ghostwriter
Distraction-free editorsMarkdown editor with a clean preview, from the KDE project
- Stars
- ★ 5k
- Licence
- GPL-3.0
- Updated
ink / inklewriter
AI writing assistantsOpen narrative scripting language from inkle for interactive fiction
- Stars
- ★ 5k
- Licence
- MIT
- Updated
Alternative to Scrivener
LibreOffice Writer
Grammar & editingFull free office word processor with styles and export
- Stars
- ★ 4.5k
- Licence
- MPL-2.0
- Updated
Alternative to Microsoft Word
novelWriter
Novel & long-form writingMarkdown novel editor with a project tree and plain-text storage
- Stars
- ★ 3.2k
- Licence
- GPL-3.0
- Updated
Twine
Worldbuilding & plottingOpen-source tool for nonlinear interactive stories
- Stars
- ★ 2.9k
- Licence
- GPL-3.0
- Updated
Manuskript
Novel & long-form writingOpen-source novel organiser with outliner, index cards and story line
- Stars
- ★ 2.5k
- Licence
- GPL-3.0
- Updated
bibisco
Novel & long-form writingNovel-writing app focused on characters and architecture of the story
- Stars
- ★ 770
- Licence
- GPL-3.0
- Updated
FocusWriter
Distraction-free editorsFull-screen distraction-free writer with goals and themes
- Stars
- ★ 721
- Licence
- GPL-3.0
- Updated
Scribus
Formatting & publishingOpen-source desktop publishing for print layouts
- Stars
- ★ 640
- Licence
- GPL-2.0
- Updated
Alternative to Adobe InDesign, Vellum
Starc
ScreenwritingModern open-source screenwriting app from the KIT Scenarist team
- Stars
- ★ 401
- Licence
- GPL-3.0
- Updated
Alternative to Final Draft, WriterDuet
K
KIT Scenarist
ScreenwritingOpen-source screenplay editor with research and statistics
- Stars
- ★ 352
- Licence
- GPL-3.0
- Updated
Alternative to Final Draft, WriterDuet
Trelby
ScreenwritingFree multi-platform screenwriting program in Python
- Stars
- ★ 350
- Licence
- GPL-2.0
- Updated
Alternative to Final Draft, Fade In
Apostrophe
Distraction-free editorsGNOME markdown writer with a focus mode
- Stars
- ★ 111
- Licence
- GPL-3.0
- Updated
Alternative to Ulysses
WaveMaker
Novel & long-form writingBrowser-based novel planner and writer with cards and manuscript view
- Stars
- ★ 19
- Licence
- GPL-3.0
- Updated
Aeon Timeline
Worldbuilding & plottingTimeline app for stories, series and research chronology
- Licence
- Proprietary
- Status
- Proprietary
Atticus
Formatting & publishingWriting plus ebook and print formatting in one paid app
- Licence
- Proprietary
- Status
- Proprietary
Campfire Writing
Worldbuilding & plottingModular worldbuilding and writing suite for fiction authors
- Licence
- Proprietary
- Status
- Freemium
Alternative to World Anvil, Plottr
C
Celtx
ScreenwritingBrowser scriptwriting and pre-production with free and paid plans
- Licence
- Proprietary
- Status
- Freemium
Alternative to Final Draft, WriterDuet
Dabble
Novel & long-form writingCloud novel app with plotting, goals and manuscript tools
- Licence
- Proprietary
- Status
- Proprietary
Fountain tools
ScreenwritingPlain-text screenplay format with many free editors
- Licence
- MIT (format spec)
- Status
- Open source
Alternative to Final Draft, Fade In
Hemingway Editor
Grammar & editingReadability highlighter for clearer, shorter sentences
- Licence
- Proprietary
- Status
- Freemium
Alternative to Grammarly, ProWritingAid
iA Writer
Distraction-free editorsFocused markdown writing app for Apple and Windows
- Licence
- Proprietary
- Status
- Proprietary
K
Kindle Create
Formatting & publishingAmazon's free formatter for Kindle and paperback interiors
- Licence
- Freeware
- Status
- Free (proprietary)
LivingWriter
Novel & long-form writingCloud manuscript app with outlining, boards and collaboration
- Licence
- Proprietary
- Status
- Freemium
NovelAI
AI writing assistantsSubscription AI storytelling and image tools for fiction
- Licence
- Proprietary
- Status
- Proprietary
Alternative to Sudowrite
NovelCrafter
AI writing assistantsAI-assisted fiction workshop with codex and prompts you control
- Licence
- Proprietary
- Status
- Proprietary
N
Novlr
Novel & long-form writingCloud novel workspace with goals, courses and manuscript tools
- Licence
- Proprietary
- Status
- Freemium
Obsidian
Notes & research for writersLocal markdown vaults with links, useful as a writer's bible
- Licence
- Proprietary
- Status
- Freemium
Plottr
Worldbuilding & plottingVisual timelines and plot outlines for novels and series
- Licence
- Proprietary
- Status
- Proprietary
Alternative to Scrivener
ProWritingAid
Grammar & editingDeep manuscript editing reports for fiction and non-fiction
- Licence
- Proprietary
- Status
- Freemium
Alternative to Grammarly, Hemingway Editor
Reedsy Book Editor
Novel & long-form writingFree browser manuscript editor from Reedsy with clean export
- Licence
- Proprietary
- Status
- Freemium
Alternative to Scrivener, Microsoft Word
SmartEdit Writer
Novel & long-form writingWindows novel organiser with built-in manuscript analysis
- Licence
- Proprietary
- Status
- Freemium
Alternative to Scrivener, ProWritingAid
Typora
Distraction-free editorsWYSIWYG markdown editor with a seamless preview
- Licence
- Proprietary
- Status
- Proprietary
Alternative to Ulysses
World Anvil
Worldbuilding & plottingWorldbuilding wiki and setting bible for fiction and RPGs
- Licence
- Proprietary
- Status
- Freemium
yWriter
Novel & long-form writingFreeware scene-based novel organiser from Spacejock Software
- Licence
- Freeware
- Status
- Free (proprietary)
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Collections All collections →
Best free Scrivener replacements19 tools
Every tool we list as an alternative to Scrivener.
Best free Final Draft replacements5 toolsOpen-source and free screenwriting tools.
Open-source writing tools29 toolsTools with an open-source licence you can audit and self-run.
Ebook formatting kit6 toolsConvert and polish ebooks without Vellum.
Writing tools for Linux30 toolsTools with a native Linux build.
Runs in the browser19 toolsWriting tools you can use from a web browser.
Categories All categories →
Novel & long-form writing (10)Distraction-free editors (7)Grammar & editing (6)Formatting & publishing (6)Screenwriting (5)Worldbuilding & plotting (5)AI writing assistants (5)Notes & research for writers (5)
Why free writing software? More →
Scrivener, Final Draft, Grammarly and formatting tools can cost tens to hundreds of pounds a year. That adds up for a debut novelist, a student screenwriter or anyone drafting on the side of another job.
Open-source writing apps keep your manuscript in open formats on your own computer. When a SaaS writing tool shuts down or raises prices, an exported .docx or plain-text project still opens elsewhere.
Every listing here states its licence and whether it is fully free, open source, freemium or paid. Affiliate links, when we have them, never change the facts shown about a tool.