Afterwriting vs Highland Pro (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Afterwriting grades higher than Highland Pro: 3.0 against 2.6 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 6, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Afterwriting grades higher on value for money, the free plan and platforms. Highland Pro grades higher on features and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Highland Pro
Plain-text screenwriting app for Mac, iPad and iPhone
Which one is for you
Pick Afterwriting if
- Fits if you already write in Fountain and want a clean PDF
- Works for people who want a no-cost script tool with a command line
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a full screenwriting editor, because the editor is basic
- Not for you if you want Fountain explained, since there are no lessons listed
- Watch out: cloud sync with Google Drive and Dropbox works in the online version only
- Watch out: one person maintains it, and the copyright notice reads 2015 to 2020
Pick Highland Pro if
- Fits if you write scripts or novels on Apple devices in plain text
- Works for turning a script stuck in a PDF back into editable text
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you or your writing partner use Windows, Android or a browser, as it's Mac, iPad and iPhone only
- Pricey if you pay monthly, at $9.99 against $4.99 a month on the yearly plan
- Not for you if your iPhone or iPad can't run iOS 26, or your Mac is older than macOS 13
- Watch out: after the 30-day trial every feature needs a subscription; without one it only opens, prints and exports
- Watch out: syncing between devices relies on iCloud, and nothing else connects to it
How we grade them
| 3.0GPAAfterwritingVery good | 2.6GPAHighland ProGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | A$0 under the MIT licence, for the online, offline and command-line versions. | B$4.99 a month billed $59.99 a year, which lands just inside this category's cheaper quarter, where the line is $5.00. Everything is in the one plan, on Mac, iPad and iPhone. Pay by the month and it's $9.99, double. |
| Free plan and trial | AEverything is free, with no paid plans listed. | CNo free plan. There's a 30-day trial and the listing doesn't say whether it wants a card. After that the app still opens, prints and exports your documents, but every feature needs a subscription. |
| Features | CFountain to PDF, script stats, Final Draft import and a basic editor. It does that job fully, but it's a smaller job than a whole screenwriting suite. | BFountain and Markdown formatted automatically, 14 templates, a Navigator for scenes, synopses and notes, Revision Mode with colours and margin stars, sprints and goals, Final Draft files both ways, and PDF Melting to turn a script PDF back into editable text. No gap the listing admits to. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. You need to know Fountain, and the command line is another route in. | BNo store rating on record, but there's nothing to set up: type plain text and the app formats it, with autocomplete for character names and scene headers. Syncing is your own iCloud rather than an account to make. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, an offline version and a command line, with Google Drive, Dropbox and Final Draft. | COne family of devices: Mac, iPad and iPhone, synced through iCloud, with no Windows, Android or web version and nothing else to connect to. The App Store listing also wants iOS 26 or iPadOS 26 on a phone or tablet. |
| Best for | turning Fountain scripts into PDFs | plain-text screenwriting on Apple devices |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Afterwriting and Highland Pro. How we grade
Price against what you get
Afterwriting has no paid plan and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Highland Pro starts at $4.99 a month and scores 2.7.
Highland Pro scores higher, and starts $4.99 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other writing tools on the chart, none scores higher than Afterwriting for less, and 5 score higher than Highland Pro for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Afterwriting is open source, according to its own site.
- Afterwriting also covers documents.
- Highland Pro also covers Markdown, templates and long-form writing.
At a glance
| Afterwriting | Highland Pro | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free trial |
| Starts at | Free | $4.99 per month, billed $59.99 annually |
| Free plan | The online version, the downloadable offline version and the node.js command line tool are all free; the code is under the MIT license. | None |
| Free trial | None listed | 30-day free trial; cancel anytime |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| iOS | ||
| Made by | Piotr Jamróz | The Quote-Unquote Company |
| Price read from | github.com | quoteunquoteapps.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Oct 6, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Afterwriting
- It post-processes Fountain text; the editor is basic compared with full screenwriting software.
- Cloud syncing with Google Drive and Dropbox works only in the online version.
- The project is maintained by an individual; its copyright notice reads 2015-2020.
Highland Pro
- It is listed only for Mac, iPad and iPhone; there is no Windows, Android or web version.
- After the 30-day trial a subscription is required for all features; without one the app still opens, prints and exports documents.
- The App Store listing requires iOS 26 or iPadOS 26 on mobile devices and macOS 13 or later on a Mac.
- Syncing between devices relies on iCloud.
Key features
Afterwriting
- Fountain to PDF
- Converts Fountain screenplays into formatted PDF files.
- Screenplay information
- Extracts basic details such as the number of pages, action and dialogue time, and locations.
- Script statistics
- Charts location distribution, page balance and dialogue; experimental views include script pulse and primary and secondary characters.
- Final Draft import
- Imports .fdx files from Final Draft so existing scripts can be converted to Fountain.
- Basic editor
- A simple editor with auto-complete for writing Fountain text in the app.
- Google Drive and Dropbox sync
- The online version loads and syncs files with Google Drive and Dropbox.
Highland Pro
- Fountain and Markdown writing
- Write in plain text and let the app format it. There are 14 templates, including Screenplay, Multi-Cam and Manuscript, and autocomplete for character names and scene headers.
- Navigator and Overview
- The Navigator maps sections, scenes, synopses and notes, and the Overview shows a whole script or novel in one view with characters and scenes highlighted.
- Revision Mode
- Tracks changes in different colors with stars in the margin, alongside automatic scene numbering with custom ranges.
- Sprints and goals
- Timed writing sprints track focused sessions, and goals set milestones for a page, word or character count.
- /Lookup
- Typing a slash and a question returns quick answers such as definitions, rhymes and world facts without leaving the draft.
- Import, export and PDF melting
- Imports and exports Fountain, Final Draft .fdx and PDF files. PDF Melting converts Final Draft and Fountain PDFs back into editable text.
Plans
Afterwriting
Afterwriting$0
Online and offline versions plus a command line tool, with no paid plans listed.
Highland Pro
Yearly$4.99
per month, billed $59.99 annually
All Highland Pro features on Mac, iPad and iPhone, billed once a year. Advertised as a 50% saving on the monthly plan.
Monthly$9.99
per month, billed monthly
The same features on a month-to-month subscription.
Ways to pay less
Afterwriting
No public discounts listed.
Highland Pro
- Annual discount
Save 50% with the yearly plan
The yearly plan is billed $59.99, which works out to $4.99 a month against $9.99 on the monthly plan, or $119.88 over twelve months.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Afterwriting or Highland Pro?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Afterwriting is cheaper to start with: it is free, against $4.99 a month for Highland Pro. Afterwriting is free, and Highland Pro starts at $4.99 per month, billed $59.99 annually.
Which has a free plan, Afterwriting or Highland Pro?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Afterwriting has a free plan. Highland Pro does not, though it has a free trial.
Which platforms do Afterwriting and Highland Pro run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Afterwriting lists a web app and only Highland Pro lists macOS and iOS apps. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.