Afterwriting vs Trelby (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Afterwriting grades higher than Trelby: 3.0 against 2.6 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 9, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Afterwriting grades higher on ease of use and platforms. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan and features.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
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 Trelby if
- Fits if you want standard script formatting and don't want to pay for it
- Works for Linux users, as it installs from Fedora, Debian, Ubuntu or Flatpak packages
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if a command line puts you off, as the current version installs through Python's pip on Windows and Mac
- Not for you if you write on a phone or in a browser, because it's a desktop program only
- Tight if you work with Celtx, Adobe Story or Fade In users, since those files import but can't be exported
- Watch out: version 2.4 added no new features, only a move to Python 3 and new packaging
How we grade them
| 3.0GPAAfterwritingVery good | 2.6GPATrelbyGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | A$0 under the MIT licence, for the online, offline and command-line versions. | AFree software under the GPL, kept going by volunteers, with no paid edition and nothing held back. Against writing tools charging about $8.33 a month in the middle, a complete screenwriting program for nothing is the top of the ladder. |
| Free plan and trial | AEverything is free, with no paid plans listed. | AThe complete program is free, with every feature in it. No paid edition exists to hold anything back, and there's no cap to hit. |
| 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. | CIt does the screenwriting job fully, and plainly: format and pagination enforced as you type, auto-completion and spell checking, scene, location, character and dialogue reports, script comparison and a PDF generator with watermarks. Celtx, Adobe Story and Fade In files import but can't be exported. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. You need to know Fountain, and the command line is another route in. | DNo store rating on record, and getting the current version means a command line: 2.4 installs on Windows and macOS through Python's pip, and the installer on the download page is still the older 2.2. Linux gets ordinary packages, at least. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, an offline version and a command line, with Google Drive, Dropbox and Final Draft. | CWindows, Mac and Linux, which is still only computers however you count it. It trades files with Final Draft, Fountain, Celtx, Fade In and Adobe Story, but those are file formats rather than live connections, and no web or mobile version is listed. |
| Best for | turning Fountain scripts into PDFs | free screenwriting on Windows, Mac or Linux |
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 Trelby. 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. Trelby has no paid plan and scores 1.7.
Afterwriting scores higher for the same starting price. Of the other writing tools on the chart, none scores higher than Afterwriting for less, and none scores higher than Trelby 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 also covers documents.
- Trelby also covers long-form writing.
In commonFree planOpen source
At a glance
| Afterwriting | Trelby | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free |
| Starts at | Free | Free |
| 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. | The whole program is free software licensed under the GPL. There is no paid edition. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| Made by | Piotr Jamróz | Trelby developers |
| Price read from | github.com | trelby.org |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Oct 9, 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.
Trelby
- Version 2.4 is installed on Windows and macOS through Python's pip; the Windows installer on the download page is for version 2.2.
- Version 2.4 added no new features: it moved the program to Python 3 and updated its packaging.
- Celtx, Adobe Story and Fade In Pro files can be imported but not exported.
- It is a desktop program only; no web or mobile version is listed.
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.
Trelby
- Screenplay editor
- Enforces correct script format and pagination as you type, with auto-completion and spell checking.
- Choice of views
- Offers several views of the script, including a draft view, a WYSIWYG mode and fullscreen.
- Reports and script comparison
- Produces scene, location, character and dialogue reports, and compares two scripts to show what changed between versions.
- Import and export
- Imports formatted text, Final Draft XML, Celtx, Fountain, Adobe Story and Fade In Pro files. Exports PDF, formatted text, HTML, RTF, Final Draft XML and Fountain.
- PDF generator
- A built-in, configurable PDF generator can embed a chosen font and add custom watermarks to help track copies of a shared script.
- Name database
- Includes a character name database with over 200,000 names from various countries.
Plans
Afterwriting
Afterwriting$0
Online and offline versions plus a command line tool, with no paid plans listed.
Trelby
Free$0
The complete program. Version 2.4 installs from PyPI on Windows and macOS, and from Fedora, Debian/Ubuntu or Flatpak packages on Linux.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Afterwriting or Trelby?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Afterwriting and Trelby are free to use.
Which has a free plan, Afterwriting or Trelby?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Afterwriting and Trelby have a free plan.
Which platforms do Afterwriting and Trelby run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Afterwriting lists a web app and only Trelby lists macOS, Windows and Linux 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.